Christmas Tag | Simple Tag Game

Dec 26, 2024

Image cover for blog post.
Profile image of Kas

Kas

Want a simple tag game that embodies the holiday spirit? Here is a fun an quick game to play with students around the holiday time.

This game is perfect for a quick warm up or for an activity that can be modified and made more challenging as students get better at the game. Can your students save Christmas from the Grinch?! Play and find out!

What Do You Need?

  • An appropriate area that students can run in
  • A basketball court size area would be ideal
  • An area where you can identify clear boundaries for the game

How Do You Play?

  1. Select one student to be the Grinch and one student to be Santas helper or a Christmas Elf
  2. The grinch is given a green sash to wear and Santas helpers is given a red sash.
  3. This is a whole class tag game; the rest of the class will take random positions on the court spaced out from each other
  4. When the game starts the grinches job is to tag as many students as he can, when he tags a student, the student has to bob down and is frozen. The grinches goal is to freeze as many students as he can.
  5. If he freezes the same student twice on two separate occasions this student turns into another grinch and also starts to tag the rest of the class.
  6. Santas helper is the only student on the field who can save frozen students- this is done by tapping them on the shoulder and they return to the game.

Key Points:

  • The grinch can not tag Santas helper
  • Santas helper can tag the grinch – so the grinch needs to be weary to not get tagged
  • If the grinch does get tagged they play rock paper scissors with Santas helper and if Santas helper wins the grinch turns back into a student
  • If they lose they continue being the grinch

What is the goal of the game?

  • For the grinch to make as many grinches as possible
  • For Santas helper to stop that from happening

How can you modify it?

Make it easier!

  • Bigger playing space
  • You get 3 chances before you turn into a grinch

Make it Harder!

  • Start the game with two grinches
  • Santa’s helper can get tagged
  • Smaller playing space 

What are the main skills being utilised?

Technical Skills: Fundamental Movement Skills

  • Locomotor- run, jump, dodge, lunge, side step, leap
  • Stability- turning, balance, stopping, bending, stretching

Tactical Skills:

  • Scanning the field of play to make decisions
  • Looking for gaps on the field to avoid being tagged
  • Cooperative play, supporting teammates
  • Following rules and structures of a game
  • Critical thinking through decision-making

How Narrative Based Games Increase Engagement & Motivation!

  • Narrative-driven Games: have been shown to enhance student engagement. Research indicates that students are more motivated to participate in educational activities when a compelling story is involved (Gee, 2003). This narrative engagement helps maintain focus and encourages continued effort in learning.
  • Improved Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Story-based games require students to make decisions that affect the plot, enhancing their problem-solving abilities. A study found that such games foster critical thinking by requiring players to analyze situations and consider consequences (Steinkuehler & Duncan, 2008).
  • Better Retention and Deep Learning: Stories help improve memory retention by providing context and emotional connection to the content. Studies show that students remember information better when it’s embedded in a narrative structure (Bransford et al., 2000).

Sources:

  • Gee, J.P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Computers in Entertainment (CIE), 1(1), 20-20.
  • Steinkuehler, C., & Duncan, S. (2008). Scientific habits of mind in virtual worlds. In G. Salen (Ed.), The ecology of games: Connecting youth, games, and learning (pp. 329-350). The MIT Press.
  • Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press.

Helpful Resources: