Description

Students work as a team while participating in a fun-filled challenge.

Supplies

• Hula hoops
• Jump ropes or any type of long ropes that are equal in length

How to Play

A link to a video example of this activity is provided in the additional notes section. 

1. Divide students into even teams of around eight students. Each team needs one rope and enough hula hoops for every student on the team minus two. So for example, a team of eight students needs six hula hoops. The number of students per team can be adapted based on number of hula hoops available.
2. Select two students on each team to be the rope holders and have them stand across from each other holding the rope near their foreheads, ensuring the rope is taut. A video example of this activity is provided in the additional notes section.
3. Stack the hula hoops next to one of the two rope holders and have that student  step into the stack of hula hoops.
4. Have the rest of the students in each  team form a line behind the student standing inside the hula hoops.
5. One at a time, students from each team approach the hula hoop stack and move one hula hoop carefully up over the standing students body, across the rope, and down, around the other student holding the rope and rest the hula hoops in a stack around that student’s feet.
6. The student rushes back to the line, gives the next student in line a high five, and that student works to move the next hula hoop in the stack down the rope to the other student.
7. The winning team is the team that moves all hula hoops from one side to the other side the fastest.
8. Continue to play until time is up, switching up who are the rope holders each round!

Activity Prompts for Reflection

• How did your team act as one during this activity?
• What kind words of encouragement did you use with your team during this activity?
• How were you a supportive teammate during this activity?
• What strengths do you have that you were able to use during this activity?

Other Ways to Play

• Instead of having one student move each hula hoop, have two students work together to move each hula hoop.  Both students must be touching the hula hoop for it to move.
• If there is an odd number of students, have one student on the smaller team go twice.
• Make it more challenging by telling students that they can not touch the students or the rope while moving the hula hoops.
• Add in an instruction for how the students moving the hoops must move them. For example: using only one hand, while walking backwards, standing in tip-toes, etc.

Additional Notes

• Click here to see a video of this activity played.
• Use the SEL Activity Prompts to tie other SEL competencies to this activity.