WOW Game Title: Fancy Feet Rock-Paper-Scissors (Local)
Content Area: Social Studies
TEKS Focus: Structures and Responsibility of Government/ Map Skills
National Government and Citizens
Physical Education Unit: Cardiovascular
Grade: 3
Resource(s): Lauren Mikulencak, CATCH Teaching Outside of the Box
President election process: http://2008election.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=001566
Pictures: Austin, TX - http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/texas/outline/
Sacramento, CA - http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/california/outline/
Juneau, AK - http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/alaska/outline/
Lansing, MI- http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/michigan/outline/
Tallahassee, FL - http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/florida/outline/
Mayor history information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mayors_by_city_in_the_United_States
Equipment/Materials: 6 cones, 5 poly spots (optional: tape names of cities on the spots for them to
become mayor of that city/town)
Set Up:
“elected officials”
Cones dividing the play area
into 3 sections
“citizens”
“candidates”
Spots for the “elected
officials” to stand
Activity:
All of the students will start out in the “citizens” section. However, 5 students should start out as the 1st
mayors on the poly spots to ensure each city has one. Their goal is to work their way up to become the
mayor of one of the important cities (State Capitals). Within the “citizens” section, they play a partner in
one game of Rock-Paper-Scissors (with your feet) with the following actions:
 Rock- land with feet together
 Paper- land with feet spread wide
 Scissors- land with 1 foot forward and 1 foot back
To begin, the students jump up and down 4 times. One the fourth jump the students land in one of the 3
positions, rock, paper, or scissors.
The “citizen” who wins that game will advance to the “candidates” section of the game. Discuss
with the students before the game that in order to get on the mayor ballot, a citizen must get a petition
signed by numerous supporters. Thus, it takes determination and support (work to win in rock-paperscissors (RPS)) to move on to become a “candidate” for the position of mayor. Once the “citizen”
becomes a “candidate”, they must get gain supporters by campaigning such as putting up advertisements
and holding rallies. If they gain enough support (win a game of RPS in the “candidate” section), they
move on to the “elected officials” section to challenge the current mayor of their choice and win the
majority votes on Election Day. They remain mayor until the next election and lose to another
“candidate”.
Variations:
 Students learn the process of becoming Governors (state level) and President and Vice President
(national level)
Review Questions:
Skill focus: Name one muscle you use during this game? Name one bone that you use during
this game?
Academic focus: What does a citizen have to get in order to be placed on the ballot for mayor?
California
Texas
Florida
Michigan
Alaska