Magic Ribbon Right-Hand Challenge

Each child wears a ribbon tied on their right wrist as a clue to tell right from left. With commands to touch, turn and run to cones placed on each side, students build their sense of left and right in faster and faster game situations.

How to play

1. Tie a colored ribbon loosely on each student's right wrist. Set a row of red cones to the group's right and a row of blue cones to the left, 30 feet away (3 min).
2. Commands in place: right hand to right ear, ribbon hand to left knee, right foot forward. The teacher faces the same way as the class so no one gets mixed up (4 min).
3. Side game: the teacher calls right or left and everyone runs to touch a cone on that side and comes back to the middle (4 min).
4. Add turning: on the word turn around, everyone faces the other way and now right has switched sides; anyone unsure can look at their ribbon (4 min).
5. In pairs, one partner gives three commands in a row, for example left hand to right shoulder, jump to the right and touch a blue cone, then they switch (4 min).
6. To finish, students take off their ribbons and the teacher gives three commands to see who can find their right without it (1 min).

Rules

• Tie the ribbon loosely and never around the neck or fingers.
• Run to the cones looking ahead and return around the outside of the group.
• Mistakes don't put anyone out: fix it and keep playing.
• On the whistle, everyone freezes quietly.

Variations

Adaptations

• For students with limited mobility, replace running with pointing or rolling toward the called side and keep the touch commands.
• For students who are deaf or hard of hearing, pair each command with an arrow drawn on a sign.
• Students who already know left and right can be helpers who give commands to a small group.

Learning goals

• Tell the right and left sides of one's own body apart.
• Apply left and right to moving and turning in space.
• Respond quickly to increasingly complex verbal commands.

Equipment for a class of 25

• colored ribbons: 25
• colored cones: 10

Teacher tip

Stand with your back to the class when giving commands so your right matches theirs; if you face them, half the class gets confused.

More main activities for Elementary