Tag games are a timeless physical education classic. They stand out for their simplicity, flexibility, and ability to engage students of all ages and levels.
Based on research on the subject, this article explores the ways in which tag games can enrich the physical education experience. Such games are, among other things, a powerful tool for developing fundamental motor skills and cooperation among students, while providing them with high-intensity, fun activities.
The versatility of tag games
Tag games are a versatile activity, mainly because they are so simple. A basic version of the game that doesn’t require any materials exists, but it can be modified to make it more interesting for students as required. Depending on the variation of the game, it can also be used to work on different skills, and its duration can easily be adapted to any situation.
Thanks to their versatility, tag games can be played at any point during a physical education class. Whether as a warm-up, an independent activity, a break, or an end of class activity, students are always up for a game of tag. Coledam et al. (2012) have shown that the use of tag games as warm-ups can improve agility and vertical jump performance, as it is the case with traditional dynamic warm-ups.
The advantage of tag games is that students can easily play the game outside of physical education class, regardless of the number of players or the equipment they have access to. According to Moreno and Poppe (2016), tag games can be played almost anywhere, allowing great flexibility in the carrying out of the activity.
Finally, tag games also offer multiple possibilities for differentiated instruction. Teachers can increase or reduce the number of tags, extend or reduce the playing surface, incorporate obstacles, change roles frequently or determine safe zones to adapt to their students’ skills while offering them a challenge that lies within their zone of proximal development.
It is strongly advised to avoid elimination tag games to encourage motor engagement for all students. You can also use the Lü interactive wall projector to enrich your tagged students’ “consequence”.
- Ask your students to complete an exercise card on the Dojö application before returning to the game.
- Combine physical education and mathematics by asking students to answer an equation with the Newton application. They must have the right answer to return to the game. In this case, ignore the two teams displayed on the screen.
The development of agility and strategic skills with tag games
According to the School Physical Activity and Physical Literacy Project (2021), when playing tag games, students sprint, slow down, pivot, accelerate, react, and dodge. They must also move with agility while maintaining their balance. All these actions improve their general physical condition and prepare them for other sports and activities.
Take advantage of our activity sheets “Saved by the beep” and “Mixed Mood Tag” to discover innovative tag games with Lü applications.
Moreover, according to Belka (1994), tag games allow for the development of 4 basic skills:
- Be balanced at all times, ready to move in any direction.
- Use many kinds of fakes when tagging and when avoiding tags.
- Dodge by changing speed and direction quickly and unexpectedly.
- Know what is happening in front of you, behind you, and on either side.
The skills developed in tag games are easily transferable, since being unpredictable and able to change direction quickly is an asset in many sports.
On the other hand, it is not enough to get students to play and assume that they’ll learn without being taught. Teachers must guide them in order to optimize the tag games with regard to learning and transferring skills. Questioning and reflecting are powerful tools for optimizing student learning.
The use of tag games to encourage helping behaviors
Physical education programs give particular importance to social skills (Hellison, 2003; Otsu et al., 2010; Umegaki & Tomozoe, 2010; Tomozoe, 2009), including empathy for others and helping behaviors.
Some variations of tag games allow students to rescue their peers who have been tagged, or to work together to escape.
In fact, Kohei Ueno (2018) has conducted a study on the effect of tag games on helping behaviors. Students who played the Nakama-Oni tag game, where they had the opportunity to hold the hand of one of their peers to escape the tag, went on to demonstrate more helping behaviors outside of physical education class. These students also mentioned a higher confidence in helping others.
Since it’s sometimes difficult to create situations where students have to help each other, cooperative tag games seem to foster an important social learning opportunity. For example, Kho Kho is a tag game invented in India that allows students to collaborate.
In short, tag games, although often perceived as simple and playful, are an effective pedagogical approach to encourage physical activity, improve motor and social skills, and prepare students for an active and healthy life. Don’t hesitate to use your Lü to improve your tag games. Search for the word “tag” in the Lü Community to discover all the content created by our users and our education team!
