Classification Walk: Paralympic Cards on the Move
A walking cool-down through six stations with cards explaining a Paralympic sport's classification system. It helps students see that classes exist so the best athlete wins, not the one with the least impairment.
How to play
- Pairs walk between six cones; each has a card with a sport and its classification (1 min).
- Slow walk through stations 1 to 3: one minute each, reading and quietly answering the card's question (3 min).
- Stations 4 to 6 at the same pace, with a gentle walking leg stretch at each switch (3 min).
- Standing circle wrap-up: each pair shares which system seems fairest and why (1 min).
Rules
- Walk, don't run.
- One pair per station; if it's busy, wait while stretching calves or quads.
- Answers come from the card, not assumptions.
- No comments about classmates with disabilities.
Variations
Easier
Three stations with true/false questions.
Standard
Six stations with open questions.
Harder
At the end, each pair proposes how they'd classify an invented sport.
Adaptations
- Low-vision student: large-print cards or read aloud by their partner.
- Wheelchair user: stations set at 1 m high on benches or chairs.
- Student with dyslexia: cards with icons and short sentences.
Learning goals
- Understand the purpose of functional classification.
- Know classification examples from several sports.
- Wind down with a reflective task.
Equipment for a class of 25
- classification cards: 12
- cones: 6
Teacher tip
Reliable card content: goalball (everyone masked, classes B1 to B3), wheelchair basketball (1.0 to 4.5 points, 14 max on court), boccia (classes BC1 to BC4; BC3 uses a ramp), para-badminton (wheelchair, standing and short-stature classes), T11 athletics (blind, run with a guide), sitting volleyball (includes a minimal-impairment class capped on court). Laminate them for reuse.
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