Dance in School

Shapes Day Dance Class with Skippyjon Jones!

March 30, 2016 by Erika Leave a Comment

This book is so easy to dance to. It’s one of those books that has a million possibilities! I love to use it with my creative movement and mommy and me classes (ages 1-5). This book goes through several different shapes: rectangle, square, circle, oval, etc., and lists all the ways Skippyjon Jones moves around/through/with those shapes. I created a printout of each shape listed in the book. Grab the printable here! Then, I hung those shapes around the room. After reading through the book and doing a few movements that we felt inspired to do by the book, we took turns picking a shape off of the wall. Then, we did a dancing activity for each shape. Check out the list of activities below.

Get your own copy of Skippyjon Jones shape up here.

Circle: Run in a circle! Hold hands and make a circle. Chasse in a circle while holding hands. Run in a circle while holding hands. Sit down in the circle and go through your usual stretching routine.

Square: Skippyjon salsas on the square. A salsa step looks like this. Can you do it? In salsa you must move your hips. Can you move your hips in a big circle? Can you shake them? Can you move your hips in slow motion? How else can you move your hips?

Triangle: Pick a balancing shape and freeze. Skippyjon was teetering. Teetering means to hold your balance as hard as you can, even if you feel like you’re falling. Can you hold your frozen shape so hard? Let’s go teetering across the balance beam (or across a tape line)!

Oval: Skippyjon orbited an oval. To orbit means to go around. Can you dance around the chair/box/stick/mat/etc. in the middle of the room? Can you spin around it? Kick around it? Can you jump around it?

Stars: Reach as high as you can for the stars. Can you reach higher? I know a song about a star. It’s called Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. Do you know it? Will you sing it with me? While we sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, we do a “dance” to it based on the traditional motions. Twinkle (Lean left and twinkle your fingers) , Twinkle (Lean right and twinkle your fingers) Little star (Squat down into a tiny ball, then explode up into a star jump). How I wonder (arms out and shrug your shoulders) what you are (cross your feet and turn around). Up above the world so high (reach as high as you can), Like a diamond in the sky (make a diamond with your fingers and arc your diamond fingers overhead). Twinkle (Lean left and twinkle your fingers) , Twinkle (Lean right and twinkle your fingers) Little star (Squat down into a tiny ball, then explode up into a star jump). How I wonder (arms out and shrug your shoulders) what you are (cross your feet and turn around).

Crescent: Skippyjon Jones rocked the crescent. Can you sit down in tuck position and rock and roll? (Hold your knees in to your chest and roll back onto your back, then forward back to sitting). A crescent shape is like the moon. When the moon comes out, it’s dark outside. Let’s dance in the dark! (Turn off the lights and get out your flashlights! The flashlights I use are in this post). OR, when it’s dark outside, it’s time to go to sleep. Let’s dance to this song about going to sleep: Late Last Night or The Goldfish Song.

Heart: Skippyjon Jones tugs at your heart! Sometimes we’ll do a tug of war for this. Or, we’ll do turns with our hands on our hearts. Or, we’ll do a “reverence” from ballet, because that means thank you from my heart. Or we might sit on my heart blanket and read a story. Or we might notice that Skippyjon Jones has a heart shaped balloon in the book and play The Balloon Game!

Two Rectangles: Skippyjon jones pumps two rectangles to get super strong. Can you do push-ups with me to get really strong arms?

Diamond: Do you remember a song we sang that had the word “diamond” in it? (Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star). Let’s do it one more time! OR, Skippyjon Jones balances a diamond on his nose. Can you balance this bean bag on your nose? Can you balance it on your shoulder? On your head?

Octagon: Skippyjon Jones STOPPED at the octagon stop sign. Let’s play freeze dance. When the music stops, make sure you STOP, too!

Have fun dancing shapes with Skippyjon Jones Shape Up!

Dance in School Idea Brainstorm

March 1, 2016 by Erika Leave a Comment

I know everybody likes a good lesson plan, but sometimes, by the time you change someone’s lesson plan enough to fit your own classroom, you might as well have made your own from scratch! So, here are a few ideas to get you going on bridging the gap between core curriculum and dance. And if you’d like to see a few of my lesson plans, head over here.

