Hoop Herding Through the Cone Gates
Each student guides a foam ball along the ground by pushing it with the edge of a hoop, like a shepherd herding a sheep, and steers it through cone gates spread around the blacktop. Students work on controlling an object with an implement and spatial awareness.
How to play
- Give each student a hoop and a foam ball and set up 10 cone gates (two cones about five feet apart) all over the blacktop (1 min).
- Explore: hold the hoop upright with both hands, bottom edge on the ground, and push the ball while walking; practice stopping it and turning it (2 min).
- Gate route: go through as many different gates as possible in 2 minutes, never the same one twice in a row, counting quietly (2 min).
- Swap the flock: on each whistle, leave your ball where it is and find a free one to keep herding, without stopping (1 min).
- In pairs, one shepherd follows the other around for 30 seconds, each keeping control of their own ball; then switch (2 min).
- Finish: everyone herds their sheep into the pen, a circle of cones in the middle, without touching the ball with hands or feet (1 min).
Rules
- Touch the ball only with the hoop, never with your feet or hands.
- Keep the hoop touching the ground; do not lift it to hit the ball.
- If two shepherds reach a gate at the same time, whoever got there first goes through.
- Walk fast or jog, but do not run.
Variations
Easier
Use a large foam ball, which moves slower, and wider gates.
Standard
Go through five-foot gates for 2 minutes, never the same one twice in a row.
Harder
Herd two balls at once or go only through gates of one color.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: from the wheelchair, use a small hoop and a large ball, with gates on a smooth area.
- Autism: set a fixed route with numbered gates so the student always knows where to go next.
- Fitness level: more active students jog to far gates; students who tire choose gates near the middle.
Learning goals
- Control an object by pushing it with an implement.
- Find open pathways in general space.
- Warm up with gentle changes of direction.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Hoops: 25
- Foam balls: 25
- Cones: 20
Teacher tip
Show how to put the hoop in front of the ball to stop it, since that is the hardest part. Very light foam balls blow away in the wind, so pick a sheltered area.
PatioLab has "Hoop Herding Through the Cone Gates" and 3999 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More warm-ups for Elementary
Across-the-Floor Gymnastics Steps
A gymnastics warm-up where students travel across the gym on the diagonal in small waves, using basic steps: tiptoe walk, side gallop, chassé, grapevine, and scissor…
Action Verbs and Adverbs Warm-Up
The teacher calls an action verb and students act it out in their spot; then an adverb is added that changes how it is done, like "row slowly" or "climb sneakily." It…
Active Blind Man's Bluff
A dynamic version of Blind Man's Bluff in which a guide uses only their voice to lead a blindfolded partner to tag classmates moving inside a small area.
Active Corners
Each corner of the space is marked with a cone and an exercise; the teacher calls a corner and students run to it to complete the exercise.
Add-On Dance Circle
In circles of 6, students take turns adding a four-count move, and the group repeats the whole sequence from the beginning with music, building a dance together.
Agility Ladder to the Beat
Quick-feet drills on the agility ladder following the beat of the music: every foot strike lands on a beat, and when the song's tempo goes up, the feet speed up.