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by Josh Trout and Karra Zamora

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FIGURE1 Playing DDR; notice the Playstation 2 in front of the players and the electronic dancepad beneath their feet.

Sedentary lifestyles are often to blame for overweightand obesity, which is the second leading cause of

preventable deaths in the U.S. (USDHHS, 2001). Whilevideo games have historically been identified as theculprit of inactivity, new interactive video games makeparticipants break a sweat. Some physical educatorshave begun integrating this technology into the physi-cal education setting.

Like heart rate monitors and pedometers, DanceDance Revolution (DDR) promotes physical activity byenriching the learning environment. DDR requiresplayer(s) to step on arrows on a dance pad based on

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cues from a screen (see Figure 1). DDR requires aPlaystation2 or Xbox connected to a television or pro-jector. Players dance to anyone of a large variety ofsongs at a slow, medium, or fast pace. Dancing on thepads requires students to engage in moderate to vig-orous levels of physical activity. This article suggestsstrategies for DDR implementation and assessment.

In 1998, DDR was first introduced in Japan as acoin-operated arcade game. Popularity there resultedin its release in the United States, with both arcadeand home versions. As testament to its popularity inthe States, DDR has been featured on Fox News, CNN,

Teaching Elementary Physical Education I September 2005

BBC News, Tech TV, "The Early Show" on CBS, andABC News. There have also been articles in USA Today,New York Times Magazine, The Wall StreetJournal,Reader's Digest, and countless other newspapers acrossthe country. Many of these reports depict DDR as afun weight-loss tool, as well as a device for increasingphysical activity among youth.

Some American physical education programshave already made DDR part of their curriculum. ACalifornia school was featured in a newspaper articletitled "Video game psychs up students to get fit" (Doyle,2004). In the article, the physical education teachersays, "The kids love [DDR]. I wish we had more [dancepads]." A student agreed, "It's fun. It's what teenagerswant." On the "Early Show" on CBS, a physical educa-tion teacher from another program using DDR saidduring an interview, "[Students] just don't want to leaveit alone. It's addicting" (Smith, 2002).

To date, no empirical studies have been publishedregarding the use of DDR in physical education. Thisillustrates how new DDR is to physical education.Ideas in this article are derived from my own teach-ing experience rather than experimental data. My col-leagues and I have taught numerous lessons to fourthgraders using DDR as a tool to help them understandrhythm and tempo; to promote teamwork, cooperation,fair play; and even to enhance creative dance choreog-raphy. Perhaps the most desirable trait of DDR, fromthe perspective of a physical educator, is that most chil-dren enjoy it so much it can be used as a reward.

DDR Implementation

Students in third grade and higher will likely under-stand and enjoy DDR most. The complexity of the tasksare too cognitively demanding for most K-2 students.Initial lessons leading to use of DDR should focus ondeveloping rhythm and tempo. Students must learn tostep to the beat of a song before they can be successfulplaying DDR. After learning rhythm and tempo, usethe Lesson Mode to guide students through a processof learning to play the game. This thorough tutorial isan option on the main screen and can be helpful in thetransition from rhythm lessons to actual game play.

Designing physical education lessons to include allstudents in a large class requires creativity and orga-nization. Figure 2 shows a sample layout and rotationpattern for Lesson Mode. It also works for game playwith a class of up to 20 students. In this example, twogroups of ten students take turns dancing on the elec-tronic dance pad. Students not on an electronic paddance on a rubber practice pad (see Figure 3). Aftereach song, students rotate. This ensures that all stu-dents get an opportunity to play the game.

If a tight budget limits the purchase of enoughrubber practice pads ($20 each), use masking tape orfloor tape to make the practice pad design on the floor.

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{f~{}:~:D:FIGURE2 DDR rotation. The crosses indicate rubber

practice pads.

Or, students might simply dance in self-space, step-ping forward, backward, to the right, or to the left. Asafety note worth mentioning is that children tend toinitially step with very strong force on the dance plat-forms. This can damage the platform, but, even worse,it can injure students' feet. The platform is designed toregister a step made with even light force, so poundingit is unnecessary. Normal step force will help studentsavoid pain or injury to themselves, not to mentiondamage to the platform.

