Hoop and Stick Rolling Course

A street game once played in villages everywhere, in which children rolled an iron hoop and steered it with a bent wire guide. Using plastic hoops and poles, students build coordination, control of a rolling object and spatial awareness.

How to play

1. Explain (2 min) that grandparents used barrel hoops and a bent wire guide; show how to push the hoop from behind with the pole using gentle taps.
2. Each student with a hoop and a pole: roll the hoop 10 m (33 ft) in a straight line, stop it by placing the pole in front and come back (4 min).
3. In groups of 5: roll around a cone and back, then zigzag through 5 cones spaced 2 m (6 ft) apart (5 min).
4. Relays in teams of 5: zigzag out and straight back; if the hoop falls, stand it up and continue from that spot (5 min).
5. Final challenge (4 min): a course with a tunnel of two cones 1 m (3 ft) apart and a curve; each student counts the cones passed without the hoop falling.

Rules

• Keep the pole pointed at the ground, never up.
• Look ahead and keep to the right.
• Push only your own hoop.
• If the hoop gets away, walk to get it.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: a wheelchair user pushes the hoop with a short pole along a wide, flat route.
• Visual impairment: use a bright hoop and mark the route with a rope on the ground to follow.
• Skill level: big hoops roll more easily; give smaller ones to students who want a challenge.

Learning goals

• Control the direction and speed of an object pushed with an implement.
• Move through space while avoiding obstacles and classmates.
• Learn a traditional street game from our grandparents' time.

Equipment for a class of 25

• hoops: 25
• PVC poles: 25
• cones: 15

Teacher tip

The key is pushing the hoop from behind, slightly below center; pushing at the top makes it fall. With younger students, practice stopping the hoop first.

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