Target Games | Why I Love Them!

Feb 11, 2024

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Kas

The TGFU model provides us with a range of wonderful game categories. The popular categories (in my opinion) are invasion games and net-court and wall games/sports. These categories encompass many popular professional sports, so there is no surprise as to why these are great to teach and fun to learn from a student perspective.

But..! One category of games that I have come to love over my many years of teaching them, are target games. These games are great from a teaching perspective due to the controlled nature of the game. I mean a game of bowling (Target Game) is very different to a game of basketball (Invasion) when teaching a class. Lets unpack how we can utilise these games to serve students and teachers to create fun engaging lessons that differ from the typical school sports!

Target games are those in which players send an object (such as a ball or dart) towards a target area. Sometimes this may also involve avoiding obstacles, defending, guarding, or blocking the path of the opposition’s ball to stop them from scoring. Target games come in two forms. Opposed target games are ones, such as snooker or bowls, where the opposition’s play affects the next move. In unopposed target games, such as golf and darts, the outcome is not affected by what the opposition does. (Move Well, Sports New Zealand, 2024)

Target Games To Develop Team Culture

A real hidden gem in the TGFU universe is the use of ‘Target Games’. Target games are a great starting point for all classes as they are extremely unique compared to your other game categories. It also provides opportunities for team-building activities which are extremely useful at the start of the year and in a new class.

Just so we are all on the same page, here are a few examples of target games:

  • Golf
  • Bowling
  • Lawn bowls
  • Frisbee golf
  • Bocce
  • Corn Toss
  • Hoop Toss
  • Finska

There is a wide range of activities and dodgeball-based games that involve striking a target.

Unlike the other game categories, target games lend their nature to more cooperative style gameplay rather than adversarial like invasion games. For example, if teaching golf- you could break the class up into teams of four and task each group with making a mini golf course using various pieces of equipment. Once completed, all teams play each others golf course and rate each course in terms of enjoyability.

This encourages teamwork between teammates, which allows students to engage positively by scoring other teams courses based on how fun they found it. It becomes less about the actual technical skill of golf but rather the activity is used as a tool to build relationships between new student groups.

Lawn bowls and Bocce are also similar. Whilst there is a a competitive element, the success of these games largely relies on individual performance so students will have fewer arguments as they are accountable for their bowl. Where in a team game like basketball, students can get frustrated with the opposition if they break the rules and also frustrated with their teammates if their lack of ability results in the whole team losing.

Lawn bowls and Bocce give students no reason to be argumentative as the rule set is very simple and the goal for every target game is similar, strike the target with an object. The lack of variables provides cohesive gameplay between students and provides an opportunity to chat and get to know each other.

This should be no surprise as many target games are recreational games that are played at get-togethers, family events and friends. They are a social lubricant for people to communicate, build relationships and be active in a low-impact setting.

  • Golfing with buddies
  • Lawn bowls at a family event in the park
  • Bowling with friends
  • Darts at the bar
  • Pool/Snooker competitions with family

All target games all mainly played in recreational settings.

Target Games For Little Learners

Due to the stationary nature of target games, these are great games to play with junior primary students. Target games allow you to set up multiple games in a lesson and break students into small manageable groups where they have their activity stations. This will allow them to get ample time to practising the desired skill as they are not sharing equipment or waiting for a ball to be passed to them and it also increases engagement which reduces the chances of unwanted behaviours. High engagement is critical for a successful lesson with little learners.

The stationary nature of the games provides young students with the time needed to think about how they are going to encounter the activity and achieve the desired goal. The lesson then becomes scaled to the student’s ability due to their ability to take their time and participate when ready. Students can also decide how close they stand to the target which also provides another adaption to the task to ensure every child can find success in their own game.

Example:

I like to set up cones into a pyramid stack and create my own bowling lanes.

I can set up at least 5-8 stations of these bowling lanes. I have a starting point which is identified by a coloured cone. Students are split into groups and given a bowling lane. In the middle of the activity, there is a big bucket with a range of bowling balls (Tennis balls, dodgeballs, basketballs, handballs…). Students will all start with the same ball and then experiment with different bowling balls depending if they need a greater challenge or something different to make it easier for them. It also provides students with autonomy in their learning and a way to change the game without direct instruction. This makes it more fun for the student and allows them to see how different bowling balls require different techniques and skill to use them in the game.

This is a great way to teach the underarm roll and to observe general hand-eye coordination and FMS skills. (Bending, rolling, balancing, stretching, twist, rotating….and many more)

Heres a great example from one of our favourite P.E Bloggers- Iphys-Ed.com

Their creation **‘Ring of Fire’ **is a great example of how to be creative and create engaging lessons that are unique for your students. You can find this full lesson plan on their site which I will link below. Iphys-Ed has a ton of great games and resources, please check them out!

Anything Can Be A Target Game!

One of the biggest upsides with target games is that you can turn almost any piece of equipment you have available into a target style game. You can even use things in nature or on your site to make a target game.

Making circles in the same and then throwing pebbles or rocks into the circle, buying chalk and allowing students to make their own target signs on the ground assigning different points to different parts of the target for an activity, the options are endless! Be creative in how you use your equipment and your area and I’m positive you can incorporate target games into your HPE program with ease and no need for a wide range of resources.

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