Passive, Aggressive or Assertive: Response Relay

A team relay where each runner grabs a card with a response to a game situation and sorts it into the passive, aggressive or assertive hoop. Students learn to recognize and build assertive responses.

How to play

1. Explain the three styles with examples: keeping quiet and putting up with it, attacking or yelling, and saying what you think respectfully (4 min).
2. Setup: five teams in lines; 15 m out, a pile of cards per team, and 20 m out, three hoops labeled with the styles (2 min).
3. Relay: each runner grabs a card, reads it, drops it in the hoop they think is right and runs back to tag the next person (8 min).
4. Review: each team checks its hoops and can move cards after discussing; the teacher gives the answers (5 min).
5. Second relay: aggressive and passive cards get rephrased out loud as assertive ones before tagging the next runner (6 min).

Rules

• Run in separate lanes and return outside the lanes.
• Carry only one card at a time.
• Tag off with a hand slap, no pushing.
• The team with the most correctly sorted cards wins, not the fastest.

Variations

Adaptations

• Students with reading difficulties: short cards with pictures, or a teammate reads them aloud.
• Wheelchair users: a shorter course with the cards on a tall cone at hand height.
• Students with visual impairments: run with a guide, who reads the cards.

Learning goals

• Tell passive, aggressive and assertive responses apart.
• Build assertive messages for game situations.
• Sustain a high effort in a relay.

Equipment for a class of 25

• hoops: 15
• cones: 10
• scenario cards: 60

Teacher tip

Write real recess situations: “The same kid always shoots,” “Someone fouled me to steal the ball.” Cut sheets of paper into quarters for the cards.

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