Lesson Plan - DANCE

Name Strands and Achievement Objective(s) Essential Skills Communication  Problem –solving  Self
Date management & competitive  Physical  Social & Co-operative 
PK: The students will identify and explore through movement the dance Work & Study Numeracy Information 
School elements of body awareness, space, time, energy and relationships  Identify an essential skill to be taught/practised
Class/Year Level: 2 DI: The students will initiate and express dance ideas based on a variety of  Exercise imagination, initiative, flexibility and
stimuli judgment as they explore ideas and make, interpret
Lesson Topic: Designing the Body
and present works

Lesson Focus: Student Needs Resources

Making interesting shapes with the body at low,
medium and high levels and connecting these shapes
with non-travelling and travelling movements
Book: DANCE by Bill l T. Jones and Susan Kuklin, Hyperion
Differences in physical, cooperative and creative abilities Books for Children
Drum and beaters
CD/cassette player
Music: Atmospheric Synthesizer STCD028: Tubular Bells

Specific Learning Outcomes By the end of this lesson the pupils will be able to ... Assessment To determine whether students have achieved the
learning outcomes I will be looking for ...
Criteria
 Ability to hold a variety of shapes with firmness and
 Demonstrate body awareness (i.e. balance, agility, flexibility) through making, holding and remembering different shapes with stillness
the body  Ability to create interesting shapes (e.g. use of
 Create interesting shapes and connect these by using travelling and non-travelling movements different levels, size and arrangements of body parts)
 Perform a sequence of selected shapes and their connecting movements to the rest of the class  Ability to show shapes and movements to rest of the
class, with clarity and confidence

Evaluation
Introduction/Igniter Organisation/Management

 Students sitting. Display pictures from the book DANCE that show the dancer in a variety of different shapes.”Why do you think this dancer is making  35-40 mins.
lots of different shapes? (E.g. moments captured in time by photography; he enjoys what his body can do and where he can put different parts of the  Cleared classroom or hall
body; interesting shapes make you look at him longer… ). Discuss how and why the shapes are different from each other.  Bare feet
 “Today, we’re going to see how we can make different and interesting shapes with the body and try out some ways in which we can connect them……  Individual and paired working
Quickly find a place by yourself to sit in the space that is not near the walls or another person. Go”  Scattered formation for
Teaching/Learning Sequence working
 Early finishers: Give
 Students sitting in own place. “When I say ‘freeze’, I want you to hold your sitting position very still – just like a statue of stone – nothing is to move –
suggestions to improve
not even your eyes – FREEZE” Students holding very still….”Without moving a muscle, can you feel where your hands are? What parts of the body
are touching the floor?…..Relax” ‘performance’ or content of
sequence.
 “Let’s try that again, but this time I want you to rearrange your arms, legs, back, head…into a different position. Try to make an unusual low shape …
one that hasn’t been seen before and doesn’t look like anyone else’s in the room . It can be large…. Small….. twisted…. on one hip….with arms and
legs in the air…..but you must be able to hold it very firm and still. Go”
 Make 1-2 different sitting or low shapes. Point out those children or features of individual shapes that are interesting to others in the class
 Repeat the above sequence of tasks to make interesting standing, high shapes…..Teacher demonstrating “ A high shape can be on 1 foot, or 2 feet,
thin, large, twisted…I want you to make an interesting high shape that you can hold still for a long time. Go”
 “Relax….Can you remember it? Quickly, make that same shape again…….Relax”
 Make 1-2 different high shapes. Point out those children or features of individual shapes that are interesting to others in the class
 “Now we’re going to join a low and high shape together. First we’ll try to connect them by moving very smoothly with a turn on the way in 8 counts”.
Teacher demonstrates this. Students start in one of their low shapes ….move smoothly with a turn to a high shape…hold….reverse this to return to
sitting shape. Teacher counting and using a percussion instrument.
 Repeat the above task, but with jerky moving i.e. move only quickly and sharply on the count and FREEZE between the counts.
 Repeat the above task, but use skipping on the spot as a connection between the 2 shapes. “What’s another travelling way to connect the 2 shapes?”
Use 1or 2 suggestions from the class for everyone to try.
 “How many of you think that you can make and remember a 3rd shape at a medium level? Encourage all students to make a 3rd shape that doesn’t look
anything like their other 2 shapes e.g. can it be twisted…large…teeny….all straight lines…all curved lines?
 “Now I want you to choose which low, high and medium shapes that you want to keep and remember. Practise each one, so that you know what they
are and that you can hold it very firm and still”
 Everyone at the same time. “Show me your low shape…your high shape….your medium level shape”
 “Now I want you to find a way to connect or travel between the shapes. You could move in a smooth or jerky manner as we did earlier, or you could try Music
something like skipping, rolling, sliding…….. to connect the shapes. Make each connecting movement different and use about 8 counts to get into the
new shape”
 Students practising. Teacher moving among the class, giving assistance or comments where necessary.
 Students perform their sequence of shapes and connecting movements to rest of the class in groups of 2-5 people. Observers to look for what they liked
about any of the shapes and the connecting movements.
Conclusion
 What did you find easy or hard about making shapes? What kinds of shapes did you like to make the best? Which ones did you enjoy looking at? Why?
 What ways of moving did you see today that seemed to be the most interesting to connect shapes? Why?
 What could we do with our shape work for the next lesson? (work with a partner?)