The Robot Who Learns to Dance Soft

Children are robots who only know how to dance in jerky, straight movements, and little by little they learn to dance soft and smooth like humans. It works on the contrast between sharp and flowing movement and body control.

How to play

1. The robots switch on: at the teacher's "beep," each child moves one part in jerks (head, one arm, the other) as if it had hinges (2 min).
2. Robot dance: to electronic or strongly rhythmic music, they dance around with straight steps, angled turns and sudden stops (3 min).
3. The teacher, the inventor, says they want to teach the robots to dance soft: the music changes to something gentle and the robots try moving their arms in curves, like waves (2 min).
4. Robot or human: the teacher calls "Robot!" or "Soft!" and children switch their dance style right away (3 min).
5. The robots power down: slower and softer, they sit with one last "beep" (2 min).

Rules

• Robots move in jerks; soft dancers move like waves.
• When I hear "Robot!" or "Soft!", I switch fast.
• I dance without hitting with my arms.
• When the robot powers down, I stay still.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child does robot and soft moves with arms, head and trunk from the chair.
• Hearing impairment: the teacher uses angled arms for "robot" and a hand wave motion for "soft."
• Autism: many children enjoy the robot because it's predictable; let them stay longer in that dance before asking for the switch.

Learning goals

• Tell sharp movement from flowing movement.
• Control when each movement starts and stops.
• Change movement style on a signal.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Music

Teacher tip

Make the "beep" with your voice and have fun with it; they love it. The soft dance is the hard part: model it slowly, as if moving your arms through water.

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