Is It a Limitation, or an Opportunity?

At first glance the cost of DDR appears prohibitive: tele-vision or projector ($200 - $1,000), Playstation2 or Xbox($150), DDR game disc ($40), one or two electronicdance pads ($15 - $280 each), and rubber practice pads($20 each). However, using school funds, or externalsources such as a Physical Education for Progress (PEP)grant can help defray these costs. In fact, some schoolsactually use DDR as a means of generating revenue.One physical education teacher makes DDR, "free tostudents during class. At lunch or after school, it's 25cents a dance" (Smith, 2002).

FIGURE 3 Rubber practice pad.

Teaching Elementary Physical Education I September 2005

Some lyrics and background video in thegame may not be suitable for children. A wayaround this problem is to only allow songs thatdo not contain questionable material. Thereare also several versions of DDR, including a

Disney Mix more suitable for children.Designing a well-planned unit appropriate for all skill

levels and organizing students to maximize the time theyspend engaged in physical activity can be challenging.But ideas presented in this article, as well as a web siteand book (see Resource List below), should help.

DDR instruction is not only fun for children, it alsoallows teachers to provide an exciting and innovativeway for students to learn. The following ideas includeintroductory lessons, a progression of skills in DDR,and lessons for higher skilled students. Many of theseideas integrate academic subjects such as math andspelling, as well as artistic concepts.

Getting Started

When learning fundamental DDR skills in physi-cal education, students first need to gain a basicknowledge of rhythm and beat. This concept can beaddressed by simply having students clap, step, snap,or use percussive instruments on specific counts of abasic 4/4 beat. Students can make their own percussiveinstruments during art class to use in physical educa-tion. Once students are able to recognize and producedesired actions on a beat, they can progress to step-ping with either the left or right foot to a musical beat.Start beginners with a lesson on recognizing a 4-countbeat, then a lesson on stepping in the four directionsrequired by the game (right, left, up, and back).

Rhythmic awareness and physical demonstration ofthe ability to match a 4-count beat are prerequisites tousing DDR; a pre-test of student knowledge and abil-ity should be conducted prior to DDR implementation.This promotes success and limits frustration. As varia-tions and new challenges are introduced, pay specialattention to how students progress; see if they are expe-riencing success or not. For example, challenge higherskilled students to dance through a song without miss-ing an arrow, but allow lower skilled students to simplymarch to the beat of the song and incorporate theirown unique movements.

From Lesson to Game Mode

The lessons provided in the Lesson Mode of DDR arehelpful for preparing students to participate in GameMode. The lessons work on stepping in synchronizationto the beat. They progress to recognizing and master-ing movement combinations necessary to participatein higher levels of the game. All the lessons provide agood warm-up and review previously learned skills atthe beginning. Use Lesson Mode to assess whether ornot students are ready to move to Game Mode, then

continue to provide performance feedback as they playthe game.

The decision to move from Lesson Mode to Game

Mode can be made by either the teacher or the student.U sing a guided discovery instructional strategy, studentsmight make their own decision when selecting the taskdifficulty. For example, give students a task such ascreating a short DDR dance routine based on simplecriteria and a rubric.

As students progress through the DDR unit, somewill be ready to move to higher levels while others stillneed more practice, making a two-station practice ses-sion useful. Set one pad at Beginner or Light Mode andthe other pad at Standard or Heavy Mode.

As students grasp basic concepts such as the 4/4 beatand stepping in all four directions, integrate other strat-egies into the lessons to make them more holistic. BasicDDR lessons provide an ideal platform to introducefitness and/or interdisciplinary concepts. Place heartmonitors or pedometers on students to help them gain

HEART (RATEWORKSHEET11':~

I"fQVI{ 'fti;Jttf ,J1n"dttee)~~rc:i$~~"A? a general rule, you should be able to'talk duringexercise. If yoU are exercising so intensely and areoLftq9rbr~ath to the point that you caono,t talk, youshould slow down.

