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Quicksand

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-Objective:

For a team of 5-8 players to cross the quicksand as quickly as possible

-Equipment List:

  • One tarp for team of 5-8 players.

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-Equipment Link:

-Setting Up:

  • Using either felt markers or duct tape, make a grid on each tarp (maybe 7 x 6 squares).

  • Duplicate this grid on a separate sheet of paper to make a map, marking a pathway through the “quicksand” with Xs. (Each team referee will need a copy of the map.)

  • Divide the class into teams and instruct each team to appoint a referee. Line team members up, single file, on one side of each tarp with the referee on the opposite side.

-Instructions:

  • Players start making their way across the tarp, 1 at a time.

  • As soon as a player stands on a square not marked with an X on the map, the team referee says “Squish” and that player goes to the back of the line.

  • The next player then starts across the tarp.

  • Each player moves across the tarp until he completes the course or steps in quicksand.

  • The first team whose members all make it across the tarp safely wins.

  • Rules

    • Pathways are either directly forward or backward, or to the right or left—there are no diagonal moves.

    • Each player must stay on the path. No one is permitted to jump from one part of the path to another part or miss any squares.

    • Only 1 player may be on the tarp at a time.

    • Players who make it across safely must sit down on the referee’s side of the tarp.

-Questions & Notes:

  • Teaching Tips

    • You can help players out by telling them how many Xs and turns there are in the pathway. In the sample pathway, there are 29 Xs and 18 turns, but starting out simple might be best to introduce the game. For example, consider starting with a pathway of 11 Xs and 4 corners.

  • Questions for understanding:​

    • How could teammates best help each other in solving the path?​

    • When others are crossing the quicksand what is helpful for the other players to do?

    • Who did the team most listen to? Why?

    • We are nervous to make a mistake but is the puzzle not easier to solve when we learn from our mistakes? Is that true in life?

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