When leading students in a physical education, or PE, class, you should focus on making physical activity fun while keeping kids moving. Classrooms that get overly competitive or rule-focused tend to alienate children who don't naturally gravitate toward physical activity. Splitting children into volunteer-based competitive and recreational groups can help alleviate this tendency, as can changing the rules of the game to make the focus more recreational.
Competitive and Recreational
Many PE classes have more than 30, 40 or even 50 children all participating at the same time. In many settings, especially as children get older, those who don't enjoy sports will find ways to take themselves out of the game. Before you start the volleyball games for the day, split the courts into two to four different activities. On one court, designate a volleyball-like game where students can catch and throw the ball back and forth. On another court or two, designate a recreational volleyball game, emphasizing fun and play rather than score. On the last court, designate a competitive game. Keep score on this last court and focus on volleyball skills and strict rules. Indicate that throughout the PE class period, all students may choose exactly which court they want to play on, but they must actively play throughout the entire class period. Those students who love competition will gravitate toward the recreational or competitive courts, while those who prefer playing for fun will play on the game or recreational courts. This way, the pressure to perform against more athletic students is removed for those students who aren't natural athletes.
Game Variations
In a PE setting, if you remove some of the rules of the game that the natural athletes know and depend on, you'll likely even the playing field between the athletes and non-athletes. For instance, you could play a game of Odd Ball. In Odd Ball, split the students into equal teams based on the number of courts you have available. Give each team three or four balls. When you say "Go!" each team throws or serves its balls over the net and continues throwing, passing, setting or hitting the balls over the net until a designated time runs out. The winner is the team with the fewest balls on its side of the net when the time runs out. During this game, all the players must move around all the time, and everyone will be so focused on the balls coming over the net that no one will be able to focus on who does or doesn't perform. Those with great volleyball skills may use them, while those who struggle can practice moving to the ball, catching and throwing, rather than feeling sub-par when they miss a pass.
Quick-Moving Games
One of the goals of PE classes is to ensure that students receive a dose of physical activity. Playing volleyball games that focus on running and moving from one court to the next will help you reach this goal. Playing Royal Court can help you reach this goal. You may want to split the courts into recreational and competitive environments during this game if you have access to at least two separate volleyball courts.
Choose three players to start on one half of the court, known as the "Royal Court" and enlist three players to the other side of the court. Line up the remaining players in a single-file line, waiting to enter the court. Standing in line with the net, toss a ball to either side of the court; the receiving team passes, sets and hits the ball to the other side, and play continues until one side makes a mistake, hits the ball out of bounds or lets the ball hit the ground. That team rotates off the court. If that team was on the "Royal Court," the team on the other side rotates to the "Royal Court" and the next three players in line enter the first court. The team that rotates off must jog around the gym before getting back in line. The game continues at a fairly fast pace, with teams rotating on and off quickly.
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