Contents
1. Hot Potato Tag
2. Pip, Squeak and Bubble
3. Loose Caboose
4. Skunk Tag
5. Musical Lines
6. Predator Tag
7. Gym Pong
8. Pirate Ball
9. Number Blob
10. Mitosis Tag
11. Circle the Wagon
12. 10 Second Tag
13. Foul Shot Competition
14. Tennis Ball Scramble
15. Hot Dog Tag
16. Partner Dodgeball Conspiracy
17. Run The Gauntlet
18. Back to Back
19. Bean Bag Tag
20. + Sign Relay
21. British Bullblob
22. Dragon’s Tail
23. Four (4) Wicket Cricket
24. Spider Ball
25. Deal or No Deal
26. Pin Guard
27. Pass 10
28. Battleship Dodgeball
29. Swedish Baseball
30. Hoop Raiders (Bank Robbers)
31. Passing Tag
32. Capture the Football
33. Calf Tag
34. Spider Tag
35. Where are my Shoes?
36. Scooter Tag
37. Musical Hoops
38. Bucket Head
39. The Name Game
40. Frosty the Snowman
41. Rooster Fights
42. Steal the Bacon
43. Capture the Treasure
44. Steal the Bacon and Scramble the Egg
45. 4 Wall Bladder Ball
46. Indy 500
47. Puppet Race
48. Fitness Body Spelling
49. Soccer Freeze Tag
50. Pictionary Fitness
51. Trivia Relay
52. Crumbs and Crackers
53. Musical Mats
54. Mass Soccer
55. Rock Paper Scissors Football
56. TIC TAC TOE
57. Rock Paper Scissors Cubed
58. Hockey Dodgeball
59. Popcorn
60. Sewer Ball
61. Squad Tag
62. Rugger Ball
1. Hot Potato Tag
Equipment: Pinnies, Gatorskin ball
Set up: None
Objective: This game is a combination of keep-away and tag. Choose one person to be "It" and give them a pinnie. Define the boundaries in which the rest of the group can run around. Give a gator skin ball to someone in the group. "It" can tag anyone, as long as that person does not have the object in their possession. The group works together to pass the object to the person being chased by “It”, which prevents them from being tagged.
Rules: When "It" tags someone, that person is out and sits (patiently, of course) outside the boundaries. The game ends when only one person in the group is left.
Variations: Generally, "It" cannot block or catch the object, but you can certainly change that rule. Also, you can allow any tagged person to become an additional "It".
2. Pip, Squeak and Bubble
Equipment: Bean bags
Set up: None
Objective: Arrange students in groups of 3, organized in lines around a circle and name each person—A-Pip, B-Squeak, C-Bubble. If you have an odd person out, form a group of 4 and call him/her the Wild Card, or have that person be the caller. Place the bean bags in the center of the circle, leaving enough bean bags for all groups but one (e.g. if there are 6 groups, use 5 bags). The caller shouts out one of the three names (Pip, Squeak, or Bubble). When a name is called, that player jumps up and runs counter clockwise around the circle until returning to his/her group. The player must then crawl under the front support tunnel that the group is creating with their legs to grab a bean bag. The team who is unable to get a bean bag is required to complete the fitness activity that you had put out before the round (eg. 10 pushups or 2 laps).
Rules: Make sure the students stay in their lines and do not step out of the circle. It could cause collisions for the runners.
Variations: Instead of them standing you can have them in a plank position.
3. Loose Caboose
Equipment: None
Set up: None
Objective: Groups of 3 or 4 (choo choo trains!), hands on shoulders of person in front move around gym making train noises (you choose the type of locomotion and the speed).
When teacher yells "Loose Caboose", the cabooses must let go of their train and find another one before being tagged by the "It" people. The loose cabooses must get onto the tail end of a train to be safe, then the engine breaks off the front and he/she is now being chased.
4. Skunk Tag
Equipment: Hoola Hoops
Set up: Place the hoola hoops all over the gym floor. You don’t want to have more than 10 out for a class of 40.
Objective: Designate 3 people as the skunks they will be “It”. They are trying to tag everyone else in the class. You are safe in the hoola hoops until someone else joins you in the hoola hoop. If someone comes into your hoop you are required to leave. If you get tagged (“skunked”) then you have to go to the middle circle and do the fitness activities that the teacher has discussed at the beginning of the class. Once they have completed their activity they are allowed back in the game. Examples of activities would be pushups, situps, squats, plank, etc.
Rules: Only 1 person is allowed in a hoola hoop at a time.
5. Musical Lines
Equipment: Music/Speakers
Setup: Have music ready to play. Have it easy to pause and play.
