Drama/Dance Connections to Children's Interests

Children’s Interests

Possible Inquiry Questions/Concepts to Explore

Drama/Dance Connections

Superheros/ Bad guys/Weapons

What makes people strong? What is a hero? What is power and how does it work? What can you do to feel strong?

*link to soundscapes, teacher in role, student in role, choral speaking

Lego/ Transformers/ Construction

Volcanoes, Tornadoes

How are things made? How can materials/substances combine to form something new? Mad Science/Experiments/Labs

Exploring shape, levels, tableau, bodystorming, relationship, space

Water/ Sand/ Digging

How do humans use water? Where does water/other natural substances come from?How do substances move? How can you change the way things move?

Viscosity, different substances and how they move

Exploring the vocabulary of movement and ways that bodies can move

*link to mirroring, dance phrase, elements of dance, magic hand, body parts

Afraid of the dark

Seasons changing

What happens at night both in the human and animal world? Are cities different than the country? How do we deal with day and night as humans? How do animals deal with the dark? What are you afraid of? Does everyone have an imagination?

Explore creative process, everybody has a story to tell, how lighting changes the mood/setting,

*link to tableau, soundscape, flocking

Toys, Vehicles, