Clean Air Champions - "Getting Active For Cleaner Air" - Education Resource Kit

Games and Activities

Goals

• Focus attention on air pollution and its impact on human health.
• Motivate educators to implement physical activity as a tool to teach students about air pollution.
• Introduce a new, fun way for students to learn about air pollution while being physically active.
• Inspire youth to do their part to prevent and reduce air pollution.

1. Air Care:

Description:

• Players are divided into two teams (suitable, fun names assigned such as "The Rollers" or "The Scrubbers").
• A rectangular playing area is marked out using the pylons.

Team A lines up at one end of the playing area in the safe "Clean Zone I". The other team lines up on each perpendicular side of the playing area facing each other. The object of the game is for the Team A to run across the playing area to the opposite "Clean Zone II" (see diagram).

As Team A tries to make it through the "Pollution Zone" safely, Team B members attempt to hit Team A with soft Nerf-type (soft foam) "pollution balls". If a player is hit with a ball they join the other team. When all the players on Team A either reach the safe "Clean Zone II" or are hit by "pollution balls" the teams switch.

The process is repeated with each team. The supervisor is given the opportunity to increase or decrease the number of "pollution balls" handed out in order to simulate more or less air pollution. The more pollution, the harder it will be for the teams to make it to the "safe zones" without being affected.

Discussion:

1. True or False? The ozone layer acts as a natural filter of UV rays.
2. True or False? The depletion of ozone is causing a general warming of the Earth's surface.
3. What are some ways human beings are harming the atmosphere and altering the balance of gases?
4. What can we do to reduce the amount of harmful gases released into the atmosphere?
5. True or False? Simply wearing sunscreen will solve the problems caused by a depleted ozone layer.
6. What are the long-term effects a gradual warming of the earth will have on plants, animals and humans?

2. Clean Air Obstacle Course:

Description:

• Divide players into teams of four.
• Use pylons to define the four corners of the playing area and the centre. The obstacles should be setup in each corner near the pylons.
• Each team is assigned to one corner and at the start signal each of the four teams completes all three obstacles from their corner.
• Each team must remain inside a "carpool" hula-hoop during the entire game.
• The game is timed. The winner is the team that finishes all obstacles in the fastest time.

Obstacle 1: Trash Toss - All members of the team stand in their hoop and throw two bean bags each into their bin approximately 3 metres from their start point. Any missed bean bags must be retrieved by the team and re-thrown from the start point until all are in the bin.

Obstacle 2: Hustle Bustle - The teams must circle the outside of the playing area once, starting and finishing in their corner. They must go outside of all the pylons without disturbing the other teams, or letting the hula-hoop touch the ground.

Obstacle 3: Hop & Clean - While still in their carpool hula-hoop, each team member must place a pollution particle (a volleyball) between their knees and hop with it from their corner around the centre pylon and back to their corner - any dropped particles must be retrieved and the team must re-start at the point where the ball first fell (supervisor may need to be referee at this obstacle).

Discussion:

1. True or False?
   
   
   • Vehicles are not a major source of air pollution.
   • Airborne particles can cause lung damage.
   • Trees do not help clean our air.
   • Garbage dumps are a major source of methane gas.
     
     
2. How can we cooperate to improve air quality?
3. How does carpooling improve air quality?
4. What are some of the transportation services/programs in your community that help reduce air pollution?

3. Clean Air Shuffle:

Description:

• Divide participants into even-numbered teams (names reflect positive forces like "The Sweepers" or "The Carpoolers").
• Establish a start line and a finish line.

Each team begins by standing on one mat at the start line - with the other mat directly in front of the mat they are standing on. When the activity begins, all members of each team will step on to the new mat (heading towards the finish). Once on, they must pick up the first mat, lift it over their heads, place it in front of them and continue the process towards the finish line. This will appear similar to a leapfrog activity. All team members must be on a mat AT ALL TIMES!

To add excitement the playing area becomes a polluted environment and the players attempt to cross over the pollution to a "Clean Air Environment". As the students cross the polluted area, one team member picks up as many balls in the polluted area as possible. Each different coloured ball represents one of the elements in air pollution (carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, acid rain etc.).

The team that collects the most balls to clean the air, and make it to the finish line before the others, wins.

Discussion:

1. How can you help to clean up the air? Your school? Community?
2. In what ways does air pollution harm our health?
3. Why do you have to be careful during a Smog Alert Day?
4. Are there certain times of day that are better than others for playing or exercising outside?

4. Clean Air Hopscotch:

Description:

Hopscotch boards can be designed in different shapes and sizes for a variety of age levels and abilities and can be adapted to include both positive and negative aspects of air quality. The negative terms (e.g., chlorofluorocarbons) could be designed as squares you should not land on, and if you do, you must begin again. Chalk can be used to draw outdoor boards, and for indoor boards, masking or painters green tape works well (will not stick to floors).

Some word/term suggestions: chlorofluorocarbons, ozone, carbon dioxide, oxygen, trees, walk, emissions, fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, climate change, atmosphere, etc. (see Terms of Reference Table).

Discussion:

1. Is it important to understand what smog and air pollution are all about? Why?
2. Can you make a difference or is the problem just too large?

5. Trivia Tag:

Description:

• Divide the group into two teams.
• Set up a playing area by having two lines approximately 3 metres apart designated by pylons. Behind each of these lines set up another parallel line about 20 - 30 metres back.

The two teams (Team A and Team B) line up facing each other on their respective lines. The leader reads a question to which the answer is either true or false (see questions and answers supplied below). If the answer is true then Team A chases Team B and tries to touch them before they get behind their safety zone. If the answer is false then Team B chases Team Aand tries to catch them before they make it behind their safety zone.

Once someone is tagged by a member of the opposite team they become that team's member.

After each question and chase, repeat the question and discuss the correct answer while the teams return to their starting positions. The game ends when all the players are on one team or when the questions have all been asked and the team with the most people wins. The questions can be adapted to suit specific levels of understanding, however, it is important to have an equal number of true and false answers.

Questions

1. Using less energy at home will help reduce air pollution. True
2. Carbon monoxide smells like burnt matches. False.
3. Air quality can be affected by climate change. True
4. Riding your bike to school is good for your health. True
5. Children are at less risk from air pollution than the average adult. False
6. Ground-level ozone is not a component of smog. False
7. Ground- level ozone protects us from ultraviolet radiation. False
8. People with asthma can be affected by air pollution. True
9. Taking public transportation regularly produces more air pollution than taking a car. False
10. Soot and dust are types of particulate matter. True
11. Sulphur dioxide is the main cause of acid rain. True
12. Transportation emissions are not important factors in air pollution. False.