Lesson Plans

Entries Tagged as 'Lesson Plans'

Dancing for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 16th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Lesson Plans

Context: I taught this series of lessons this week in response to a late request for some dances for the school’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day assembly (scheduled for & completed this past Thursday). My initial response was “no can do!” because I’d already planned my classes — focused on introducing the choreographic devices of [...]

Lesson plan: Let’s do an improvisation!

January 2nd, 2010 · 1 Comment · Lesson Plans

Context: In my years of teaching classroom teachers how to use movement in the classroom, I’ve always cautioned, “Never put on music & just tell the kids to dance!” That would be wild-party-time not dance education, and the resulting chaos would likely discourage anyone from inviting dance into the classroom. This year, however, I’ve been [...]

Lesson Plan: The Toy Shop

December 31st, 2009 · 1 Comment · Lesson Plans

Grades: Kindergarten-2nd grade Teaching points: Dancers use free & bound flow. Dancers tell stories through narrative dance. Targets: Explore free & bound flow; Participate in a story-telling dance. Context: This lesson takes two 30-minute sessions, one to introduce/explore the element of flow and the other to develop/enact the story (or one session of more reasonable [...]

Lesson Plan: Setting parameters to get started

October 13th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Lesson Plans

Grades: 1st-5th grades Teaching points: The dance classroom has standards: Make good decisions. Show respect. Solve problems. [These are school-wide standards.] Targets: Understand & practice the nitty gritty: standards, routines & procedures for dance class; Get moving! Context: Just now it’s no longer the first week of school, but the first week of school comes [...]

Music for Dancers — 5th Grade

February 20th, 2009 · No Comments · Lesson Plans

Every level has fun with percussion, but the 5th graders have control and can actually listen to each other! [This summary is pretty sketchy -- if you want more details, just ask!] By 5th grade, our 2-week session on Music for Dancers focuses on ensemble playing, from warm-ups through songs. Vocabulary & concepts: note values, [...]

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Music for Dancers — 3rd & 4th Grade

February 18th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Lesson Plans

January was all about music, by way of percussion, at all grade levels (see my previous post on Music for Dancers — 1st & 2nd Grade). At my school, grade levels are mixed in most classes… kindergarten & 5th grade are stand-alone, 1st-2nd graders are together, and 3rd-4th graders are together. The grade level mixes [...]

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Music for Dancers — 1st & 2nd Grade

February 16th, 2009 · No Comments · Lesson Plans

January was all about music, by way of percussion (see my previous post on Arts Worriers). In planning classes (dance, theatre, or music), I keep in mind the 3 categories of Vocabulary & Concepts, Skills, & Ensembles. It helps me keep track of my goals and our progress toward them. In a specific lesson, these [...]

Lesson Plan: Making Inferences about Culture

January 4th, 2009 · No Comments · Lesson Plans

Grade Level: 5th Grade Enduring Understanding: We can make inferences about a culture from its dances. Target: Get the feeling of a culture by learning a cultural dance. Assessment criteria: Students navigate the dance successfully. Target: Make inferences about a culture after doing a cultural dance. Assessment criteria: Students guess at possible generalizations, supported by [...]

Lesson Plan: Using Focus in a Narrative Dance

November 16th, 2008 · No Comments · Lesson Plans

Grade Levels: 1-5 Enduring Understanding: Narrative dance tells a story. The use of focus supports a story. Target: Choreograph narrative dances. Assessment criteria: Students’ dance shows a story, including a beginning, middle, and end. Target: Use focus to help tell the story. Assessment criteria: Students use focus in showing the story. Context: Students already completed [...]

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