Objective: Get students warmed up before class. Familiarize class with various fitness exercises.
Rules: Split class into groups of 5. Have 3 on one side of gym and 2 on the other side of the gym. When the music is on each group will run lengths relay style. When the music stops everyone in the middle (one from each group) will do the exercise/consequence for that round. Play as many rounds as you wish.
Variations: Have different forms of locomotion (skipping/shuffling/backwards etc). When the music stops, the people who aren't in the middle do the exercise. Change the length of the run and/or the number of people in the group.
6. Predator Tag
Equipment: 3 sets of different colored pinnies
Set up: None
Objective: To work your way up the food chain so you do not have to do any of the fitness activities that are put out.
Rules: Hand out 5 orange pinnies and 8 blue pinnies. Everyone else does not need a pinnie. The orange pinnies are at the top of the food chain and the blue pinnies are in the middle of the food chain. You must work your way up the food chain to be safe. You can use actual examples to make it easier. The bottom of the food chain is the plankton. The middle is the fish and the top is the sharks.
7. Gym Pong
Equipment: 30 social cups. Lots of ping pong balls
Setup: Students are divided into 2 equal groups. Each group lines up behind the designated line. 15 cups are placed on a table or a box.
Objective: Successfully bounce a ping pong ball into each cup.
Rules: Players have 5 minutes to complete the task. The goal is for students to take turns trying to bounce the ping pong ball into the cups. If they are successful they get another ping pong ball from the teacher and get back in line and try again. If unsuccessful they do one lap of the gym and get back in line and try again. Each cup can only have one ball inside. At the conclusion of 5 minutes the number of full cups is counted and subtracted from 15. That is the number of laps the students do.
8. Pirate Ball
Equipment: 4 Mats, 4 Basketballs, 4 Soccer balls, 4 Volleyballs, 4 Footballs, Pinnies
Set up: In each corner of the gym place a mat with 1 basketball, 1 soccer ball, 1 volleyball, and 1 football behind it. That will represent each team’s home base.
Objective: To be the first to collect your teams specified equipment.
Rules: Split the class into 4 teams. They should be given different colored pinnies to distinguish who is on which team. Each team will then be given a ball that represents their team. The gym will then be divided into 4 quadrants. Each team will have their corner that they will have to protect. The object of the game is to try and steal back all of your designated balls that each team has stolen from you. If you step into another teams quadrant you are no longer safe. If you are tagged you must sit down where you got tagged. To be saved, one of your teammates has to travel into that quadrant and tag you. The two of you will get a free walk back to your quadrant. The team who can retrieve all of their designated balls first wins the game.
9. Number Blob
Equipment: None
Set up: None
Objective: Have the group running around the gym. You can choose whether you want them running laps, randomly around the gym, or through a course you have created. You will then yell “Get into a number blob of… 5.” They are required to get into a group of 5 and sit down. The last to do it or the people who do not have the correct number are required to complete the fitness activity that the teacher gives them. (Eg. Pushups, situps, squats, mountain climbers, frog jumps).
Rules: You cannot sit down unless you have the correct number of people. If you do sit down with an incorrect number your fitness activity doubles.
10. Mitosis Tag
Equipment: None
Set up: None
Objective: One person is "It", everyone else scatters around the gym. If touched, join hands or link elbows and continue to chase. Once the "blob" reaches 4 people, it splits into two, and so on until everyone is caught.
Rules: The blob cannot break apart to tag someone. They must remain linked until they reach 4 people.
Variations: Hop on one leg in smaller playing area. Start with 2 people who are “It” and see who can make the bigger blob.
11. Circle the Wagon
Equipment: Beanbags or Dodgeballs or Volleyballs
Setup: Place 3 less pieces of equipment in the center of the gym than groups that you have.
Objective: To be one of the first teams to grab the object that is placed in the middle.
Rules: Have students partner up with someone of similar size. Have partner groups make large circle around the center of the gym. Make one partner team A and the other partner team B. Alternate A/B in front. Teacher will call “mount”. Student at back will hop on partner piggy back style. Teacher will call “dismount”. Student at back will hop off. Teacher will continue these commands until they say "Circle the Wagons." The partner at the back will run around the large circle clockwise. When they get back to their partner they must go through their legs from behind and grab one of the pieces of equipment from the center and bring it back through their partner’s legs. Total how many As got a point and how many Bs got a point. Switch person in front and repeat as many times as you want.
Variations: 2 or 3 smaller circles.
12. 10 Second Tag
Equipment: Whistle, Stopwatch
Setup: Students are divided into 2 equal groups. Group 1 lines up along a wall. Group 2 spreads out anywhere in the gym.
