Frisbee Baseball

Return to the article

Subjects Mathematics Arithmetic, Measurement, Statistics Physical Education Games, Team Sports Science Physical Science, Physics

Grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Brief Description

How many tosses of the Frisbee does it take to "hit" a home run? In addition to being great exercise, Frisbee Baseball offers valuable lessons in math and physics!

Objectives

Students will

• follow directions as they play Frisbee baseball.
• keep track of the number of tosses it takes them to reach each base.
• encourage team members and recognize their successes.
• measure distances and figure averages (optional).
• learn about the physics of the Frisbee (optional).

Keywords

Frisbee, hula hoop, baseball, average, measure, distance, game, fitness, sportsmanship

Materials Needed

• Frisbees -- one per student
• hula hoops -- four per team of four to five students (alternatives: carpet squares, chalk-marked bases ...)
• pencil and paper
• tape measure (optional)

Lesson Plan

Many sports can be adapted for use with Frisbees! There's Frisbee golf and Frisbee football, so why not Frisbee Baseball? To set up the game, form a baseball diamond by spacing four large hula hoops 50 feet apart as you would space four bases for the game of baseball. (If your students are in the upper elementary grades or older, see Game Tips below for additional suggestions.) If you have space, it would be ideal to set up a different Frisbee baseball diamond for every four students.

Arrange students into groups of four, and give every student a Frisbee. Players start at "home plate." Each player takes a turn tossing a Frisbee to "first base." The goal is to toss the Frisbee so it comes in contact with, or falls inside of, the hoop. Players take turns until everyone on the team has reached first base. A scorekeeper on each team records how many tosses it takes each player to reach first base. Next, the players take turns trying to reach second base, then third base, and finally home plate. The scorekeepers keep track of the number of tosses each player makes as he or she moves around the bases. The player who needs the fewest tosses to reach home plate is the home run leader.

Game Tips:
Following are a few possible adaptations:

• If you do not have hoops, use carpet squares, chalk, or any other material to mark the location of the bases. If the carpet square is smaller than a hoop would be, place a ruler at each base. Students use the ruler to verify whether the Frisbee comes within 18 inches (or some other pre-determined distance) of the base to score.
• If two or more teams play on the same diamond, start each team at a different base.
• For older students, increase the space between hoops or use playground landmarks that are 100 feet or more apart as bases. If you elect to use landmark bases, then all players must play the same field in order for scores between teams to be comparable. Teams could all start at home plate, or each team could start at a different base.
• Students can play several rounds and figure their "averages" by adding their total tosses and dividing the sum by the number of "at bats" they had. The lower the average, the better.
• Students might determine team averages too. In that case, monitor student play and help students work on being good team members by encouraging teammates and congratulating them on their attempts.
• If students play multiple rounds, have a different player serve as scorekeeper each time.
• Work measurement into the activity by having students use a tape measure before each throw to determine how far they must toss the Frisbee to reach the base.
• Take the opportunity to teach a lesson in physics. See the Frisbee Physics lesson from Newton's Apple.

Assessment

Students correctly figure their averages over several "at bats."

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

MATHEMATICS: Number and Operations

• GRADES Pre-K - 2
  NM-NUM.PK-2.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems

• GRADES 3 - 5
  NM-NUM.3-5.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems

• GRADES 6 - 8
  NM-NUM.6-8.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems

• GRADES 9 - 12
  NM-NUM.9-12.1 Understand Numbers, Ways of Representing Numbers, Relationships Among Numbers, and Number Systems

MATHEMATICS: Measurement

• GRADES Pre-K - 2
  NM-MEA.PK-2.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements

• GRADES 3 - 5
  NM-MEA.3-5.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements

• GRADES 6 - 8
  NM-MEA.6-8.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements

• GRADES 9 - 12
  NM-MEA.9-12.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements

MATHEMATICS: Connections

• GRADES Pre-K - 12 NM-CONN.PK-12.3 Recognize and Apply Mathematics in Contexts Outside of Mathematics

PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH: Physical Education

• GRADES K - 12 NPH.K-12.3 Physical Activity
  NPH.K-12.6 Respect for Others

SCIENCE

• GRADES K - 4
  NS.K-4.2 Physical Science

• GRADES 5 - 8
  NS.5-8.2 Physical Science

• GRADES 9 - 12
  NS.9-12.2 Physical Science

Return to the Fitness Fun lesson plan page.

See the Education World theme page Resources, Lessons, and Activities for Physical Education for more resources.