develop a range of movements in order to express themselves (1B1);
respond spontaneously, in their own individual ways, to a variety of stimuli (1A4);
work co-operatively, respecting others' ideas, while maintaining their individual creativity (1C2/3).

Hauora (especially taha tinana)

Exploring the different ways their bodies can move.

To motivate the students:

look at the resources with the students and discuss the different ways the toys move or might move;
discuss the possible characters of different toys if they were to come alive;
discuss different machines and the repetitive, rhythmic ways that they move.

Distribute one toy card to each member of the class. Individually, the students could represent the movement and character of "their" toy, making up sounds to accompany their movements. Encourage them to explore different levels, speeds, and directions.
The students could move around a given area and spontaneously respond in character to other "toys" that cross their path.
The students could group together to act out the part of one large toy, such as a teddy bear.

Show the students pictures of different machines and discuss how these machines work using levers, pistons, chains, and wheels. Explore how these parts might work.
Groups of six to eight students form circles. One person goes into the centre of the circle and becomes a part of a machine, making a movement and a sound to go with it. One by one, others enter the circle and attach themselves to the machine, adding their movement until the whole group is involved. Each student should choose to make a different movement and sound. Encourage the students to explore different levels and different group formations. Use music that is electronic or has a regular and distinct beat for this activity (1B1).

Variations and extensions to the Centrepiece activity could include the following:

When all group members are connected, the first person could separate from the machine and reattach somewhere else using a different movement.
The machine could move forwards, sideways, or round in a circle.
Small groups of students could form circles, with each student taking a turn to be a machine in the middle. The rest of the group can guess what machine that person is representing.

Students demonstrate a range of movement skills to express themselves (1B1).

Resources required for these activities could include:

toys brought by students from home;
music (see Music Education for Young Children, cassette 1, side 2, track 14 "Robots and Machines");
picture cards each showing one of a variety of toys (or machines), for example, popular or movie toys, jungle or farm animals, robots, or dinosaurs (or motor mowers, kitchen appliances, or industrial machinery). The pictures could be gathered from catalogues or advertisements and mounted onto cards.

When performing movement, the students must make bodily adjustments to the factors of space, speed, direction, and rhythm.