Highland Games: Rules

The Highland Games is a series of events held to honor and enjoy Gaelic heritage and sport.  These games are most popularly known as being Scottish, but many versions of the games are played throughout the western world, especially in America!  The Highland Games, it is rumored, influenced the modern day Olympics, and it is made up of several events.  While dancing competitions and even cycling events are common during the Games, certainly the most iconic events are the throwing ones.  There are many throwing events, and, oddly, they mirror the strength and determination it takes to craft a well-written sentence, paragraph or essay.

In the following posts, you'll notice our own set of Highland Games.  However, we will not be throwing stones.  Instead, we will be showcasing our prowess in throwing IDEAS in a way that readers understand and appreciate (think of it as the crowd applauding a particularly impressive throw).

Stone Put

The stone put is almost the same as the shot put, only this time it is more old school.  This time, the thrower uses a real stone!  Another difference between the stone put and the shot put is that depending on the exact games a thrower is participating in, he may not be allowed to spin and gain momentum before hurling the stone.

Your Stone Put:  In the Highland Games, there are several similar events to track and field, but with key differences.  This is the same in writing as well when verbs are concerned.  In present tense, verbs must agree ALWAYS; however, verbs in past and future may not need to change in order to form agreement.  Complete the worksheet provided to show your understanding of tense and its connection to agreement.

Hammer Throw

Remember Miss Trunchbull from Matilda?  Well, she was a hammer thrower.  She picked up a stone attached to a long, solid bamboo pole and heaved it for distance...and then when she became principle of Matilda's school, she did the same to a small girl with amazingly strong pigtails.  Hammer throwers in the Scottish Highland Games sometimes wear special shoes to keep in the proper position for heaving the hammer.

Your Hammer Throw:  Show how amazing your own positioning is when it comes to composing sentences with strong subject/verb agreement.  Use the worksheet passed out in class to help you create structurally sound sentences.

Weight Toss

Weight tosses are done in two different ways.  One is for distance and one is for height (see the picture to the left).  In both cases, a similar weight is used.  That weight is made up of a stone weighing anything from 28-56 pounds.  This weight is attached to a handle that throwers use to get a grip on the weight.

Your Weight Toss:  You, too, need to get a grip on subject/verb agreement in order to control your ideas just as gamers must have a firm grip on the stone in order to throw it (and make a statement about his superiority).  To display your firm grasp on subject/verb agreement, complete the worksheet passed out in class.














    

The Caber...tree trunk toss

The caber toss is probably the most iconic of all the weights in the Highland Games.  It is the ultimate test.  This, too, is the ultimate test of your understanding of subject/verb agreement.


Your Caber Toss:  Write a response paragraph explaining what you have learned about the Highland Games up to this point (PS-no, I will not scroll back for you to relearn what you have already read).  This paragraph will be judged on your ability to balance your subjects and verbs just like a caber tosser must balance the tree trunk.  You also will need to develop your paragraph fully, just as a tosser must develop his throw a full rotation.