Name Rescue Freeze Tag
A freeze tag game where tagged players freeze and can only be freed when a classmate high-fives them while saying their name, and the frozen player answers with the rescuer's name. It mixes running and dodging with learning names.
How to play
- Mark a 65 x 50 ft rectangle with cones and hand three pinnies to the first taggers (1 min).
- Explain the signals: one long whistle starts a round and two short blasts end it. Play a 30-second practice round.
- When tagged, you freeze in place with one hand raised like a statue.
- To unfreeze someone, a free player high-fives them and says their name; the frozen player answers with the rescuer's name and both run off.
- During the high-five rescue, neither player can be tagged for three seconds.
- Each round lasts 2 minutes; afterward the taggers hand their pinnies to someone they have not rescued yet (6 rounds, 12 min).
- At the end, ask how many new names each student used to rescue someone (1 min).
Rules
- Tag gently on the shoulders or back, never push.
- If you forget a name you can ask, but the rescue only counts when you say it right.
- You cannot rescue the same person twice in a row.
- Stay inside the cones; stepping out means you freeze.
Variations
Easier
Everyone wears a sticker or strip of tape with their name on their chest for the first rounds.
Standard
Play with three taggers and a two-way name rescue.
Harder
Rescuers must say the first and last name or a fact about the classmate, and there are five taggers.
Adaptations
- Students with limited mobility can be taggers in a smaller zone or a fixed rescuer that others come to.
- For students with autism, preview the three actions (tag, freeze, rescue) with a picture card and allow an elbow bump instead of a high five.
- Students who tire quickly get a hoop safe spot where they can rest for 20 seconds without being tagged.
Learning goals
- Use classmates' names in a real game situation.
- Improve dodging and changes of direction while running.
- Help classmates so nobody is left out of the game.
Equipment for a class of 25
- pinnies: 3
- cones: 8
Teacher tip
Names will be forgotten in the first week: encourage students to ask naturally, and rotate pinnies so the fastest kids are not always the taggers.
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