Throw the Globe (10 minutes)

Have students sit on their desks and inform them we will be playing a variation of "Silent Ball." Explain that you will throw a beach ball at a student and they are to catch the ball and inform everyone of the location of their right index finger by name of ocean or continent. If they talk, drop the ball, get of their desk, or identify the location in an incorrect or untimely manner, they must sit down in their chair and they are out of the game. The last person in their seat wins a prize.

Begin by gently throwing the ball to a student. If anyone talks, require him/her to return to a chair. If the game appears that it will continue too long, try to intercept the ball and increase the ball's velocity, or knock it out of the catcher's hands. This should create laughter and increase the challenge.

When one student remains, have students clap for the winning student. Give the winning student a prize that has significance to the social studies curriculum.

Ask students:

• How could this prize be used as an instructional tool in your classroom?
• How could you modify the "Throw the Globe" game for younger students? Answers may include:
• Have students stand in a circle or have them sit in a circle and roll the ball to one another.
• Have students pass the ball from one student to the next so there is no competition.
• Have students determine whether they are touching land or water (e.g., to teach that 75% of the earth's surface is water).
• How could you modify this game to address social studies subjects other than geography? Answers may include:
• As students catch the ball, they may need to provide the name of a fact from the curriculum they have been studying in class.
• There may be a list of words on the board. If the student catches the ball, s/he needs to give the definition for one of the words on the board. As a correct definition is provided, that word is erased. The last student to provide a correct definition is the winner.
• What might you need to consider before playing this game if you have students with physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities?
• In addition to identifying the negative affects of the game on some students with disabilities, note that this may be a good game for students who are kinesthetic learners (e.g., many learning disabled students).
• What are the benefits of using this activity?
• It teaches students to follow rules by penalizing them in a playful way for breaking rules.
• The game reviews content knowledge.
• The game fills time with instruction when there are just a few available minutes.
• It can quiet students when they begin to get loud or you need to quiet them to begin instruction.
• The game allows students to engage in competitive play teaching them how to lose with good sportsmanship and support the winner.