A healthy target heartrate zone for you wouldbe j,18c163 beats per minute. This is based Onan exercise intensity range of 60-80% This meansth,at if your heart rate is below 118, you should tryto exercIse more intensely. If your heart rate isabove ,163, you should slow down and exercise lessintensely,

Wereyoueverbelowyourtarget heartrate zone?~

Wereyou everabove your target heartrate zone? -

IWhat doyouthink wouldhelp you to reacharydstay in

! your larget ,heart zone ,during DDR? "." " .,. ,r. ",,',

I..---FIGURE 4 Sample assessment.

Teaching Elementary Physical Education I September 2005

an appreciation of how dance can be a strenuous physi-cal activity. These tools provide feedback to studentsthat can also be used for assessment, such as evaluat-ing attainment of fitness goals (e.g., number of stepsin a physical education lesson). Integrate other subjectmatter, such as math or language arts, into lessons bykeeping score or spelling words.

Advanced DDR Lesson Ideas

Upper elementary students will progress more quicklythan younger students. This allows a greater scope ofconcepts to be covered. For example, after studentshave mastered a 4-count beat and stepping left, right,up, and back, they can begin to explore their creativ-ity by choreographing original dance moves to DDR.They may also learn concepts in the health-relatedfitness domain such as estimating caloric expenditurewhile playing DDR. In Workout Mode, for example, the

-PARTN ER FEEDBACK

"7ASK SHEETThe purpose'of thi~ task sheet is to help y00lmproveyour.DDRskills and your ability to communicate witha partner. .

1. Get one set of practice pads for each,of you andfind an unoccupiedspot in the room.

2. Decidewhich partner will go first.3. One partner will be the coach.and one will be

dancer.

4. Coach is to give dancer feedback during the ~5. Completechart below and then switch partners.6. Fill out a feedback sheet for each.song.

Dancer: Feelfree to be creative, as long as youmake specified steps to the beat of the music;

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Coach

Commands

: Coach: Did dan.cer stomp on pads or step?Step Stomp-

IDid dancer use creativity? Yes

IC°r-nments:

No

l_- --FIGURE 5 Task sheet.

Resource List

screen displays an estimate of calories burnedwhile dancing. This helps students understandhow much energy is required to burn a cer-tain number of calories. Caloric expenditurecan also be estimated using a heart rate moni-tor that features a calorie counting function.Students can also learn more about Target HeartRate (THR) Zone during physical activity. Figure 4illustrates a sample cognitive assessment.

Once confident in their DDR skills, a DDR roundrobin tournament is a fun way for students to dem-onstrate their psychomotor learning. Though for amore holistic approach, combining the affective andpsychomotor domains, students might work with apartner, providing feedback (Himberg, Hutchinson, &Roussell, 2003) based on a task sheet (see Figure 5).This contributes to psychomotor skill practice as wellas learning how to provide classmates with construc-tive feedback.

Students at this level are fypically capable of partici-pating in divergent discovery to develop more compli-cated choreography to DDR songs. They are also readyto learn some strategies necessary to advance to higherlevels of the game, such as mastering more complexstep sequences.

To conclude, well-planned classroom organizationand meaningful lessons are the key to teaching andlearning DDR. Creative physical educators can easilyovercome the perceived barriers to using DDR in thecurriculum. This article has tried to present strategiesthat can be employed to facilitate the process. Thisinteractive arcade game has the potential to capturethe interest of children, thus providing a new avenuefor exercise. DDR is certain to become a valuable tool

in helping children develop rhythm, appreciate dance,and become physically active for life.

http://lightbridge.sonoma.edu/lightbridge/lessons/publish/115/main/introduction.htmlVideo clips of DDR physical education lessons andother supplemental materials

DDR lesson plan book: 60-page guide including sixprogressive lesson plans each for grades 3-5, 6-8,and 9-12. Available for purchase from the authors:call 530-898-4314.

References

Doyle, A. (2004, September 30). Exercise excitement: Video gamepsychs up students to get fit. The Star, p. B6.

Himberg, C., Hutchinson, G., & Roussell, J. (2003). Teachingsecondary physical education: Preparing adolescents to be active forlife. Champaign, 11: Human Kinetics.

Smith, T. (Writer). (2002, June 14). Video game that's good for you[Television broadcast]. New York: Columbia Broadcasting System.

United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). TheSurgeon General's call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and

obesity. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. @

Teaching Elementary Physical Education I September 2005