EXPLORING DANCE ELEMENTS

Unit Overview 

Context: This unit provides students with a variety of opportunities to play with the elements of dance by creating movement. The focus is particularly on those elements covered in the primary years (body, space, time, and energy).

Summary: Beginning with the elements of body and space, which are the focus of student work in grades 1 and 2, students have the opportunity to create dances that begin simply and become more complex as the unit progresses. Touching on nearly every expectation in the grade 3 dance curriculum, students explore the movement of various body parts, personal and general space, patterns, tempo, and energy. The unit culminates in the creation of a dance that expresses thoughts and ideas related to the natural world.

Expectations A1. Creating and Presenting: apply the creative process to the composition of dance phrases, using the elements of dance to communicate feelings and ideas;  A2. Reflecting, Responding, and Analysing: apply the critical analysis process to communicate their feelings, ideas, and understandings in response to a variety of dance pieces and experiences;  A3. Exploring Forms and Cultural Contexts: demonstrate an understanding of a variety of dance forms and styles from the past and present, and their social and/or community contexts.

Unit Guiding Questions How can we use the elements of dance to express our feelings and ideas?  Lesson Guiding Questions Lesson 1 - Body Parts and Personal/General Space What movements can I create with each of my body parts?  Are there movements that I haven't tried? How can I move throughout the dancing space while maintaining a cushion of personal space around my body? What strategies can I use to make it clear what I am trying to express with the movement of my body? Lesson 2 - Body, Space, Pattern What kinds of shapes can I make with my body? How does the negative space we create when we make a shape with our bodies look to others? How do structure and pattern change a dance phrase? Lesson 3 – Time How does changing the tempo change the the quality of our movements? How does changing the tempo change how we perceive movement as an audience member? How does changing the tempo change how we feel while performing movement (the somatic experience)? Lesson 4 – Energy and Time How does music change the way we move? What does the music from a particular culture tell us about the nature of that culture? What can we infer about a traditional dance by listening to the music it is performed to? What clues can we use? Lesson 5 –Nature Dances Too How can we communicate the meaning of words using movement? How can we translate the movement that we observe in the natural world into dance? In what ways can we use the elements of dance that we've studied to make our choreography a more effective tool for communication?

Assessment and Evaluation: How will students demonstrate their learning?
Assessment of learning	Culminating Performance Activity Students' final dance phrase in lesson 5 will be evaluated with a rubric constructed using success criteria that are co-created with the students before and during the choreography. Students will employ their knowledge of the dance elements as outlined in the curriculum and their observations from the preceding lessons in the creation of these criteria.
Assessment for Learning	Check Point #1 for Lesson 1 Creation of success criteria for movement response Self-assessment and group self-assessment during creation of movement response using success criteria Check Point #2 for Lesson 2 Creation of success criteria for dance phrase Individual and group self-assessment during creation of movement response using success criteria Providing feedback to groups after their performance Group discussion of the impact of adding ABA form to dance phrase Reflective journaling after performance Check Point #3 for Lesson 3 Creation of success criteria for dance phrase Individual and group self-assessment  using success criteria Providing feedback to groups after their performance Group discussion of the impact of changing the tempo of a phrase of movement on how the audience perceives the movements and how it feels to perform it Reflective journaling after performance Check Point #4 for Lesson 4 Creation of success criteria for dance phrase Individual and group self-assessment using success criteria Providing feedback to groups after their performance Group discussion of the effectiveness of various choreographic choices Reflective journaling after performance Check Point #5 for Lesson 5 Creation of success criteria for dance creation Self-assessment and group self-assessment during creation of movement response using success criteria Providing feedback to groups after their performance Group discussion of the effectiveness of various choreographic choices in communicating the meaning of the poem Reflective journaling after performance Responding to the performance experience by writing poetry Co-creation of and evaluation with a formal rubric

Unit Lessons: How will assessment and instruction be organized for learning?		Approx. Duration 1 class = 60 minutes
Lesson 1	Lesson 1 - Body Parts and Personal/General Space In this lesson students will explore the scope and range of movements that are possible using a variety of body parts. They will also explore moving within their own personal space bubble and will learn to take that bubble with them as they move through general space, so as to ensure safe dancing. In the consolidation phase, students will create a cinquain that describes the qualities and movements of a particular body part and will work in pairs or small groups to create a movement response to that poem.	1 class
Lesson 2	Lesson 2 - Body, Space, Pattern In this lesson students will investigate the various types of shapes that they can create with their bodies and will make connections between those shapes and the architectural structures and statues that they observe in their daily lives. They will learn about how negative space is used in dance and will create a dance phrase that uses their new-found knowledge about shapes along with ABA form.	1-2 classes
Lesson 3	Lesson 3 – Time In this lesson students will explore the element of time and will investigate the effect that changes in tempo have on the performance and perception of movement. They will work with both locomotor and non-locomotor movements and will experience the effect of music on movement. Students will then compose a dance phrase using both locomotor and non-locomotor movements. This phrase will employ the rondo form which will allow students to learn an additional choreographic form.	1-2 classes
Lesson 4	Lesson 4 – Energy and Time In this lesson students will explore the element of energy and will investigate the effect that changes in energy and dynamics have on the performance and perception of movement. Students will experiment with a variety of rhythm instruments and will accompany their peers by playing the instruments while their classmates respond to the sounds with improvised movement. Students will listen and improvise to a variety of music from around the world and will create dance phrases that respond to the energy and dynamics of the music.	1-2 classes
Lesson 5	Lesson 5 –Nature Dances Too In this lesson students will experience the ways that the meanings of texts can be expressed through movement. They will first use pairs of opposed words and will then move on to thinking about short poems that describe natural phenomena such as seasons changing, forest fires, exploding volcanoes, rain falling, etc. Students will use these poems as the inspiration for the creation of dances that will reflect the meaning of the poems through movement and will demonstrate the effective use of the elements that were studied during the previous four lessons.	1-2 classes

This is a unit plan found on the CODE website. Excellent and precise lessons that teach different dance elements. The fact that it also provides assessment is excellent for an easy go to unit idea to use in my classroom.