Follow me on Twitter @PEtop5

***I would like to preface this post with a request.  Please forward it to 5 others (friends, teachers, activity directors, or anyone else).  Thanks!

I am starting a weekly PE blog in an effort to share some of my favorite activities. Each week I will post my five favorite activities for a specific topic.  I am sure that some may be familiar to you, but my hope is that at least one person finds one new idea each week.  Many of you may have been incorporating the games that I list longer than me and deserve credit for their creation.  As with all great ideas, credit must often be shared.  I have collaborated with and observed some really great PE teachers, I have attended many amazing workshops and conferences, and I have read a variety journals, books, and web-material (including blogs!).  All of which contribute to the lessons that I plan and has helped shape the teacher that I have become today.  Thank you to everyone for your ideas!

“5 Favorite Tag games (K-2nd)”

Let me preface this with Tag Routines that I use for all grades.

My Routines:

• Establish boundary.  In my gym, I use the ‘black rectangle’ – otherwise known as the basketball court.  Students know if they step out of bounds it is the same as being tagged.  This is much safer than using walls as the boundary.
• Use noodles (cut to about 12 inches) to identify the taggers.  This is also for safety because taggers cannot push when tagging.
• Use music as a start and stop signal.

1)      Math Tag

• W.T. (when tagged) – take a knee and hold up fingers on both hands.
• T.B.F. (to be freed) – a student adds (provides the sum) of the two hands.
• Ex. – Bobby is tagged and is holding up 3 fingers on his right hand and 4 fingers on his left hand…. Sue stops and says “Bobby you have a sum of 7 fingers” or “you have a total of 7 fingers.”
• Note – I do not allow taggers to tag any student helping to free someone else.

2)      Letter Tag

• W.T. – make a letter with body, arms, and/or hands.
• Safety – letters have to be upright, not laying down.
•  T.B.F. – a student must correctly guess the letter being made.
• Variation – say sound of letter or state a word that starts with the letter.

3)      Bridge Tag

• W.T. – make a bridge (2 hands and 2 feet touching the ground). There are 3 options, front bridge (like a push-up, but with bottom high), a crab bridge (same as if doing a crab walk), or a back bridge (this is the most difficult, and should not be allowed if students cannot perform correctly).
• T.B.F. – a student crawls under a bridge.
• Safety – remind students freeing bridges to get low so that bridges don’t fall down.

4)      Balance Tag

• W.T. – balance on one foot with one hand out.
• T.B.F. – a student gives them a high-five.
• Note – allow tagged students to switch legs if one gets tired.
• Variation – “hopping tag,” instead of balancing, student must hop when tagged.

5)      Vegetable Tag

• W.T. – become a (vegetable) plant and sit down with arms in the air.
• Note – this would be a great time to discuss where vegetables come from.
• T.B.F. – a student must “pick the plant,” by linking hands and helping the student (“plant”) stand up; as this is happening, the “plant” must tell the helper what vegetable they are.
• Note – students can only be a specific vegetable one time.  Each time they are tagged they must think of a different veggie.
• Variation – play “fruit tag”… same thing except students select fruits.