Submitted by Tami Mangusso, Aurora, Colorado

Idea posted June 3, 2004

I've come up with an activity that uses the "Word of the Week" (WOW). I have used this activity for fun but also to see how much the students have learned over the year. It could easily be used for assessing the students as well.

WOW Ball
Materials: Something to be a basket (bucket, box, a clean trash can, etc.), something to be the basketball (Nerf ball, beanbag, soft rubber ball, etc.), list of questions that cover things you have covered in class (note reading, rhythm, instruments, composers, etc.), materials to mark the shooting spots (rubber dots or masking tape).
Objective: To work your way around the basket by shooting the ball in the basket. This game is played similarly to the basketball game of "Horse," the game where you spell the word and shoot the basketball from different spots around the free-throw box. If you make the basket, you get a letter and you move to the next spot.
Set-Up: Put the basket in the middle of the playing area. Draw or decide a word to use from your WOW board. I put the words on small pieces of paper, and we draw one from a bucket. Mark the shooting spots around the basket (one for each letter). Put some close to the basket and some far from the basket. Divide the class into two teams.

Have one player from each team go up to the board. (I put up a barrier to keep the players from copying each other. I attach butcher paper to the board and the other end of the butcher paper to my chart stand to make a wall.) The teacher gives the students a question. The players have 30 seconds to write an answer. They get a point for the correct answer. Now both players will attempt to make a basket, even if their answer was wrong. If they make the basket, they get a point and move to the next spot. The students continue trying to make a basket until they miss. Once both players have missed, have two new players go to the board and answer a question. The new players will then shoot the ball from the spot that the first players shot last. The first team to spell the word wins the round. Now start a new round.

Variations:
1. Students may only shoot if they get a correct answer. If both players get it right, they both get to shoot.
2. Whoever answers first is the only one to shoot.
3. Have more than two teams.
4. Have the teams shoot in different ways (i.e., standing on one foot, one hand on their head, on one knee, eyes closed, etc.)
5. Use different types of balls for each shot: Nerf ball, rubber ball, beanie baby, beanbag, etc.

I give bonus points to any team that can tell me what the word means. If it's an instrument family, students get bonus points if they can give me the members of the family.