Tag – You’ve Been Reabsorbed
Last month at League School, the students in Room 221 enjoyed an innovative integration of gym and science – the result – an engaging and educational game of “Synaptic Tag.”
Students were coached through a fun review of their Science neuron lessons by participating in the game. In the game of “synaptic tag,” you are part of the synapse. The object of the game is to get as many neurotransmitters across the synapse to the dendrite without being caught (deactivated) by the enzyme. It is like a game of tag. Draw or find a space for the axon and a dendrite (see the picture below). Some players are neurotransmitters and they wait in the axon; other players are enzymes, they wait in the gap between the axon and the dendrite. It is best to have more neurotransmitters than enzymes. The enzymes are “it.”
When someone says “go,” the neurotransmitters run across the synapse as fast as possible without being touched by an enzyme. If a neurotransmitter is touched by an enzyme, it must go back (be reabsorbed) into the axon and wait until the next turn. If a player makes it to the dendrite, the player is safe.
Students who participated were given the chance to be both a neurotransmitter and an enzyme with a large NT on their pennies identifying the roles they were playing. The students had a great time, expending energy while reinforcing the lesson that had been learned.
Thanks to Meemee Reynolds, Meg Robertson, Krista Swaider and Betsy Kerrigan, our 221 teachers and adaptive PE teacher, for a great lesson and learning experience.