Dancing With Props

Breathe life into a reading of the children's story Clever Jack Takes the Cake with this Reader's Theater script. Offering speaking roles for nine students plus a sound effects chorus, this is a great activity that engages the whole...

Young scholars explore transformations in dance. In this cross curriculum geometry and dance lesson, students define and identify angles, reflections, and translations, then practice dance movements using a stretchy band that represent...

A reading of Dr. Seuss's My Many Colored Days provides a great intro for a discussion of colors and how they can represent emotions and moods. Kids share the feelings they associate with various colors

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...

Learners dance the image of falling snow. They move, swing, fall, and rise to music working to depict snow falling, the sun, and high/low movements. This is a well-thought out instructional activity that aids them in seeing movement as a...

Tenth graders examine various dances focused on issues faced by society. While viewing, they identify and analyze the movements and how they relate to the sociocultural issues. To complete the lesson, they develop their own dance with...

Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, José Limón, Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse, Gene Kelly. Famous dancers and some history of modern dance, what a packet! Although designed to prepare students to see a performance of the Connecticut Ballet, this...

Fourth graders investigate human motion by performing a dance routine in class.  In this physical education lesson, 4th graders discover how to make the body flip and twist safely in order to express certain dance emotions.  Students...

Young scholars examine Anna Halprin's philosophies and choreography and perform one of her Planet Dances. They find a site that inspires them to create a dance based on the environment's design, levels, textures, and atmosphere.

There is a wonderful magic that happens when artists collaborate. Kids examine storytelling through collaborative art. Inspired by Rodin's sculpture Minotaur, Daria Martin and Anna Halprin create a filmed dance sequence. Kids analyze the...