The Math Dance website is the place to go for further information on DanceTeacher Magazine‘s K-12 article on the math explorations of Karl Schaffer & Erik Stern (March 2010). They’ve included some versatile lesson plans related to math, as well as a link to a video of their work.
Entries Tagged as 'curriculum integration'
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 […]
Tags:African American·choreography·curriculum integration·intermediate·lesson plans·performance·teaching
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 […]
Tags:curriculum·curriculum integration·kindergarten·lesson plans·primary·teaching
Translating Writers Workshop
August 31st, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
Pedagogy changes constantly. When I was a 5th-6th grade classroom teacher for a few years (15 years ago), the writing pedagogy sweeping through schools was characterized by 6 traits (content, voice, organization, word choice, fluency & conventions). I was trained in teaching the traits & scoring writing samples using rubrics built on them. Nowadays, however, […]
Tags:choreography·curriculum integration·getting started·obstacles·PD·teaching·thinking skills
A new year
August 30th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
As the start of a new school year approaches, it looms large. I write lists to clear my brain. Then I have lists, as well as an overloaded brain. Most ominous among my thoughts is “What am I going to teach and how?” In the largest sense. How am I going to organize everything I […]
Tags:chaos·curriculum·curriculum integration·getting started·obstacles·problems·teaching
Guest voice: Post-performance blues
June 13th, 2009 · Comments Off · Guest Voices
It’s been my hope & intention that this blog might be a means for myself and others to converse with each other from our isolated locations as dance educators. All for the purpose of sharing ideas, anxieties, questions, solutions, hopes, and humor as we hone our skills for the daily diet of dance we serve. […]
Tags:audience·chaos·culture·curriculum integration·obstacles·parents·performance·problems
Performance: Kids & costumes & sound, oh my!
June 7th, 2009 · 6 Comments · Uncategorized
The silence resounding on this blog since the last entry reflects in reverse the noisy mantra that took over my brain and all spare moments of my life the past few weeks, accelerating toward and recovering from performance. Like the shrill chant of “lions & tigers & bears” in The Wizard of Oz, the details […]
Tags:chaos·choreography·curriculum integration·intermediate·logistics·management·obstacles·performance·primary
Performance: Learning x 325
May 12th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Busy time of year… building toward the final performance. We’ve had small performances throughout the year — one class at a time, showing something at the end of a unit. And we meant to have a performance last December, but it was stormed out. So the excitement is bubbling now. Each day, students ask me, […]
Tags:achievement gap·choreography·curriculum integration·intermediate·logistics·performance·primary·teaching
Classroom management: space vs. energy
April 16th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
Spring break may still be on my mind, but it ends quickly. Immediately following spring break, we start choreographing dances for the End-of-Year Performance. The assessments I did before spring break fulfill State requirements and provide data for evaluation of my own performance. But the End-of-Year Performance is for parents, the staff, and especially the […]
Tags:behavior·chaos·choreography·curriculum integration·getting started·management·obstacles·performance·primary·students·teaching
ArtsTime All the Time
March 3rd, 2009 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
If you live at the intersection of art and education, somewhere in Washington State, consider finding your way to Tukwila on March 20 & 21. Perhaps Tukwila’s not where you thought to go for a refreshing break, but it’s the site of ArtsTime, a biennial professional development conference with an extensive menu of workshops in […]
Tags:assessment·choreography·curriculum integration·PD·standards·teaching