Why, why, why do they always call me to substitute for gym classes? Ok, maybe it’s because I have a Phys. Ed. Degree… Gym teachers should not be allowed to get sick! However, I want to work, so here are a couple of games that everyone enjoys in gym class.

1. Doctor Dodge Ball

If you feel comfortable with the students playing dodge ball, here is a great variation. Each team secretly picks one person to be the doctor and then tells you who their doctor is (so they can’t cheat – no that students every try to cheat…). When the students play dodge ball, if they are hit with a ball, they sit down where they are hit. The doctor can touch students who are sitting and then that student can stand up and play again. If the doctor is hit, then students have to remain sitting until everyone on one team is out.

2. Submarine

The object of this game is to follow directions as quickly as possible. (Isn’t that the object of every lesson I teach as a substitute?) The last person to follow the direction sits out until only one person is left. You tell the students they are to pretend the gym is a boat. The front wall (pick a wall) is called “bow”. The back wall is called “stern”. The left wall is called “port” and the right wall is “starboard”. When you call out bow, stern, port or starboard, the students are to run to touch that wall. When you say “Aye, Aye Captain”, they are to stand at attention and salute. When you say, “hit the deck”, they are to lie down. When you say “submarine”, they are to lie on their back with one foot in the air.