Why I love Tag Games | Physical Education

Tag games are simple games that are extremely versatile, as they can be played almost anywhere and require no equipment. Having a few solid tag games under your belt with some ideas on how you can modify them can be a real-life saver if you are ever in a situation where you need an activity on the spot, that is simple and requires minimal resources.

Tag games can be used for many different purposes such as warm-up activities before games and even as a brain break. In this article, I will discuss some benefits to using tag games in your HPE program!

Simple! Game or Low Organisation

Tag games are really versatile as they can be used for any age group in both primary and high school. The strength of tag games is that they all have one simple principle, to tag someone else and to avoid being tagged. This simple concept allows the game to be understandable to a wide range of students. Tag games also don’t require a specific place for them to be played, you can select almost any area to play your game and the only thing you might need to do is to modify some rules in order to keep the game safe depending on where you are undertaking the activity.

Unlike other games, tag games can be played with absolutely no equipment at all. This makes it a great choice as a relief teacher or as someone who teachers multiple classes (such as a P.E teacher) as the requirements for set up and packing are minimal. Requiring no equipment also reduces the complexity or skill required to play the game, making it accessible for all students of all abilities.

*If you find yourself in a situation where you are under-resourced or are limited with equipment, read our article on “Under resourced and have no equipment for your HPE program?” to get some ideas on what you can do to fix this issue!

Tag Games Can Be Modified Easily!

Tag games being simple in nature allow for you to be extremely creative and modify the activity to provide variety to the game. This ease in modification also allows you to make the game easier or more challenging depending on the needs of your class. This is useful as you can potentially use the same game for multiple year levels and only slightly modify it to make it more complex for your older students.

An example of this is a game like ‘Pop Corn Tag’.

Pop corn tag is game where all students are against each other, and play in a designated space with a boundary. Students attempt to tag other students by touching them on the shoulder. When a student is tagged, they become ‘pop corn’, which means that they have t squat down making a pop corn kernel in theory and the only way they can return to the game is if someone who is not tagged, gives them a Hi-5.

To Modify It:

1.    Students need to play rock paper scissor when they tag a student and who ever loses becomes the pop corn

2.    Students have to do 5 push-ups before returning to the game if they are tagged, instead of waiting for a Hi 5

3.    If you tag a male student and they become popcorn, the next student you try to tag has to be female.

As you can see it is a really simple game and after a few rounds of the game you can make simple modifications to make the game exciting and create some more complexities into the task requiring students to engage in the activity differently than before.

Modifications can also be done by using simple pieces of equipment. At times I like to use small sports cones or witches hats and pretend that they are magical wands. I provide a few students with magical wands and they become the taggers. This makes it easy for students to identify the taggers and also adds a creative story-like spin to the game which makes the game much more exciting, particularly for my younger students.

These are just a few examples of how you can easily modify what is essentially a very basic game.

Tag Games are Effective Warm Up Activities

Prior to a main activity such as an invasion game like soccer, you may want to provide a fun simple way for students to warm up. Tag games are great for this, they provide a competitive fun game for students to engage in, which usually requires a high level of activity and allows them to be dynamic in their movement patterns (dodging, running, jumping, lateral movement, evading).

The benefit of using tag games before a more specific sport is that it requires minimal set-up and explanation prior to the main part of the lesson. When students arrive at a lesson, you want to be efficient with how you manage their practical time. Spending too much time setting up an activity and explaining a warm-up game can not only take away from the valuable time of your main learning intention but it can also bore students and provide too much instructional time for students when they should be moving and being active. Ensuring that students come to the lesson and can promptly engage in a simple yet engaging activity that allows them to warm up their bodies and exert themselves will ensure that the next part of the lesson is far more effective and meaningful.

There is a wide range of activities and games that can be done before the main component of a P.E. lesson, each will have a different purpose and most of the time directly relate to the topic being covered. Tag games are not better activities to do yet rather an option you can use when you feel it is appropriate or when you want to do something quick and effective to welcome students into your P.E. lesson.  

• If you enjoyed this article, you may want to check out our article on Target Games!