Recycled Games Olympics Stations

A team Olympics with five track and field events made from recycled materials: paper plate discus, cardboard tube javelin, newspaper long jump, bottle bowling, and a plate relay. Students practice throwing, jumping, and running with good sportsmanship.

How to play

1. Setup: five stations marked with cones. Teams of 5 pick a made-up country name; each team carries its own scorecard (2 min).
2. Discus: throw a paper plate backhand into zones at 5, 10, and 15 yards. Javelin: throw a cardboard tube with a paper-ball tip overhand.
3. Jump: a two-foot standing long jump over newspaper sheets laid in a row; each sheet cleared is a point. Bowling: knock down 10 bottles with a newspaper ball from 5 yards.
4. Relay: carry a paper ball on a paper plate without holding the ball, 20 yards out and back.
5. Rotation (25 min): 5 minutes per station; every teammate takes part in every event, and scores add up for the team.
6. Ceremony (3 min): a podium with cardboard medals, plus a bonus medal for the most sportsmanlike team, voted by the others.

Rules

• Each team measures and records its own marks honestly.
• At throwing stations, nobody enters the landing area until everyone has thrown.
• Everyone competes in every event: no specialists.
• Safety: javelins are thrown in the same direction, paper tip always forward.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: throws while seated, swaps the jump for an accuracy throw, and carries the plate on the lap in the relay.
• Visual impairment: large cones at the landing zones and a guide partner who claps to signal.
• Fitness level: team marks are added together, so every contribution counts equally.

Learning goals

• Practice throwing, jumping, and running through play.
• Compete as a team while respecting rules and opponents.
• See that track and field can be done with reused materials.

Equipment for a class of 25

• paper plates: 15
• cardboard tubes: 10
• newspaper: 30
• recycled bottles: 10
• cones: 20
• measuring tape: 2

Teacher tip

Make the equipment in an earlier lesson or in art class and store it in boxes by station. Rotate one judge from each team through the stations.

More activities like this

More main activities for Elementary