The number one goal for a physical education student is to find an activity that they can enjoy and stay active for a long time. We want to show the students how and why activities were made so they can be creative with equipment and space they have anywhere to create their own activities. These are the learning goals we will cover in this learning module:

1. Identify sports that were created from ancient games.

2. Create variations of ancient games

3. Identify sports that were created from multiple different games

4. Create variations of games that were created from multiple different games

5. Identify sports that were created as an alternate to other sports

6. Create variations of games that were created as an alternate to other sports.

7. Identify sports that were modified for different populations of people.

8. Create variations of sports that were modified for different populations of people.

9. Identify activities that were devloped from fictional stories.

10. Create variations of activities that were developed from fictional stories.

11. Identify activites that were created to involve large amounts of people.

12. Create variations of activites that were created to involve large amounts of people.

13. Create an original game or activity.

Module Duration: 9 class periods.30 minutes of learning each class period

Before getting started, please fill out this Pre-Survey.

One of the first type of games we will talk about are games based off activities from ancient times. One of the more popular sports that has evolved from an ancient game is badminton. Badminton has had many rule changes throughout the years. The first indication of using a shuttlecock or birdie can be traced to over 2000 years ago. The modern version of badminton .orginated from a game called Battledore and Shuttlecock. The video below shows how badminton evolved from no net and smaller rackets to the faster paced game with a new and boundaries played today.

(Seven Owls, 2020, 1:33-2:45)

Since the changes from Battledore and Shuttlecock to the formation of the modern day game of Badminton, it has become the second most played sport across the world behind football(soccer). In the last 16 years badminton has even changed some of its basic rules. Before 2005 mens games were played best two out of three games to 15 and you must be serving in order to score a point. Women's were played to 11 with the same rules. In December 2005, the scoring was changed to best two out of three games to 21 with rally scoring. Rally scoring means that who ever wins the rally gets the point no matter who is serving. This was done to regulate the playing time and to also simplify the scoring system for television viewers.

Based off of the official rules we play in physical education, there may be changes throughout the years again.

Comment: From your experience playing, in your opinion, what are some changes or variations you would make to the current rules? You may be able to use these variations as ideas for your peer reviewed project

Update: Research another game or activity that is based off an ancient game or activity and find one that interests you. Explain some of the major changes from the ancient game to the modern game

There are also some sports that were created from a combination of two or more sports. One great example of a sport that comes from multiple sports is the sport of pickleball. Pickleball was created by three dads, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum, in Bainbride Island, Washington in 1965. Their kids were bored with their normal summertime activities so they became creative with some of the space and equipment they had. Prtichards property had a badminton court but not enough racquets. One weekend they started playing on a badminton height net (60 inches)and volleying a perforated plastic ball over the net with ping-pong paddles. By the end of the weekend they realized the ball bounced really well on the asphalt so they lowered the net to the current height of 36 inches and started to have the ball bounce also. The following weekend the three men came together to to start making some rules close to the game of badminton, tennis, and ping- pong. They realized that the ping- pong paddles were not big or strong enough so they made some oversized paddles in their garage (Pritchard et al., 2021). You can see more about the origin of the paddles and how they have evolved into the modern ones in the video below.

(Pickleball Channel, 2015)

Pickleball is a fantastic example of a sport made from a combination of other sports. There are many other activities and sports that have come from a combination also

Comment: Since we have learned and played pickleball in Physical Education before, what are some variations to the rules you might implement and why? You may be able to use these variations as ideas for your peer reviewed project

Update: Find another activity or sport that has been created from a combination of two or more other sports, find one that interests you. Explain how the sport is related to the others.

Some sports were then developed as an alternate to other sports. One of the most popular sports that was developed for this reason was volleyball. William G. Morgan developed the sport back in 1895 as he was the director of physical education at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusets. We wanted to come up with a less intense and demanding alternative to basketball, which was invented basketball 4 years earlier in 1891. The original name of volleyball was Mintonette.They originally started trying to play with the bladder of a basketball,but that was too light(International Olympic Committee, 2015). Some beginning players played with a basketball and that was too heavy. It wasnt until 5 years later in 1900 when Morgan had Spalding come up with the first volleyball which was lighter and smaller than a basketball.

Figure 1:(Schuttevaer, 2020)

The dimensions were a 65cm circumference and this is still the official size of the volleyball today. Although there have been advancements in technology since then, volleyball are still made with about the same materials as they were in 1900.

Volleyball, like pickleball, also based its rules off of multiple other sports. Morgan based the rules off of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball(International Olympic Committee, 2015). Many of the reasons for creating sports or activities can be intertwined, just like volleyball. You can read more about the evolution of volleyball here. 

