Celina the dance teacher knows the dance, "Doin' The Grouch." Oscar tells the Grouchketeers and the kids at home to get up and learn the dance. Dances like this help build gross motor skills, listening skills, and self-esteem.

A read-aloud of a familiar fairy tale introduces the concept of story elements—main characters, setting, and plot. Multiple retellings of the story set to music get scholars moving as they dance. Movements portray story elements and tell...

Musical theater is a trifecta, requiring cast members to be actors, singers, and dancers. Help theater arts students develop these skills with a unit designed to prepare them for a staging of a musical.

It's showtime! After an ample amount of preparation, scholars perform their final dance based on a phrase or word of their original free-verse poem. Following the performance, class members discuss their thoughts and feelings regarding...

Dancers revise their dances based on their peers' feedback and rehearse their final product. A poetry lesson provides scholars the opportunity to reflect in written format before discussing the project with their peers. 

Scholars rehearse, perform, and reflect on the interpretive dances they've created. Choreography and music showcase their free-verse poems and highlight its prosody. 

Scholars gather in small groups to share their final drafts of free-verse poems. Peers reflect on their reading with a grand discussion that focuses on prosody. Poetry groups choose one poem to choreograph using motion that reflects a...

Scholars visit their poetry groups in order to continue selecting music and creating choreography for their interpretive dance. Dances are designed to reflect a strong word or phrase found in writers' original free-verse poems. 

Budding poets brainstorm ideas for writing a free-verse poem. Once their topic has been established, writers list expressive words and phrases they can use to evoke emotion and paint a picture in the mind's eye. 

Groups create dances to showcase one phrase from a free-verse poem. Scholars reflect on their learning experience using an assessment in which class members respond to questions and share their feelings with their peers. 

Interpretive dance and prosody is the focus of a lesson designed to encourage movement and poetry analysis. Independently and in small groups, poetry enthusiasts explore a variety of free-verse poems, discuss specific words and phrases...

The five senses are the focus of a lesson designed to explore feelings that a poem evokes through a variety of words and phrases. After a read-aloud and grand conversation, scholars dance to the free-verse poem "Clothesline" by Ralph...

After a brain dance to warm up gross motor skills, small groups create and present a dance that showcases the free-verse poem "Sparklers" by Mark Vinz. The lesson closes with a progress monitoring system designed to assess comprehension...

Introduce the importance of prosody with a instructional activity that spotlights the free-verse poem "Sparklers" by Mark Vinz. Poetry enthusiasts begin with a discussion about using feeling and expression. They then take part in a vocal...

Poetry enthusiasts read the poem, Sparklers by Mark Vinz, discuss their feelings after hearing it, and create an interpretive dance based on the emotions it provoked. 

Encourage pupils to get up and move! A lesson showcases the free-verse poem "Dragonfly" by Georgia Heard, and challenges scholars to express feelings through interpretive dance. 

After being introduced to a 16-lesson unit, budding poets take part in a grand conversation and interpret a reading of the free-verse poem "Dragonfly" by Georgia Heard. Small groups work together to create and perform a dance that...

Summer slide. Alas, not a term synonymous with a type of sliding board, summer slide refers to the fact that learning slips during summer break, especially in the areas of spelling and math facts. Enrich summer break with a...

The Nutcracker, composed by Peter Tchaikovsky, has become a staple of the Christmas season. A unit plan centered around the famous ballet is packed with a variety of activities that are sure to excite learners of all ages.

Notes of pride and persecution, exclusion and isolation resonate in flamenco. Introduce this musical art form to your social studies or Spanish language classes with a resource that follows a young flamenco guitarist as he practices his...

Just exactly what is social dancing? What does social dancing have to do with the African American community and African American history? The narrator of this short video explains how social dancing can support the culture of a...

Don't fret next time a rainy day schedule is announced! Implement any of six physical activities designed for indoor P.E. Pupils walk, crawl, hop, tiptoe, march, dance, or skip their way through lively and developmentally...

Listen and move with this music video featuring a modern take on the children's song, Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. Scholars sing along with a slow, medium, and fast tempo, and observe hand-drawn animation that highlights the song's...