Objective: For one team to tag as many players as possible on the other team.
Rules: Each player on Group 1 will have 10 seconds to complete the task. The goal is for students take turns (one at a time) attempting to one-hand tag as many people as possible. If tagged, participants from Group 2 sit down. Every 10 seconds the whistle blows and another team member tries to tag as many people as possible. After Group 1 has had every member try for 10 seconds then Group 2 will try the same thing. The team with the most people left untagged is the winner.
13. Foul Shot Competition
Equipment: 1 Basketball
Set up: 1 basketball hoop put down
Objective: Split the class into 2 groups. Have them on the baseline by the basket that you will be shooting on. Call up representatives to shoot for each team. With each shot a fitness activity will be on the line. If one group shoots and makes it the other team has to do the activity. If one group shoots and misses they have to do the activity. Some examples of fitness activities would be: laps, pushups, mountain climbers, etc.
Rules: The opposing group can try to distract the shooter as long as they remain on the baseline and outside of the key.
14. Tennis Ball Scramble
Equipment: 2 Tennis balls per person.
Set up: Write numbers on the tennis balls for two times as many students. For example, if there are 30 students write the numbers 1-60 on 60 tennis balls.
Objective: For students to find their 2 tennis balls as quickly as possible.
Rules: Each student is given 2 tennis balls. They memorize their 2 numbers. All balls are returned to the teacher and placed in a box. Students spread out around the gym. The teacher dumps/throws all the balls out into the gym. Students try to find the original 2 tennis balls that they started with. When students find their original tennis balls they form a line from first to last along one wall. Exercises are given according to the order of finish. For example with a class of 30 the first ten do 10 pushups, the next ten do 12 pushups and the last 10 do 15 push ups. You can change the exercises and repeat. Students are not allowed to throw the tennis balls in the air. If they check a ball and it is not theirs they can roll it away but can’t throw it in case it hits someone.
Variations: You can start a timer when the balls are dumped. Those that find in the first minute have 10 push-ups, the second minute do 12 pushups, 3 minutes 14 pushups, etc… You can have two teams; 1 team is odd and the other is even and the first team to find all their tennis balls wins.
15. Hot Dog Tag
Equipment/Set up: None
Objective: To chase one person around the gym and attempt to tag them or avoid being tagged if you are being chased.
Rules: Each student gets a partner and lies down on their stomach beside their partner. 3-4 pairs stand up and decide who is the chaser and who is being chased. On the command to start, the chaser (A) chases the chased (B). If partner A tags partner B then B is it and starts chasing A. The game continues in this fashion. At anytime the chased can lie down beside another pair (in essence forming a “hot dog” with the 2 outside students being the buns and the one in the middle the hot dog). When a student lies down beside a pair and becomes a bun, the other bun must get up and he or she becomes the chased.
16. Partner Dodgeball Conspiracy
Equipment: Dodgeballs
Set up: Have everyone match up with a partner.
Objective: To work cooperatively with your partner to try and hit everyone else that is not on your team.
Rules: If you get hit you must sit down where you got hit. You can only be saved by your partner. You must each complete a successful pass back and forth to each other consecutively in order to stand up again. If you are both hit you must each complete a pass from where you are sitting.
Variations: You can give them a total of 3 lives.
17. Run The Gauntlet
Equipment: Dodgeballs
Setup: Place every dodgeball available on each side of the gym. As shown below. (Ball=0)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Objective: To avoid being hit by the ball and be the last person left in the game.
Rules: The entire class lines up at one end of the gym in the basketball key. Two students will be designated as the throwers to begin the game. The throwers will start on opposite sides of the gym and have access to every dodgeball . The Teacher will blow the whistle, press the horn on the clock or say go. The class will attempt to run to the other basketball key located at the other end of the gym. The throwers attempt to hit the students as they run. If the class members are hit directly by the throwers they join the throwers. Throwers must remain behind the sideline for basketball when throwing. The game continues in this fashion until all class members have been hit.
18. Back to Back
Equipment: None
Set up: Set up 4 cones on the corners of the volleyball court lines so they have to run around those 4 cones.
Objective: To not be the last ones to sit back to back with their partner once the music stops.
Rules: You choose a partner that will be your partner for the remainder of the game. You will both start on opposites ends of the gym. Once the music starts you will both begin running in different directions. Once the music stops you need to find your partner and sit back to back with them. If you just passed your partner in your run you cannot turn around and find them. You must continue going forward until you reach your partner.
Variations: Foot to foot. Hand to Hand.