Inclusive Rules Lab
In groups, students take a game they know and change its rules so a person with a specific disability, simulated by a classmate, can truly take part. They build empathy, practice designing adaptations, and question sports models that leave people out.
How to play
- Make 5 groups of 5. Each picks a game they know well (ten passes, dodgeball, steal the bacon…) and draws a challenge card: wheelchair user, low vision, deaf, little arm strength, or overwhelmed by noise (2 min).
- Original version (3 min): play the game unchanged with one teammate simulating the card's condition (blindfolded, seated, not speaking…). Note where that person gets left out.
- Redesign (5 min): the group changes up to three rules so that person has an important role, not a helper or obstacle role.
- Test (10 min): each group teaches its adapted game to another group and they play it together for 5 minutes, then swap.
- Share-out (5 min): each group explains the rule change that worked best and the class votes on whether the game is still fun for everyone.
Rules
- Adaptations must work for the whole group, not just one person.
- No one can be eliminated in the adapted game.
- Safety: anyone blindfolded always plays with a guide beside them in an obstacle-free area.
- Talk about disability respectfully, no jokes.
Variations
Easier
The teacher offers a list of possible rule changes and the group picks three.
Standard
The group invents up to three rule changes based on its challenge card.
Harder
The adapted game must include two different card conditions at once.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: may join as the group's expert, drawing on their own experience, if they want to.
- Autism or shyness: contributes ideas in writing and tests the game with their home group.
- Higher skill: takes on the most demanding restriction.
Learning goals
- Identify the moments when a game leaves someone out.
- Design rule changes that allow real participation.
- Question ways of playing that exclude some students.
Equipment for a class of 25
- challenge cards: 5
- foam balls: 5
- cones: 20
- pinnies: 15
- blindfolds: 5
Teacher tip
Don't let the fix always be making that person the goalie or the ref. If you have students with disabilities in class, ask them privately first whether they'd like to share their experience.
PatioLab has "Inclusive Rules Lab" and 2499 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
More activities like this
More main activities for High School
1-2-3-2-1 Running Pyramid Intervals
An interval workout where the fast segments build from 1 to 3 minutes and back down, with half that time as jogging recovery.
1-on-1 Self-Pass Volleyball
One-on-one games on narrow 10 x 20 foot courts where each player must self-pass before sending the ball over.
10-20-30 interval running in pairs
The 10-20-30 method strings together 30 seconds of easy jogging, 20 at a moderate pace and 10 at top speed, in five-minute blocks.
1v1 Ball Volley Matches
1v1 ball volley: singles games on a small court with a low net, hitting the ball over the net and allowing one bounce.
2-on-1 Fast Break with a Chasing Defender
Two attackers push a fast break against a defender waiting at the basket while a second defender chases from behind with a few yards' head start against them.
2-on-1 Through Three Defensive Zones
Pairs of attackers cross the court through three zones, each with a defender who cannot leave it, and finish with a shot on goal.