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Fitness Zone

Piranha River

This activity will help students improve their cardiovascular endurance and flexibility.

• Mark a line at each end of the activity area. One will be the starting line, and the other will be the finish line.
• Mark two more lines, ten feet apart, between the starting and finish lines. The space between these two lines is called "the river."
• Ask two students to stand in "the river." They are the "piranhas." Have everyone else stand behind the starting line.
• Give the signal to begin.
• Students behind the starting line will run down the "river." As they run, the "piranhas" try to tag them. Players who reach the finish line without being tagged are safe. Players who are tagged stay in the river and become "helper piranhas." "Helper piranhas" must keep there feet in one place, but can bend or stretch to tag other players.

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Partner Walk Tag

This is a great activity to get students moving!

• Place students into pairs. Ask students to choose one partner to be the "tagger", and the other partner should be the "walker."
• Give the signal to begin.
• The "taggers" should try to chase and tag their partners. The "walkers" must walk to stay away from the "taggers." Both partners should be walking, not running. Once the "walker" is tagged, the students switch roles. Play continues until an end signal is given.
• Variations on this game include hopping, skipping, or another type of movement instead of walking.

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Scarf Tag

• You will need to provide one scarf or small towel for each student participating in this activity.
• Each student should tuck one end of his or her scarf into the back of his or her waistband or back pocket. Then, have students scatter over the activity area.
• Give the signal to begin.
• Each student moves throughout the area, trying to grab and pull out other students' scarves.
• Students who pull a scarf must say, "I got a scarf," bend down on one knee, and place the new scarf in their pockets. Students are "safe" while doing this.
• Players who lose their scarves continue playing, trying to recapture a scarf.
• Students can take only one scarf at a time. They cannot hold on to their own scarves, and they cannot push, pull, or grab other students.
• Play continues until an end signal is given.

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Intervals

You will need to supply one whistle for this activity.

• Have students stand in a large circle, and facing the same direction.
• Ask a student to be the leader.
• The leader uses a whistle to signal students how to move.
• One whistle blast means students in the circle should walk. Two whistle blasts mean jog, and three whistle blasts mean run. The leader should vary the whistle commands, but should pay attention to students' energy levels.
• A teacher should give the final command to stop.
• Variations on this activity include hopping, skipping, or jumping.

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