Curated OER
Ribbon Wand Dancing
Students 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
Planting a Garden Through Dance
Students create a dance study based on the growth cycle of a flower. They improvise movements that relate to each stage of growth. They create artwork on the growth cycle of a flower. They perform their dances for the whole class.
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...
Curated OER
To Travel or Not to Travel: Locomotor andNonLocomotor Movement
Students develop dances. For this movement lesson, students play action and stillness games and learn motif writing symbols that communicate dance moves. Students use locomotor and non-locomotor movement to create their own movement...
Curated OER
Celebration and Satire- Beginning Level
Students examine art elements in a late-19th-century self-portrait painting. In this visual arts instructional activity, students analyze the painting "A Centennial of Independence" and identify the color, shape, and symbols in the art...
Curated OER
Take the Stage
Eighth graders explore kinesthetic movements. In this kinesthetic movements lesson, 8th graders explore how to enter the stage properly. Over two days, students investigate how to hold their own on the stage during a dance.
Curated OER
The Water Cycle: Revising the Drafts
Students 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 familiar to the students. Students represent these movements in dance.
Curated OER
Chance Art: Pollock, Cage and Cunningham
Students clearly identify commonalities and differences between dance and other disciplines with regard to fundamental concepts such as materials, elements, and ways of communicating meaning.
Curated OER
Dancing Pumpkin Man
Students listen carefully and put pieces together following the teacher's instructions. They point to the different shapes and sizes as they are being called out and count the number of items they have in front of them. They decorate...
Curated OER
Thrilling Information: Music and Reading
Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...
Denver Art Museum
My Animal Symbol
Here is an art lesson that combines visual arts and language arts into one very nice package. In it, youngsters study a fascinating painting called Painting of Bear and Sun Dances. They begin to understand the importance of traditional...
Curated OER
Storytellers: Dave Matthews Band
Students decide what the term "art" means to them. They identify artistic elements displayed by the Dave Matthews Band. They understand the relationship between music and other means of artistic expression.
Curated OER
Transferring Rhythmic Patterns From Music to Movement
Students identify and demonstrate movement elements in relation to musical notation. They clap to rhythms, beat on drums, match musical notes to speech patterns and use the rhythms of the their names to create a dance.
Curated OER
Plodding Along: The Dan Wagoner Experiment
Students research Dan Wagoner and apply his choreographic ideas in "Plod" to dance study. In this art lesson, students discuss Dan Wagoner. Students select four shapes from "Plod" and connect in a dance.
San Francisco Symphony
Washington Portrait
Fifth and second graders pair up to create mini dance scenes based on the image Washington Crossing the Delaware. Second graders create the movements while their fifth grade partners play the musical accompaniment. Leadership skills,...
Curated OER
Back in the Day
Students identify the genre of music called Hip Hop, analyze its elements, and formulate a definition of the Hip Hop culture.
Curated OER
Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride
Students participate in a partner dance. In this dance instructional activity, students listen to the song "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" and repeat dance steps according to the music.
Curated OER
Choreographic Variations on "Plod"
Students examine the choreography of Dan Wagoner. In this art lesson, students create their own choreography based on the work of Dan Wagoner's dance "Plod."
Curated OER
Dance: Personal Soundtracks
Students create a musical autobiography. In this fine arts lesson, students explore the emotions that music can express by listening to and discussing a variety of music. Students construct a personal timeline and a collection of music...
Curated OER
Native American Song and Dance
Learners examine the importance of the drum and drumming in the cultural context of the Native American. Musical insturments and native dance is employed to support the focus of the instructional activity.
Curated OER
Choreography Project
Students produce a short choreography composition. Specific guidelines and choice of music are provided. The grade/evaluation takes place in the form of video documentation and a teacher-created rubric.
Curated OER
Dizzy Gillespie
Students compare and contrast two songs by Dizzy Gillespie and identify elements of bebop. They construct a Web page about Gillespie and his music.
Curated OER
Cinquain
Students create an original Cinquain (five-line poem) and choreograph movement to their poem, performing movement for class and video. This lesson addresses standards in the arts and requires a video recorder.
Curated OER
Emotions in Motion
Students use dance as a form of communication. In this meanings of dance instructional activity, students create dances to communicate a variety of emotions.