Curated OER
Ribbon Wand Dancing
Learners construct a ribbon wand which, through the use of line, color, contrast and shape can be used to better express a given emotion. They create a dance using the ribbon wand.
Curated OER
Korean Dance
Students examine the various types of dancing present in Korea. In groups, they discover the history and cultural purposes of the dances and how society influenced the role of dance in its culture. They answer discussion questions and...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Machines
What do science and dance have in common? Simple machines, work, and force! First, children discuss machines, wheels, inclined planes, and wedges. They create inclined planes with their bodies and make up dances about wheels and wedges....
Curated OER
Character Traits in Fables
Combining art, music, dance, and reading comprehension, this lesson is geared to reach all ability levels. After reading a variety of fables and discussing story elements and character traits, class members select a moral to use as the...
Curated OER
Clerihew Dances I
Third graders demonstrate locomotor movements and define non-locomotor movement. They discuss a story and perform a "name" movement.
Curated OER
Clerihew Dances III, 4 and 5
Third graders relate dance movements to chants. They tap out the rhythm of poetry on different body parts.
Curated OER
Chance Dance Compositions
Fourth graders create dances through a randomly generated process (such as throwing a dice) and perform their dances for the class. Class work is based on Merce Cunningham's "Chance Dance" and includes walking, skipping hopping, and...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Theme and Variation
The dance elements of body, energy, space, and time are the focus of a lesson plan on movement and theme. The class follows along as the teacher shows them a new dance that has a theme. They practice the dance, and then change one...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Push and Pull
I love mixing arts lessons with core content! Here, the class will discuss energy, motion, and force (push/pull) as they review dance vocabulary and movements. They preview vocabulary for force and dance. Then they pair-up to dance a...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Symmetrical Objects
In order to better understand how to locate a plane of symmetry in 3-dimensional objects, learners create a dance. The class reviews dance and math symmetry, then they practice making symmetrical shapes and movements with a partner. They...
Curated OER
Yellow Bird and Me
Upper elementary artists create works which demonstrate an understanding of the many elements of theater and the visual arts. This four-day plan combines many wonderful aspects of visual, musical, and theatrical arts into one very...
Curated OER
Graphs of the Heart
Students study Greek literature. In this Greek tragedies instructional activity, students explore the dance-dramas of Martha Graham. Students study the choreography that brings ancient Greek literature to life.
Curated OER
Dancing a Christmas Carol
Students explore dance. They analyze and outline the movements of the dance "Roger de Coverly" from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Students choose music and choreograph a dance similar to "Roger de Coverly." They perform the dance....
Curated OER
Dancing Hands, Abstract Drawings
Students discover African musical rhythms by performing Ancestral Spirit Dances. In this musical instructional activity, students research Willis "Bing" Davis and the abstract work he created. Students listen to Yoruba drum music and...
Curated OER
The Nutcracker
First graders define a ballet as a story told through dance. They listen to melodies and demonstrate beat and accent through body movement. They watch the ballet.
Curated OER
Jazz Dance and Music
Fourth graders write a poem. For this jazz music lesson, 4th graders learn about the basics of jazz dance and practice basic movements. Students learn common terminology and listen to several recordings of jazz music. Students create a...
John F. Kennedy Center
Jazz music, Dance and Poetry
Learners view video and become familiar with the type of movement in jazz dance. In this jazz dance instructional activity, students write a cinquain about jazz dance. Learners recognize the elements of jazz dance and the type of music...
Curated OER
Creative and Cultural Dance
Students study dance as a way to communicate and represent oneself in the world. They perform and articulate movement skills from the "dancer's toolbox". They solve problems in dance using the "dancer's toolbox" composing, witnessing,...
Curated OER
Shadow Dances
Students explore the physical phenomenon of shadows through movement improvisation and dance. They create an original dance phrase based on this imagery. All students then reproduce accurately the movement choices of another dancer.
Curated OER
A Balloon Dance
Students identify three different levels of movement and sensation of buoyancy, respond spontaneously in movement to the stimuli of imagery and feelings, and formulate his or her own unique sequence of movements based on personal...
Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
West Side Story Suite and In The Night Fancy Free
West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet—two classics in their own rights that help young literature lovers better analyze different works. Learners research and compare the characters and story elements of West Side Story and Romeo &...
Curated OER
Collaborative Choreography, Contrasting Emotions
Middle schoolers demonstrate choreographic principles, processes, and structures.
Curated OER
The Water Cycle: States of Water
Elementary schoolers explore states of matter by concentrating on the ways in which water moves between its solid, liquid, and gaseous states in a variety of Earth environments. Learners interpret these movements through dance. The...
Curated OER
Just Pass It
High schoolers investigate a minimalist dance using two props, a chair and a pillow. They demonstrate transferring a prop from one person to the next in a task-like manner. Then they work as a group to transfer a prop with restrictive...