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Activity
Warm up activities

Theater of the Oppressed: Opposites

Tina Pippin

Tina Pippin

Warming up before class or after a break in a longer class. Encouraging use of the body, refreshes students’ bodies and minds.

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ACTIVITY PURPOSE

Focus and concentration.

USEFUL FOR

Warming up before class or after a break in a longer class. Encouraging use of the body, refreshes students’ bodies and minds.

PREPARATION

Do you have any suggestions? Please share them in the comments below.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Start with encouraging students to mirror the teacher’s movements, introducing a ‘duo’ of movements at a time (e.g. clap and stomp). At first, students mirror the teacher.
  • After they get used to mirroring, tell them to do the opposite. When the teacher says clap, they stomp. When the teacher says stomp, they clap.
  • Repeat 1&2 for different movement ‘duos’, including one popular one which is sway or wiggle and stop.
  • Do this for 3 or 4 rounds, combining all the movement duos you’ve accumulated.

DURATION

Can take 5-10 minutes.

ADAPTATIONS AND EXAMPLES

You can make this a regular thing you do each class, and encourage students to come up with their on’duos’.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

N/A

USEFUL RESOURCES

For opportunities to attend workshops on these activities, see Theresa Ronquillo’s Embody Change: https://www.embody-change.com/

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ABOUT

  • Educator prep: None
  • Student prep: None
  • No tech needed
  • Duration: 5-30 mins

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