So here’s the post that’s been in my head for a couple of months, even though I’ve been too busy to get it down. Now’s a good time for it, since I’ve been reflecting today on what it was like when I started teaching students with Autism. The stunning silence happened back in January. I […]
Entries Tagged as 'teaching'
Structure: students with Autism
March 30th, 2011 · 1 Comment · Autism
Still thinking of how I got started teaching dance to my students with Autism… I was asked how to structure a class or lesson. But for the first year-and-a-half, the structure of my classes for the autistic students was totally different from my other lessons for kindergarten through 5th graders. I mostly alternated structured activities […]
Getting acquainted: students with Autism
March 30th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Autism
Not much time, but I must reply to a comment left on my blog… “I will be teaching a dance class for children with Autism starting next week. There will be 6 kids ages 6-10. Honestly, I have been attempting to plan the first class, but unsure where to start. Some children are fairly high […]
Children with autism: dancing together
January 18th, 2011 · 6 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
They arrive every day, my students with autism, barefoot & ready. I don’t always have a great idea of how I’m helping them, but it’s no longer so daunting as it was at first! We’ve come a long way. Each of my 2 classes is a little older this year & more experienced with school. […]
Wow! Mid-year progress!
January 9th, 2011 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
I have to admit I had to sort of draaaaaaaag myself out of winter break last week. Fiiiiiind my plan book. Reorient myself to whiiiiiiiich students I’d be seeing. Adjust my calendar to make up for the four extra weeks I’m spending this year on world dances because my pre-assessment revealed students with a woooooooeful […]
Oh %$#&, another broken toe
January 8th, 2011 · 4 Comments · Uncategorized
Occupational hazard? Maybe. But I’ve only had one break dancing. Not to shift the blame, but I couldn’t help noticing this week as I was reflecting-to-learn, that 3 of the 5 times I’ve broken a part of my foot have been with 5th graders. Not generally the 5th graders that still look like 4th graders, […]
Resources for integrating dance with curriculum
December 3rd, 2010 · Comments Off · dance arts integration into academic subjects
There are a lot of dancing minds out there at work, developing great ways to integrate dance with curriculum. Here are a few resources, shared via email on NDEO’s K-12 Special Interest Group Forum.* These resources offer some nitty gritty about how-to’s & what-do-you-need?’s… Books: Teaching the 3Rs through Movement Experiences, by Anne Green Gilbert; […]
4th & 5th graders, talkin’ about site-based choreography…
August 5th, 2010 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
I’m just saving this for later… Via Maya Soto & Carla Barragan — thanks, ladies!
Pipe dream: integrating dance & the compass rose!
August 4th, 2010 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
Whoa! This, via Corey Mahoney, is cool. The kids would love it! Let’s see… …it’d be most appropriate for the 4th & 5th graders… but the boys probably won’t dig the skirt idea too much, so I need a boy-version of swishy clothing, hopefully with one-size-fits-all for both boys & girls. Then I’ll need 32 […]
Summer reading — Margret Deitz: A Dancer’s Legacy
July 27th, 2010 · 7 Comments · Uncategorized
In 1972, Margret Dietz died, and my path veered. I wasn’t the only one pulled into new directions by her magnetism. This year, 38 years after her death, three of my fellow pathfinders from that time have published a book about Margret’s remarkable life and gifts — and influence. By gathering interviews, photographs, documents, & […]