Finish the Missing Half

The teacher draws half a figure on the ground (half a house, half a face, half a butterfly) next to a line, and small groups complete the other half by placing ropes, cones and hoops. It works on the idea of symmetry with the whole body and as a team.

How to play

1. The teacher chalks a long line and, on one side, half of a very large figure; the children sit around it (2 min).
2. Guess what it is and walk along the chalk lines of the drawing (2 min).
3. In small groups, complete the other half with ropes, cones and hoops: if there's a hoop on one side, another goes on the other (5 min).
4. Check together: lie down on the line and see whether both halves look alike (2 min).
5. Each group moves to another figure and finishes the missing half (3 min).
6. Take a walk past all the finished figures and give them a round of applause (1 min).

Rules

• Whatever is on one side of the line goes the same way on the other.
• Walk with the materials and carry them together.
• We help each other: the figures belong to everyone.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child decides where things go by pointing and classmates place the materials.
• Visual impairment: make the figure from taped-down rope so it can be traced by hand.
• Autism: give the child one clear job in the group, like placing all the hoops.

Learning goals

• Reproduce a shape on the other side of a line.
• Discover that many things have two matching halves.
• Work together on a shared project.

Equipment for a class of 25

• chalk: 4
• ropes: 12
• cones: 12
• hoops: 12

Teacher tip

Draw the half figures before heading out, one per group of five or six. Don't aim for precision: celebrate when the ear hoop is "more or less across."

More main activities for Elementary