Students Work on Core Strength and Math Skills in Team Scooter Tag

The giggles and shrieks of delight of students racing on scooters as they played Team Scooter Tag were loud enough to be heard across the Todd gymnasium and perhaps in some of the nearby classes. What was less noticeable, however, was that the students were, in fact, working on their math skills while also strengthening their core.

Third graders in Robin Difeo and Christine Elliott and Lisa Cerrato’s classes played the game in physical education class recently.

The two classes were divided into eight teams and each team came up with a name based on a specific given letter. Some of the teams opted for interesting names such as “Mythical Midnight” and “Jelly Stingers.”

Next, the teams chose a “tagger,” whose job was to tag other students on his or her team. The rest rode around on their scooters in a circle, trying to avoid being tagged and earning points.

“Students get points by being on a scooter when the buzzer goes off, but also for good behavior, like listening for directions,” said physical education teacher Jamie Tranchida. “The “tagger” gets a point for each tag and if a “tagger” chases someone and that person falls off their scooter, the “tagger” also gets a point.”

Students keep track of their points and at the end of the game regroup with the team to add it all up for a final score. If a team gets over 60 points, they are crowned as a “Gold Medal Team.”

“Students also get a great core workout on the scooters in the 45-minute period,” Mr. Tranchida said.