How to Play the Heart Healthy Tag Game

The heart healthy tag game promotes the advantages of active lifestyles.

Cholesterol is found in certain foods and can be harmful for your heart. Leading an active lifestyle is important in order to keep your heart healthy and counteract the effects of cholesterol. The heart healthy tag game is designed to teach children about cholesterol and the importance of an active lifestyle. This game can be easily incorporated into a physical education class. The game is meant to be played after a lesson about how the heart works, what cholesterol is, how to make nutritious food choices and the importance of being active.

Things You'll Need

• Red paper
• Yellow paper
• Scissors
• Poster board for signs
• Permanent marker
• Jump ropes

Instructions

1. Make red paper hearts for about 2/3 of the class. The hearts should be easy to see--at least six inches big. You will also need to make five to six yellow circles about the same size as the hearts. These will represent cholesterol.

2. Designate four areas for exercise stations--for jumping rope, doing squats, jogging in place and doing jumping jacks. Make signs for each station that say "Fix Your Heart" and underneath it print the activity for that station, such as "jumping rope."

3. Assign at least six students to the exercise stations. The rest of the class will be playing tag.

4. Pass out the hearts and circles to your students playing tag (not to the six in the exercise station). Each student playing tag should have either a heart or circle.

5. Allow the students with a circle to chase students with a heart. When a student with a circle catches a student with a heart, the two students will exchange symbols. The previous chaser (yellow circle) now becomes chased (red heart). The previous red heart student (now holding a yellow circle) will switch places with a student in an exercise station and give them the circle. The previous red heart student will now perform exercises. The student previously at the exercise station will now be a chaser (yellow circle).

6. Allow the game to continue for about 30 minutes. The students should be switching symbols continually and taking turns playing tag and doing exercises.

References

• What Moves U: Healthy Heart Scooter Tag