Adapting DDR to a

Large Class Setting

Dance Dance Revolution may be used as a station/circuit activity with just one or two kids at a time dancing the game, or it may be projected onto a wall or screen for a large class. The following guidelines and tips are for using DDR with a large group (anywhere from 8 to 100 or even more students if you have the space).

 

 

Gauge class familiarity with DDR

 

Even with kids as young as kindergarten age, you will likely have students who have seen DDR played or have played it themselves. Note the students who own DDR at home — these are your best technical resources should you run into trouble navigating the game during class.

 

 

Set and explain rotation procedures through live dance pads

 

Since you can only have two live dance pads hooked into the game, only two kids at a time will have the opportunity to play DDR for live feedback. Remaining students will “dry dance” on imaginary dance pads, poly spots, taped down arrows or whatever else you may want to use to mimic a live dance pad schematic. “Dry dancing” is common in video arcades as kids wait their turn to play. Rotate kids through live dance pads using whatever change-out system works best for your class. Rotation takes place at the end of each lesson section or song title.

 

Students should be given the option to opt out of their turn on live dance pads — about 10% of our students prefer to dry dance only. These students still get the full activity benefits, they just don’t get the accuracy feedback.

 

 

Generally explain how to play DDR

 

The goal of DDR is to match placement of your feet on the directional arrows of the dance pad (live or dry) with corresponding arrows on the screen. Try to step on the correct arrow at just the right time — which is when the moving arrow fills the arrow outline near the top of the screen.

 

 

Start with Lesson Mode

 

While some of your students may be familiar with playing DDR, many will not have much experience, especially at the elementary school level. The Lesson Mode which can be selected from the main menu is a great way to teach game basics. Reminder: only one dance pad can be used live in Lesson Mode.

 

You probably won’t need to go through many lessons before trying out a song in Workout Mode with dance pads set at the Beginner level.

 

 

Go to Workout Mode

 

Once your class starts to get the hang of how to play DDR from the Lesson Mode, go back to the main menu by touching the Select button. From the main menu, use the up or down directional arrows to highlight Workout Mode and touch X to select. You will get to the Workout information screen where you can activate the second dance pad by touching the Start button on the second dance pad. Press X on both dance pads to continue to the Music Selection screen.

 

 

Select a Song

 

In DDR Max 2, song titles are sorted into different color categories. Green and blue songs are available to play right out of the box. Over the course of game play with a memory card, additional songs may be unlocked and will show up as yellow and red categories. Some recommended song titles from DDR Max 2 for class settings include:

*Must be unlocked with memory card play.

Note: Change dance pad difficulty level to Beginner on this screen before starting first song in Workout Mode. To change from default Light level, quickly double tap with your foot the up or down arrow until “Beg” appears in the lower left quadrant of the screen Make sure you do this for both dance pads.

 

 

Dance each song you select at least twice

 

The second time dancing a song is always easier than the first time because students begin to anticipate arrow patterns and can dance the song more confidently. Even a third time through can work well.

 

 

Review workout results

 

Upon each song completion, the workout results screen will appear automatically. This is a great opportunity to show how many calories were burned by dancing the song just completed, and how many calories were cumulatively burned since the beginning of class. Cumulative comparison with swimming, jogging, and jumping rope are a point of interest for students.

 

 

Split the screen to accommodate varying skill levels

 

If the Beginner level is simply not challenging enough for some in your class, you may easily change one of the dance pads to Light or even Standard level. This allows students to self-select which side of the screen they will follow — the easier Beginner side, or the more challenging Light or Standard side.

 

To change difficulty level of a dance pad:

 

· Make sure you are on the Select Music screen.

· On the dance pad for which you wish to change difficulty level, double tap the up or down directional arrow (double tap up = easier/double tap down = more difficult) until you reach your desired difficulty setting (Lgt = Light, Std = Standard).

· Select your song as previously outlined.

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