STAGING

Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Sign up now for tons of free lessons like this one!

Back > Share
How can you knock down the most bowling pins?
Force Olympics Unit | Lesson 4 of 6

How can you knock down the most bowling pins?

Force Olympics Unit | Lesson 4 of 6
Scroll for prep
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen

Optional Activity: Human Bumper Bowling

In this game, students work together to knock down the bowling pins. The next slide provides details on how to play.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
# Optional Activity: Human Bumper Bowling

Scroll down for Activity Prep.

  1. Form groups of four to six.
  2. Assign roles. Each group needs one person to be the Roller and one person to be the Catcher. Everyone else is a Bumper. Decide who will take the first turn in each role.
  3. Get supplies. Roller gets a ball. Each Bumper gets a hardcover book. Bumpers use their books to bump the ball when it’s about to roll out of the alley. They also keep the ball moving down the alley so it can knock down the pins.
  4. The goal of Human Bumper Bowling is to knock down the pins with lots of bumps along the way.
  5. Let each Roller have two turns, then move in a circle to switch roles so everyone gets a turn as Roller.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?
Sign up now for more great lessons!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
# Extensions
Below is an idea for extending this topic beyond the activity & exploration you just completed.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen

Activity: Play Balloon Bounce

This requires some upfront prep but it’s worth it! You’ll need some inflated balloons and a homemade “paddle” for each player. To make a paddle, you’ll need a paper plate, some masking tape, and a “handle,” — a big craft stick, a paint stirrer, or even a sturdy plastic fork.

  • Tape the handle to the back of the plate and write the player’s name on the plate.
  • Tell the students that there’s one rule. Only the teacher can touch the balloon with their hands. Everyone else can only touch it with the paddle. If it’s on the floor, scoop it up with the paddle.
  • Give the players a challenge that’s appropriate to their skill level and your classroom space. Here are some possibilities: Roll the balloon, passing it from player to player. Use your paddle like a croquet mallet.
    Have a relay race where students walk across the room, balancing a balloon on their plate, then bounce it to another student, who carries it back. Let students figure out ways to make the transfer. Don’t let the balloon touch the floor. Bounce it up in the air with your paddle. Invent your own games. Balloon Tennis! Balloon Racquetball!
  • Don’t forget to remind your students that these games are all about forces and how hard you hit the balloon!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen

Grade K

Forces, Machines, & Engineering

Speed & Direction of Force

K-PS2-1

1864 reviews

Activity Prep

Print Prep

Switch to non-narrated version

In this Read-Along lesson, Daniel worries he won’t do well at a friend’s Bumper Bowling party…until he figures out an unexpected way to win. The lesson includes a short exercise where students act out bowling. If you want to extend the lesson, you can try this optional activity, Human Bumper Bowling, where students make a model bumper bowling alley and work together to knock down pins.

Preview optional activity

Grade K

Forces, Machines, & Engineering

Speed & Direction of Force

K-PS2-1

1864 reviews
Slow internet or video problems?