Part II: Group Session Outline

TITLE: ​Session #3, Animal Gamble on the Dance Floor, 60 minutes

SESSION DESCRIPTION: ​The session will involve the group activating their sensorimotor
processes and integrating them through play and dance. This group focuses on proprioceptive,
vestibular, and auditory senses as well as gross motor movements, coordination, and rhythm.
There will be a warm-up activity followed by two other activities titled Animal Gamble and the
Hokey Pokey.

SESSION OBJECTIVE:
Short-term goals:
1. Participants will be able to successfully demonstrate coordination and proper motor
movements they are asked to perform.
2. Body-spatial awareness will increase as participants gain a better understanding of their
different body parts.
3. Participants will follow directions and utilize strategies to manage their symptoms if they
experience discomfort or challenges in the activities.
This session addresses the following long-term goals:
LTG 2: Recognizing their limitations in motor functions and coordination.
LTG 4: Increasing body-spatial awareness.

EVALUATION: ​There will be two occupational therapists present that act as facilitators. One
will evaluate one half of the group while the other OT evaluates the other through observation.
Evaluation will then also be performed through discussion to determine whether participants are
aware of their movements, understand proper posture, and know how to connect what is
verbalized/sung during the “Animal Gamble” and the “Hokey Pokey” activities into the
appropriate body movements. Questions will be asked to see how participants felt about the
activities, what movements were difficult for them, and what movements were easy for them.
Assessing what went well and what was challenging will help facilitators gather important
information about each participant on their progress and provide guidance for adjusting future
sessions if needed.

MATERIALS/PREPARATION:
● Printable “Animal Gamble Dice” layout
○ Print one for the facilitator. It must be printed, cut out, and put together before the
group session.
○ Print one for each participant to take home so that they can put it together and
play it outside of the group session.
 ○ Scissors and glue sticks (optional). If there is extra time, when both group
activities are complete, participants can cut out and put together their own dice to
take home.
● Large paper roll
○ As another optional activity, participants will pair up and one person in the pair
will trace the outline of the other’s body onto a large piece of paper so that they
have a life-size drawing to decorate and label different body parts onto.

SESSION OUTLINE:
Introduction (5 minutes):
● Warm-up: Facilitators will lead participants into a warm-up intended to loosen up the
limbs. They will instruct participants to close their eyes and imagine they are seaweed in
the ocean, swaying gently with the ocean’s currents.
● Ask children about their favorite animals and what noises their favorite animal makes.
Activity #1 - Animal Gamble (15 minutes):
● (Refer to fig. 1 for printable dice)
● Before beginning the activity, ask participants about the animals on the dice and if they
can demonstrate how they think the animal would move. Facilitator will then demonstrate
the correct form and movement indicated on the six faces of the dice (Fedak, 2018).
Animals and their indicated movements are listed below:
○ Hop like a frog
○ Skip like a lemur
○ Walk like a bear
○ Crawl like a crab
○ Hop like a kangaroo
○ Crawl like a lizard
● Explain the rules of the game. Participants will line up on one side of the room. Each side
of the dice has an image of a different animal coupled with a specific movement.The dice
will be rolled by the facilitator or participant.The group members will perform the proper
movement of the animal that the dice indicates. The children will move like the animal
across the length of the room and return back to the starting line one finished.
○ Roll the dice again and have fun! Wrap up the game after 10-15 minutes.

Activity #2 - Hokey Pokey (15 minutes):

● Have everyone stand in a big circle, a good arms-length away from one another.
Facilitators will have each participant name a part of their body they most enjoy moving.
● Next, facilitators will introduce the “Hokey Pokey” activity and then have participants
listen carefully as they sing it slowly. Participants who know the song will be asked to
join in on the singing as facilitators perform the movements. Once participants
 understand the general format of the song and dance, each participant will have a chance
to call out a body part for the next verse (i.e., fingers, chin, belly). The game will
continue until everyone has had an opportunity to choose a body part for a verse of the
song.
Discussion (10 minutes):
● After the games, have participants go around in a circle and say one thing they learned
about themselves from the session. Next, discuss what they liked best about each activity.
Ask how they felt when moving like another animal. What animal movements were
difficult for them? What animal movements were easiest for them? For the Hokey Pokey
game, were some body parts easier to move than others? Which ones did they feel most
confident about?

OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES: ​If extra time is available it would be applicable to hand each
participant a paper with the Animal Gamble Dice layout so that they can cut and glue their own
dice to take home.This additional activity will allow them to work on their tactile sensory and
fine motor abilities.

Another optional activity involves participants pairing up to create a life-size drawing and
labeling as many body parts (that can move) on their drawing as they can. Pairs will be given a
large piece of paper to draw on. One participant will lay down on top of the paper while the other
outlines their body onto it with a pen or pencil. Next, pairs will decorate and label their drawings
as best they can. Working in pairs allows participants to learn from each other and see how hypo-
or hypersensitivities are different from one person to the next.

RESOURCES:
Fedak, M. (2018). Gross Motor Movement Break: Roll-an-Animal Walk. ​OT Mom Says.
Retrieved from ​https://otmomsays.com/2018/02/21/gross-motor​-movement-break-roll-an
animal-walk/

EVIDENCE:
Woo, C. C., Donnelly, J. H., Steinberg-Epstein, R., & Leon, M. (2015). Environmental
enrichment as a therapy for autism: A clinical trial replication and extension. ​Behavioral
neuroscience​, ​129​(4), 412–422. https://doi.org/10.1037/bne0000068
Fig. 1