Mr. Wolf is a classic physical education game that students love. In this version, sheep have to avoid being tagged as they safely make their way back to the forest edge. Can they evade the wolves on their way back?
Students should be mindful to not push fellow Sheep when racing back to the Forest’s Edge.
As with all chasing and fleeing games, only soft tags are permitted (no hitting).
Builds allow you to increase the game's complexity, one layer at a time.
Students all stand on the Forest's Edge. They are the Sheep.
On the teacher's signal, the Sheep start to explore the Forest by running around within its boundaries. When the teacher calls "Wolf!", all of the Sheep must run back to the Forest's Edge as quickly as possible.
This build teaches the Sheep that they are safe on the Forest's Edge.
Establishing the Forest's Edge as a safe zone before any wolf exists is what keeps the full game calm. Younger classes may need three or four rounds of this.
Mrs or Mr Wolf now joins the game, played by the teacher, standing at the opposite end of the Forest.
On the teacher's signal, the Sheep call out "What time is it, Mrs Wolf?" and the Wolf answers with an hour. The Sheep move forward that many large steps.
This continues until the Wolf answers with "Lunch Time!", at which point all of the Sheep run back to the Forest's Edge before being tagged.
A tagged Sheep joins the Wolf. Play continues until every Sheep has been turned into a Wolf.
Playing the Wolf yourself for the first few rounds lets you control the pace of the game and read how much risk the group is comfortable taking.
Play continues just as in the previous build. However, when a Sheep is tagged, instead of joining the Wolf at the end of the Forest, they stay in the spot where they were tagged and become a Sleepy Wolf.
Sleepy Wolves stay asleep until the following Lunch Time, at which point they wake up and attempt to tag the fleeing Sheep. If a Sheep is tagged by a Sleepy Wolf, the two players exchange roles.
Print the game sheet, leave it on your desk, and your sub has everything they need: the diagrams, the builds in order, what to say, and what to watch for. This one is $4. #PhysEdU Plus members get all 39, free forever, for $49 a year.
Games that build on the same tactics.