Comment: We have played volleyball in physical education now, what are some variations you would make to the current rules and why? You may be able to use these variations as ideas for your peer reviewed project

Update: Research other sports that were created to be an alternate for other sports or activities and find one that interests you. Explain some of the changes they wanted to make with the new sport.

When thinking about modifying games for different populations of people, the first thing that may come to mind would be changing the sport slightly for different genders. An example of this could be using a slightly smaller ball for women's basketball compared to men's basketball. This sort of modification can be involved in many different sports and activities. What we will focus on more in this section is making modifications for disabled people.

One sport that comes to mind first for making a major modification is beep baseball. Beep baseball is modified for blind or visually impaired people. They have even developed a National Beep Baseball Association. Beep baseball makes some modifications from the traditional game of baseball so that the blind or visually impaired can still participate in the America's past time. It allows the participants to use their auditory senses with the use of beeping balls and buzzing bases. Some of the modifications can be seen below:

"A team has three outs per inning, and umpires have the right to eject unruly players or spectators. There is no second base. First and third bases are four foot high padded cylinders with speakers, which are placed one hundred feet down the respective baselines and ten feet outside the foul lines. This is to prevent a runner from colliding with a defensive fielder. The bases contain sounding units that give off a continuous buzzing sound when activated. The batter does not know which one will be turned on. When the ball is hit, the base operator activates one of the bases. The runner must identify the correct buzzing base and run to it before the ball is fielded by a defensive player. If the runner is safe, a run is scored" (National Beep Baseball Association, 2018).

You can see an example of the modifications in the video below:

(OnlyGood TV, 2020)

Comment: What are some other variations you could think of to add for Beep Baseball, or What other ways could baseball be varied for other disabilities? You may be able to use these variations as ideas for your peer reviewed project

Update: Research some other sports that were modified for different populations of people and find one that interests you. Explain the modifications and why they were modified.

There are also many games that are created in fiction. Many game creators have based some sports and activities off of some of the most popular fiction. The ideas can come from books, movies, cartoons, comics, and many other sources of fiction. One of the most common games that can be based off of fiction is Quidditch from the Harry Potter series of books and movies. Quidditch is a game in which the participants fly around on brooms with 3 types of magic balls (the Quaffle, Bludgers, and the Snitch) involved in the game. Since the books have come out there have been many variations of the game created. There are multiple schools and colleges that now have Quidditch clubs and teams. Even though it is impossible to fly around on a broom and have the balls fly around and move on their own, the changes to real life are still a great way to enjoy being active. Quidditch has also shown up in other movies because of its popularity. The video below shows a variation that can be used in real life.

(kinobscura, 2019)

Not everyone has brooms to use. You have to be creative with the equipment you have. Something as simple as lacrosse or hockey sticks can replace a broom. This will be important in creating a game. You will need to know what equipment will be available or how to modify the game with the equipment available. 

Comment: What are some variations to the Quidditch game played above that you would make? You may be able to use these variations as ideas for your peer reviewed project

Update: Research some other games and activities that have been based off fiction and then find one that interests you. Explain the ways it has been adapted from fiction so that it can be played in real life.

One of the main goals of Physical Education is to get as many people involved and being active at the same time. This can be very difficult to do with large classes and not much space. Many games and activities are restricted to amount of players within a space. Some of the best activities we can do in Physical Education are where everyone can participate at the same time with no space or participant limits. There have been many games created for this purpose. One game that is an excellent example is Townball. It uses the entire gym. Each corner of the gym is coned off as a base. You can see the set up below in Figure 2.

Figure 2: (Oakwood CUSD #76, 2021)

The main point of the game is to score as many runs as possible. The team that is up to kick, everyone can run. They must go around the bases in this order Home, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd,1st, Home in order to score a run. There are 3 outs just like in baseball. You can see the rest of the rules here. 

Townball is a great example of the use of minimal equipment and getting a large amount of students involved in a comptitive activity at the same time. This can be really important as a large quantity of equipment is not always available.

Comment: What are some variations you would make to Townball? You may be able to use these variations as ideas for your peer reviewed project

Update: Research some other games used for large groups and find one that interests you. Explain how it gets as many people active as possible in those large groups.

The full purpose of this module is for you to be able to create your own game or activity that can be something you would enjoy playing. This part of the module is where you will actually create your game. Using this rubric, develop your game or activity. You can use any template you want to create your exercises. You can use this template as a default if you can not find one you like.

Figure 3: (Tomaska, 2021)

Within this project here are the things that must be done to receive full credit:

• Make a copy of the template for yourself
• Fill out the entire template in detail.
• Create a video of you explaining the rules and demonstrating the activity or game
• Attach a link to the video to your project
• You must share your first draft with 3 other students for peer review for the project.

Once your project is reviewed by 3 other peers and you have made the corrections, you can turn in your final project along with the video. You can then fill out the Post-Survey to complete the class.