Dance With a Bit of Drama

With dance coming down to the final weeks, what I appreciate the most is how far I’ve come.  I went from not knowing how to implement dance whatsoever into the classroom to have a plethora of lessons and strategies.  It goes to show that keeping an open mind will allow for ideas to enter and be retained so when the time arises, they’ll be available.  Additionally I have a stronger appreciation for the different theories we’ve been learning about throughout this course and the implications it has with the curriculum.  Curriculum Connections – Grade 7/8 The curriculum expectations for today’s lesson are as follows: Dance A1.2:   use dance as a language to communicate messages about themes of social justice and/or environmental health Health C2.3: Apply personal skills and interpersonal skills (e.g., self-awareness and self-management skills, including anger management; communication skills, including listening skills and assertiveness skills...

This week has been exciting already as we learned activities to incorporate drama with mathematics, but what about dance?  Is it possible?  Well, from the activities we participated in it definitely is possible and is fun too!  The lessons my colleagues have been creating are extremely creative and liven up the atmosphere in our class, so why not incorporate it into future teaching? The Theory and Curriculum Connections The connections for today’s lesson are based on the creative process and the various elements of dance.  These elements allow not only for us, as educators, to use effective terminology to describe the various components of dance, but give students ideas on what to incorporate in their creative dance routines.  Much like the other arts subjects, these different elements allow for more creativity in order for students to demonstrate their knowledge thoroughly. Additionally, we looked at the creative analysis process an...

Similar to drama, I’m not much of a dancer.  I used to Polish dance when I was younger, however the skills I picked up have definitely faded away since then.  With that aside what I’m interested in, for dance, is seeing different lessons on how to incorporate it into other subject areas.  What I look forward to the most is how math can be integrated into dance.  Dance can be an exceptional way to let students express themselves without judgement.  Although it’s not my area of expertise, much like other subject areas, I am open to learn different strategies to implement into my future classroom to make the environment more colourful and inclusive. Curriculum Connections – Grade 6 The curriculum connections for today’s activity is for the 6 th grade.  The expectations are taken from the curriculum documents from both the language arts and arts curriculum.  They are: Language Arts Reading 1.6:  Extend understanding of text /ideas by co...

The mental health of children is something I am deeply concerned about.  My goal as a teacher is I want every student to look forward coming to school each day knowing that it is a safe environment that is rid of apprehension and disrespect.  I want students to feel comfortable to share answers and express their opinions and thoughts openly without fear of being ridiculed.  That being said, I’m always looking for ways to advocate this notion so every student has equal opportunities to learn with less difficulty.  Curriculum Connections – Grade 6 The expectations associated with this week’s lesson are: Drama B1.1 engage actively in drama exploration and role play, with a focus on identifying and examining a range of issues, themes, and ideas from a variety of fiction and non-fiction sources and diverse communities, times, and places Health C2.3 apply personal skills and interpersonal skills (e.g., self-awareness and self-management skills, includin...

Well this is definitely a lesson I was looking forward to!  Math has been my favourite subject ever since I can remember, so when Melissa hinted that today’s lesson would be incorporating math and drama I was hesitant at first but privileged to see how well it went!  Math can be a pretty dry subject – some people call it a pretty ‘colourless’ subject being that there is usually a right or wrong answer (although different ways to get them!).   Being able to incorporate drama into math will perhaps make math more colourful and make the subject more popular for the future. Curriculum Connections Grade 5 - Geometry and Spatial Sense Create and analyse designs by translating and/or reflecting a shape, or shapes, using a variety of tools. Drama B1.3 -  Plan and shape the direction of the drama or role play by collaborating with others to develop ideas, both in and out of role. The Activity:  In Shape of... Today’s activity was very...

Language Arts and Drama Integration To start off, I wouldn’t consider myself the most dance-inclined person out there – more-so in the opposite direction.  However I do love the arts!  In particular I love music, but I appreciate most what the arts can bring to the classroom.  The arts create an environment that is more colourful and gives students an avenue to express themselves without the fear of being judged. From what was shown today, I can definitely see how well developed the arts curriculum is, especially from seeing the creative process.  The creative process is a cycle that allows for students to plan, present and gives ample time for reflection so students can improve on previous activities.  It is important that students practice this not only through drama, but in other subjects too.  Curriculum Connections: Grade 6 Language Arts These are the curriculum expectations that were addressed in the activity today.  Inform...