Literacy

Make shapes based on prepositions
Write a poem then create a dance to perform as it is read
Create a dance based on the characteristics of a book character
Recreate scenes from a novel or short story in a dance
Assign movements to each part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc.) and create movement “sentences”
Write acrostic poems then use them to create a series of partner shapes

Math

Add and subtract movements from a dance sequence
Divide the class in half for a movement problem, then thirds, quarters, etc.
Repeat patterns in movement sequences and have students identify them
Create two- and three-dimensional shapes with the body
Explain division of beats in music in terms of fractions

Social Studies

Learn to respect differences through watching peer-created dances and giving positive feedback
Share dances from the students’ cultures
Learn folk dances from countries around the world
Practice group work through group movement problems and composition assignments
Create a dance inspired by an event in history (i.e. major battle, political movement, exploration, etc.)

Science

Use energy qualities in dance to explore the water cycle. And while you’re at it, check out this delightfully dance-y book about the water cycle!
Identify how the five senses affect dance and try to dance with eyes closed or with ears covered
Create the solar system using students instead of planets and replicate the movements of the planets
Explore how using different amounts of force affects dancing
Learn bones, muscle groups, or organ systems through a body part dance; explore how each body part can move.

Have fun, and let me know in the comments what else you are dancing about today!

8 Tips for Teaching Dance

February 19, 2016 by Erika 1 Comment

I’ve had a lot of failures in the dance classroom. There have been some days when I go home and wonder, “How much longer are parents going to keep paying for me to teach them…THAT?”. Or, “Wow, we did not learn anything today.” If you’re a teacher, you know what I’m talking about! Ha, if you’re a parent, you know what I’m talking about! So, my lessons are never pinterest perfect. But, I’ve got a few tips I’ve learned along the way.

Say when before what.

Describe when students will do something before describing what they will be doing. For example, when the music starts, skip to a new place in the room and freeze in a curved shape. Other cues may include: when I say go, when I count to three, when your partner freezes, when I point to this picture, etc.

Allow a little chaos.

As I have taught lessons where student creativity is central to the class, I have watched several teachers become worried that their students are incorrectly interpreting the creative prompts. However, every student should have his or her own ideas to express during the creative process. When twenty-five different ideas are being expressed, it can feel a little chaotic. The creative process is not the same for everyone, so let there be a little chaos!

Challenge students.

So, they haven’t mastered the tendu yet (translation: point your foot). That doesn’t mean we can’t do grande battements (translation: big kicks)! (Who, in fact, has ever mastered a tendu??? Even Misty Copeland (principal dancer with American Ballet Theater) takes technique class!) Elementary school students often surprise me with their dancing abilities. Just as in every subject, we must expect the best from students. Therefore, it is important to constantly challenge students to improve what they are doing. Ask questions like: Can you make your dance bigger? Can you show your movement more clearly? How can you make that movement more creative?

Constantly add other elements of dance.

Though a dance lesson may focus on creation of shapes, challenge students to use different body parts, energy qualities, levels, pathways, or timing. For example, shake your elbow while you skip. Now, turn your leap. Move in a curved pathway as quickly as you can. Perform the sequence as slowly as you can. Continue to add more layers on to an activity once they master its basic form.

Live in the moment.

When teaching a dance class, I sometimes forget to pay attention to what is going on around me because I am so focused on what activity is coming next. Instead, live in the moment with the students. Try to experience what they are experiencing and help them find new ways to explore and discover. As in all teaching, if you are aware of your students needs, you will be better able to teach them.

Dance WITH the students.

I just can’t emphasize this enough. Whenever I move with the students, their commitment to the movement increases. Instead of giving instruction then watching the students complete the task, participate with them. Move throughout the classroom instead of always standing in the front. Especially in creative activities, students often do not need a demonstration; they just want the teacher to participate.

Be clear and concise.

