Lesson aim:

To learn and enjoy traditional Scottish games.

Contents:Traditional games:

Chasing and catching games,

Skipping games,

Hiding, seeking and hunting games,

Duration :

60 minutes.

Material:

Skipping rope, soft ball.

Warm up

Hoist the flag

Two teams of equal numbers are chosen. The chasing team all place their heads against the wall and count up to one hundred in tens, as in Hide and seek. On reaching one hundred they all turn round and join hands to form a chain and chant,

Cock – a - learie

Henry Dicksie

One, two, three

In the morning.

(See flashcard 21)

The chase begins with the chasers obliged to keep their hands joined at all times. Anyone caught is put in a pre-arranged den. Those being chased dodge out to the sides and try to encourage the chain to split because, if the chain is broken, then all of those captured in the den are freed. Another way to free the captives in the den is for someone who is free to run into the den and yell out, “ Hoist the flag !” which is the signal for the prisoners to escape. This game works best if it is played in a confined area, ideally in a large alcove with a backing wall and two side walls. The den can then be in the alcove and more easily guarded.

Main Part

Mr. Wolf

(See flashcard 8: What's the time)

Someone is chosen to be Mr. Wolf. Pick a home, den, or any safe place where the wolf cannot harm the rest of the group, for instance a large circle chalked on to the ground, or any line that the wolf is not allowed to cross. Mr. Wolf starts walking away from the den with the other children following and calling out: “ What's the time, Mr. Wolf?”

Mr. Wolf does not turn round but instead keeps on walking and in a very gruff voice replies: “ Half past two ”, or any time that he can think of.

The children keep asking and the wolf keeps replying, all the time luring them further and further away from the den until suddenly the wolf replies, “ DINNER TIME!”

The wolf spins round and chases them as they scream and shout in a mock state of panic and rush back to the safety of the den. If Mr. Wolf catches anyone before they reach the den, then he will be Mr. Wolf for the next game.

Cowboy Joe

(See flashcard 22)

Rhyme

Cowboy Joe from Mexico , (person skips in)

Hands up, (raise hands)

Stick them up, (pretend gun held in hands)

Don't forget to pick them up (pretend to pick up something)

And out you go. (person skips out again)

Everyone lines up, taking it in turns at skipping while performing the actions to the rhyme, then skipping out the other side and returning to the back of the line.

Kick the can

A tin can, or sometimes a wooden block, is placed in the den. (If wooden block is used the game is called Kick the block). A player is chosen to be IT, or the “den-keeper”. One of the hiders gives the can an almighty boot away from the den so that the den-keeper has to retrieve the can back to the den before he can start the count. This time some outies may stay as close as possible to the den without being seen. If the den-keeper sees someone hiding he/she shouts out their name and they race each other back to the can. The outie stays free if he/she wins the race. However, if the den-keeper wins the race, he/she grabs the can and dunts it three times on the ground, so that the outie is captured and becomes a prisoner in the den.

The prisoners can be freed if an outie runs up to the den, kicks the can well out of the den, and shouts, “ It's kicked by me, and you're all free ”. The poor den-keeper has to replace the can in the den and count all over again while all of those freed run off to hide.

However, it is just as likely that the den-keeper will spot someone attempting a rescue and catch them instead. As the name “den-keeper” suggest, he/she tends to be a bit canny and not stray too far from the den.

This game is particularly interesting because the den-keeper has to guard the den as well as go seeking, and there is of course the added excitement of hearing the clatter of a noisy can. If the den-keeper is being over cautious in guarding the den, his/her prisoners inside the den may taunt him with a chant like, “ Gaun oot, gaun oot, ya lazy hen, an' look fur a' yer choockies ”. Or if you prefer the same chant in English instead of in Scot “ Go out, go out, you lazy hen, and look for all your chickens”.

Calm Down

Wounded, dying, dead

For this game it is safer to use a relatively soft ball.

Start off this game by forming a circle with all the player's legs astride and feet touching. The ball is then thrown vertically upwards and allowed to bounce inside the circle. When the ball runs through someone's legs, everyone dashes for safety as the object of the game is for this player to try and strike someone with the ball. Once the ball has been thrown, anyone close enough can pick up the ball and throw it at another player who loses a life if he is hit. It is a rule that to lose a life you must be hit below the knees only, as the older children can hurl the ball with great force. In wounded, dying, dead, after one hit they are wounded with two hits they are dying, then on the third strike they are finally dead and out for the remainder of the game.