Everybody's It: Movement Switch Tag
A tag game where every student is 'it' at the same time: everyone tries to tag others while avoiding being tagged. The teacher changes the way students move each round, which builds agility, changes of direction and quick decision-making.
How to play
- Mark a 20 × 20 m (about 65 × 65 ft) square with 4 cones. The whole class spreads out inside it (1 min).
- On the whistle, everybody's it: try to tag anyone on the back or shoulders while keeping others from tagging you.
- A tagged player stops, does 3 squats and keeps playing. Each student silently counts the tags they make.
- If two players tag each other at the same moment, both do the squats and move off in opposite directions before playing again.
- Play 1-minute rounds with 20 seconds of walking rest: jog, side gallop, high knees, backward walk and hopping with a foot switch every 5 hops (7 min).
- At the end, students raise a hand if they made more tags than squats, and the class shares strategies that worked (1 min).
Rules
- Only light open-hand tags on the back or shoulders count.
- Nobody may leave the square; leaving also costs 3 squats.
- Safety: the backward round is walking only, looking over your shoulder.
Variations
Easier
Make the area larger, and tagged players simply touch a boundary cone before coming back in.
Standard
Everybody's it in a 20 × 20 m square, with 3 squats per tag received and five movement types.
Harder
Shrink the area to 15 × 15 m and only allow tags on the lower back, which forces more turns and fakes.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: a student using a wheelchair or crutches scores double for each tag, and classmates must walk when within 2 m of them.
- Hearing impairment: each movement change has an agreed hand signal in addition to the whistle.
- Lower fitness: the student swaps squats for 5 seconds of deep breathing at the line and walks the high-knees round.
Learning goals
- Sustain high-energy activity with changes of direction and movement type.
- Make quick choices between attacking and protecting yourself.
- Follow the light-touch rule in an all-versus-all game.
Equipment for a class of 25
- cones: 4
Teacher tip
With 25 students in a 20 × 20 m space there are lots of crossings, so keep cueing heads up before turning. Short rounds keep the energy high and stop students from hiding still in a corner.
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