Duck, duck, goose

Children love to play games and those involving active play which allow them to move around or even run are perhaps the best loved of all. Duck, Duck, Goose is one of those very games. Simple to play, this non-competitive game requires no special equipment, skill or abilities and children as young as kindergarten can participate.

Duck, Duck Goose is best played outdoors on the grass or other soft impact surface. However, on rainy days when recess must be held indoors the game can be played in open areas such as a gymnasium. Before beginning, you will want to talk to your students about fair play and making sure that everyone is included in the game play and gets to have a turn. Because the game involves physical contact, you will also want to talk to them about the appropriate way to tap someone on the head or shoulder without actually hitting or hurting.

To play the game, one student is chosen as the goose while all remaining students are the ducks. The goose can be picked at random or a classroom leader such as the student of the week can begin the game as the first goose. Once the goose is chosen the ducks all sit in a circle facing each other. The goose then walks slowly around the outside of the circle lightly tapping each duck on the head or the shoulder while saying the word duck with each tap.

At some point in the game the goose will choose a new student to take its place as goose and then join the circle of ducks. The way this happens is that when the goose reaches the chosen successor in the circle, he or she taps them and says "goose!" and then takes off running. The duck gets up from his or her seat and chases the goose around the circle trying to tag them in return. The goose must reach the duck's vacated spot in the circle and take their seat before the duck can tag them. (The goose has to stay close to the circle while trying to avoid being tagged.)

                                                         

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck,_duck,_goose#mediaviewer/File:Duckduckgoose.gif)

If the goose successfully reaches its destination the duck then becomes the new goose. If not, the goose must start over and try and get another duck to take its place outside the circle. Play continues in this manner until the time allotted for the game is up. It should be noted that this is not a game for groups that include children who are physically challenged and might have difficulty with walking or running.

Source: http://www.educationspace360.com/index.php/how-to-play-duck-duck-goose-14584/