WILD TURKEY TAG: K-5 Fun Thanksgiving PE Warm-Up Game
Hey PE Teachers – WILD TURKEY TAG is a surefire way to gobble up some serious fun during the month of November.
This tag game offers a great opportunity for your students to work on key physical education skills including running, chasing, skipping, galloping and more.
Wild Turkey Tag
Students will have a blast pretending to be FARMERS trying to catch the wild turkeys who have gotten loose.
Get ready for smiles, giggles, and tons of movement as you bring the excitement of ‘Wild Turkey Tag’ to your PE classes!
Wild Turkey Tag
Hi there, it’s so great to meet you! I’m Mrs. T. (Love 2 Teach and Learn) or you can call me Jen – a Michigan mom, wife, new grandma (aka “Jemma”) and K-12 PE teacher who has also taught Kindergarten, 3rd, and 6th grades.
I love teaching PE class because I get to spend time telling silly jokes and exercising while laughing with my students.
READY! SET! LET’S PLAY!
Wild Turkey Tag is so much fun. I just know you are going to love playing it with your awesome students this Thanksgiving season.
Equipment Needed
For this game you will need:
- 3-4 LONG Pool Noodles
- WILD TURKEYS – Kids ready to have tons of FUN!
Game Set-Up
Choose 3-4 students to be the FARMERS (taggers), give them each a long pool noodle and send each of them to a different corner of the gym.
Send the rest of the students (WILD TURKEYS) to the center circle of the gym. If you don’t have a circle, use cones to make a circle in the center of the gym. This will be the WILD TURKEY PEN.
“How to Play” Game Directions
Explain to the students that it is the night before Thanksgiving.
The farmers are the taggers and they are very frustrated because all of their turkeys have gone wild and escaped from the turkey pen (center of the gym).
When the music starts or the game begins all of the “WILD TURKEYS” should escape the turkey pen and run all around the gym.
The farmers (taggers) chase after the turkeys trying to tag them with their long pool noodle. If a turkey gets tagged, he or she has to stop, stand still, and raise their hands up in the air.
The farmer then uses the pool noodle to wrap around the turkey’s waist & gently lead them back to the turkey pen.
Once in the turkey pen, the turkey must sit down & wait until all other wild turkeys have been caught. The last wild turkey to be caught wins the round.
*Play another round with new farmers. Play as many rounds needed so all students get a chance to be a farmer.
*BONUS* Game Teacher Tips
- TIP 1: I like to play the song TURKEY IN THE STRAW by Phil Rosenthal when I play Turkey Tag with my students. It’s upbeat and fun – it’s also exactly two minutes long – which makes it perfect for a single round of play.
- TIP 2: If you don’t have long pool noodles, you can just have the farmers tag with their hands and then use pieces of rope, or jump ropes, to bring the turkeys back to the pen.
- TIP 3: If you want the game to last longer, have the “caught turkeys” do 5 jumping jacks in the pen instead of sitting down in the middle until all wild turkeys are caught. After their jumping jacks they can get back in the game.
- TIP 4: It’s also fun to have the turkeys move around using different locomotor skills during each round including: skipping, galloping, etc.
WILD TURKEY TAG is a must-have resource for any elementary physical education teacher looking to energize their Thanksgiving PE lessons and keep their students active.
Happy Thanksgiving
So, what do you say? Why not blast some “clean” and upbeat PE music , maybe tell a few funny sports jokes and bring the excitement of WILD TURKEY TAG to your gymnasium today!
Don’t forget – you can snag your very own copy of this easy, fun, NO PREP LESSON PLAN Right Here.
And, if you’re looking for even more Thanksgiving fun in the gym, be sure to check out my other Thanksgiving PE Games: Magical Turkey Drumstick Relay, Wild Turkey Hunting and these 10 Thanksgiving PE Station Ideas and Relays.
Mrs. T’s K-5 PE GAMES GROWING BUNDLE
And if you want the absolute BIGGEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK, all of my Thanksgiving PE Games are also included in my “ALWAYS GROWING” K-5 PE Game GROWING BUNDLE too!
You can snag my Physical Education HUGE GROWING BUNDLE Right Here!
Your physical education lesson plans will definitely level up when you add WILD TURKEY TAG to your Thanksgiving Warm-Up Games and PE Class Schedule.
Thanks so much for stopping by today and spending some time with me.
I really appreciate it and I hope that you have a TRULY BLESSED And BEAUTIFUL Day spent laughing until your cheeks hurt!