As I explain activities, sometimes I find myself taking too much time in explanation and answering several questions before the activity starts. Instead, explain the activity as simply as possible. While students are moving, add on extra layers of difficulty or additional movement problems. Giving direction while the students are moving saves time and maintains student engagement. So, “When I turn on the music, go running.” Then, while they are running add, “Run backwards! Now run backwards in a circle. Do 4 more backwards runs in a circle, then stop!”

Make rules for dance and remind students of them every time they come to dance.

I have often found that when students come to a dance class, they believe that all the rules of their classroom no longer apply. It is important to establish rules at the beginning of each class. Helpful rules can include: stay one foot away from all furniture and walls; when we dance we speak with our bodies, not our mouths; when the music stops, you stop; do not run into each other; etc. Then say the rules. Every. Single. Class.

Let’s Dance: Winter Weather Patterns

January 26, 2016 by Erika Leave a Comment

It’s COOOOLD outside. This is how my trees were looking this past weekend. YUCK! But, fortunately for us, winter weather does have it’s upsides. It makes for great dance classes! This lesson is based on four winter weather patterns: freezing rain, snow, sleet, and rain. Plus, you get to read this amazing book:

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner is just plain fun! I read it to students aged 2-10 and they all love it. Read on for the rest of the lesson plan. (For the creative movement/preschool dance version of this lesson plan, click here).

Warm up: (2 minutes)

What do you know about winter weather? It’s COLD! I want to see you all shiver. Shiver your right arm. Can you shiver just your left foot? Shiver your whole body. Can you shiver very very fast? low? heavy? light? etc.

Experience/Identify: (10 minutes)

We are going to talk about four different kinds of winter weather: rain, freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Printable visuals here.

What is rain? Rain is water that comes down from clouds that get so full of water they can’t hold any more. Rain only happens when the temperature is higher than freezing — hotter than 32 degrees! Let’s try moving rain. How can you slosh and plop like rain? Can you swim through the rain? Can you slosh lightly? Can you slosh heavily? Quickly? Slowly?

freezing rain

Freezing rain is rain that comes out of the clouds as water, but freezes when it hits the ground, or the trees like in this picture. When I turn on the music, dance any way you’d like. Jump, turn, kick, roll, etc. When you hear the music get softer, start to slow down, and when the music stops, freeze. Freezing rain is a slow freeze.

Sleet is a little bit trickier. When it leaves the cloud, it starts as snow. Then, in the air it melts into rain. Do you remember how rain moves? (sloshing, plopping, swimming). But then, before it hits the ground, it freezes again, into little pellets of ice, like in the picture. If sleet hits you, it hurts, because it is hard ice, not soft snow. When I turn on the music, show me sharp movements, like sharp sleet.

Snow falls slower than rain. It is light and soft. In dance, we’d say it has sustained movement. It keeps moving, but slowly and steadily. Can you move in a sustained, steady way when the music starts? Can you do a sustained kick? Jump? Roll? When the music stops, show me a frozen balance.

Read aloud the book Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner.

Stop at first page (before title page). What is the little boy doing? Rolling up a HUGE snowball to make a snowman. I bet that snow ball is very heavy. What can you roll? Head, eyes, shoulders, feet, entire body, etc. Show me some heavy rolling.
“…for his turn in the snowman races”:I want to have a snowman race! Let’s play a game. I will divide you into groups of five. Each group will get a set of winter weather cards! On the cards there are small pictures of sleet, snow, rain, and freezing rain. The first person will run to the cards, pick one up and do the movement for that weather pattern. When his teammates guess which weather pattern he is doing, he runs and sits down and the next student goes. Keep going until all the students have gone. Then return to the story.
“skating tricks on ice”: All of the snowmen are doing their own “trick” on the ice. What is your favorite trick to do? Can you jump and spin in the air? Can you kick really high? Can you do a cartwheel? Think of your best trick. Practice it 5 times while the music is on. Then, show your trick to a partner.
“world’s best snowball fight!” During a blizzard, it looks to me like the clouds are having a snowball fight! When I say turn on the music and say “SNOW!”, everyone stand up and create a blizzard. You may choose any of the movements we have done: heavy rolling, light sloshing (rain), slow freeze (freezing rain), sharp movements (sleet), or sustained balancing (snow).
Finish the story.

