Chopstick Relay

Games: Chopstick Relay

Dick Moss, Editor, PE Update.com

Here's a relay race that combines a fitness activity with a cultural lesson…a very practical cultural lesson, because most students will eventually encounter a situation in which they'll be asked to eat with chopsticks.
Setup
    Divide your class into teams and line them up behind a starting line. Place an empty bowl in front of each team, and another a designated distance away (i.e. 10-30 feet away), that is filled with one cotton ball for each team member. If you can get a restaurant to donate chopsticks, provide a set to each student. If no donation is available, provide one set of chopsticks for each team.
How to Play
    Start with the cultural lesson. Show your students how to use chopsticks and make sure everyone practics and perfects the technique.
    Then begin the relay. On your signal, the first students in line run to their bowl, pick up a cotton ball using chopsticks, return to the starting line, and drop the cotton ball into their bowl. They then pass the chopsticks to the next teammate in line, who continues the relay. The race ends when every cotton ball has been moved.
In-Class Activity
    This relay can also be used for an in-class fitness break. Instead of running back and forth, have your students walk the length of your classroom in the aisles between desks.
Dick Moss

Reference: International Games, Building Skills Through Multicultural Play, Human Kinetics, 2009.     www.humankinetics.com

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