Dance games in PE: an eight-week unit that keeps every student moving

Why dance games

Dance games reach kids that sports don’t. West Virginia brought Dance Dance Revolution into its schools after a West Virginia University professor saw kids lining up to play it at an arcade. THE Journal reported that “kids who would normally avoid regular exercise gravitate to DDR’s light and sound,” and that in the state’s first study, 50 overweight children who played at home became more confident in PE classes and more willing to try new activities (THE Journal, 2007). The state aimed to reach all 753 public schools, to appeal to students who often dislike other sports (NBC News).

• It’s real exercise. In a lab study of children averaging 11½ years old, Dance Dance Revolution averaged 5.4 METs, more than walking at 3 mph (4.9 METs). The researchers called that intensity consistent with activity recommendations for children (Bailey and McInnis, 2011).
• Fitness and grades improved in a Utah school study. At Rose Park Elementary in Salt Lake City, 85 fourth-graders did 30 minutes of dance games, aerobic dance and jump rope three times a week for 9 months. Compared with 123 third- and fifth-graders who didn’t, they were more likely to hold or improve their 1-mile run result, and their math grades rose more: 0.68 points against 0.21 (Gao, Salud America brief).
• It serves the national PE targets. CDC guidance calls for 150 minutes of PE a week in elementary school, 225 minutes in middle and high school, and students physically active for at least 50% of class time (CDC).

How a class runs

A 45-minute class has 32 minutes of station time: a short warm-up, then four 8-minute rounds for four groups of 6. At the dance station, each pair plays one song on the machine while the other four dance the same song on taped follow-along grids, so every student plays a song on the machine and dances two more.

Minute by minute

1. 0–4 Warm-up, whole class. Dynamic stretches to music, then the week’s step pattern on the floor grids together.
2. 4–6 Challenge and groups. The teacher shows this week’s challenge and sends four groups of 6 to their first stations.
3. 6–39½ Stations. Four rounds of 8 minutes, starting at 6, 14½, 23 and 31½, with a 30-second whistle to rotate clockwise. At the dance station, the group plays three songs, one pair per song.
4. 39½–43 Cool-down. Walking, stretching and a quick effort check on a 1–10 scale.
5. 43–45 Wrap-up. Students fill in one row of their log card: the song they played on the machine, its level and score, and their effort for the whole class. Once StepUp login is ready, the machine saves the song for them.

Bigger classes. The plan is built for 24. For up to 30 students, make five groups of 6 and add a fifth station, such as an agility ladder or a second set of floor grids. Five rounds take about 54 minutes. In a shorter period, run four rounds and start the next class where you left off. If a group has an odd number, one student plays solo.

Why stations instead of the whole class at once

The figures below assume a class of 24, one machine with two stages, and about 2½ minutes per song, including picking it.

Whole-class play becomes practical every day once there is about one stage per 4 students: 6 stages, or 3 machines, for a class of 24. A school with a second machine can run two dance stations, so each student plays two songs on a machine every class.

The eight-week unit

Each week brings a new goal, so the challenge keeps growing past the point where interest usually dips (Sun, 2012). Students pick their own difficulty level (Beginner, Easy, Hard or Wild), and goals compare each student with their own earlier results, never with classmates.

By grade level

For students with disabilities, the support bar, slower song speeds and seated versions of the strength exercises keep everyone in the rotation.

After school, too

On days the machine isn’t in PE, it can host an after-school dance club. Up to 12 students fit one machine: two dance while the other ten follow along on the gym’s taped grids, so each student gets two or three songs on the machine in an hour.

Older students can lead the club and coach younger ones, and a monthly showcase gives families a reason to come and watch.

Tracking progress

Teachers grade effort and growth, not game scores, so a beginner who improves earns as much as a student who was already good.

• A log card for every student. Students write the song, level, score and effort (1–10) on a paper log card. Logging in on the machine is planned: each student would tap a card or scan its on-screen QR code with a phone, and every song’s level and score would save to their account.
• Three checkpoints. In weeks 1, 4 and 8, each student replays the same song at the same level, so growth shows in one number.
• Active time. During a pilot, an observer times how many minutes students are moving, to check the class against the 50% target.
• Fitness tests, optional. Schools that already run a mile run or PACER test can compare results before and after the unit.

StepUp: progress saved from the machine. We’re building StepUp, where students and teachers follow progress. The plan: before playing, each student logs in on the machine by tapping a card or scanning the QR code on its screen with their phone. Every song then saves to that student’s own account, so the stats add up to the right person with no typing. Students see their songs, personal bests, levels and achievement badges, such as a new personal best, Hard Worker for effort, Steady Dancer for dancing on 10 different days, or Checkpoint Climber for beating their own week-1 checkpoint score. The machine’s screen shows a nickname, never a name. Teachers see who hasn’t danced this week, who is ready for the next level, badges earned, and active time against the 50% target. See the StepUp demo.

National PE standards

The unit maps onto all four of SHAPE America’s National Physical Education Standards:

Space, equipment and safety

The dance station needs a corner of the gym near a standard outlet. Plan a zone of about 20 by 20 feet for the machine and four taped follow-along grids where students can see the screen; we check the exact space on a site visit.

Safety rules for the dance station

• Sneakers with laces tied; no socks only and no sandals.
• One student per stage, always, and hands on the bar through week 3.
• Step off forward or to the side, never backward.
• Anyone can step off at any time; the effort scale tells the teacher who needs a break.
• The teacher stands where they can see the dance station and at least one other station.
• Wipe the bars and touchscreen between classes, and run power cords along the wall.

Start with a pilot

We start with one eight-week pilot at one school, with two or three classes, and then decide together whether to expand.

1. Two weeks before. Visit the site, pick the spot, set up the dance station, tape the grids, hand out log cards, and walk the PE teacher through the routine.
2. Week 0. A short student survey on how much they enjoy PE, plus any fitness test the school already runs.
3. Weeks 1–8. Run the unit, with a weekly check-in and active-time observations in weeks 2 and 6.
4. Week 9. Repeat the survey and review the results together.

The pilot is a success if observed students are active for at least half of class time, most students improve their checkpoint score between weeks 1 and 8, enjoyment of PE holds steady or rises, and the teacher wants to keep going.