We just danced lots of winter weather patterns. Which one was your favorite? Is that your favorite in real life too?

Don’t forget to grab the printable visuals and flashcards!

Let’s Dance: Pueblo Native Americans

January 22, 2016 by Erika Leave a Comment

This lesson was inspired by a Utah core Social Studies standard for 3rd grade:

Standard 2: Students will understand cultural factors that shape a community.

Objective 2: Explain how selected indigenous cultures of the Americas have changed over time.

Pottery (5 minutes)

Teacher: show several pictures of pueblo pottery on the smart board, overhead, or printed copies.

The Pueblo Indians made pottery to use for bowls and containers and to trade with other people. First they searched for good clay from the ground. Search through the room. Search high and low. They thanked the earth for the clay that they took. Then the clay was ground, mixed with water, and rolled. Now, roll on the ground. Find a new way to roll. Can you roll just one body part? A head? Arm? Leg? Roll your whole body. Then they shaped the clay into a piece of pottery. Quickly and silently stand back to back with a partner. Without saying one word, decide who will go first. Partner number one, shape your partner into a work of art. Partner number two, let you partner mold your arms, legs, back, and head into their own piece of pottery. Switch roles. After the pottery pieces were molded, they were fired in a kiln. This sealed them into their shapes and made them hard. If the pottery was not made perfectly it would crack and shatter. On the count of three, shatter or explode!

Designs on Pottery (3 minutes)

After the pottery pieces were fired, they were painted with many designs. Pick a shape from the pictures you see. Make that shape with your body and freeze. Repeat.

Hunting (12 minutes)

Pueblo hunters used bows and arrows. They hunted American pronghorn and rabbits. American pronghorn is the second fastest land animal—second only to cheetahs. Move as quickly as you can. Can you move quickly down low? Backwards? Etc.

Rabbits have good hearing and escape predators by hopping in a zig-zag motion. You are the rabbits and I am the hunter. Pueblo hunters had to sneak up on animals to use their bow and arrows because the animals they hunted were so fast. Crouch in a low shape with your eyes closed. Use your good hearing to listen for me coming. If you think I am getting close, jump in a zig-zag motion to get away from me. If I tap you on your shoulder, make a shape lying on the ground and do not move until we start over.

Irrigation (5 minutes)

Pueblo Indians lived in a desert where water was scarce, or hard to find. They had to strategically use their resources to have enough water to grow their corn, squash, and beans. One of the ways they used their resources wisely was through irrigation of water. They built pipeline systems to bring water from a stream or lake to their fields.

Create a shape chain — like terraces to funnel water from one place to another. Start behind a starting line. One at a time, cross the starting line and freeze in a shape. Once the first person is frozen, the next person may cross the starting line and freeze in a shape. The second person’s shape must be connected to the first person’s shape. Continue one person at a time adding to the chain as it grows longer and longer, farther away from the starting line.Make a chain from high to low where each students’ shape must be slightly lower than the shape before them, then low to high.

Building a Pueblo (7 minutes)

Move through the process of building a pueblo. First, Dig the foundation (explore movements that take a lot of effort – pushing, pulling, straining). Next, search for clay (move like you are searching and looking). Make bricks out of clay (Sharp, cutting movements). Add poles for structural foundation (Freeze in a straight shape). Fill the walls with bricks (Gathering movements). Add a new coat of clay to the walls every year (Repetitive spreading movements). At active pueblos, every year a new coat of adobe mixture/clay is added to the wall to keep them firm.

Once your pueblo is completed, it does not have a door or windows to climb through. Instead, there is a hole in the ceiling that you must climb down through. First, climb up the ladder to get to the roof. Next, climb down the ladder into your house. If enemies were coming, you’d pull the ladder inside so that no one could get into your pueblo.

Review (5 minutes)

Go through all the movements you have experienced today and identify what each movement symbolized. Review the facts about pueblos, hunting, farming, and pottery.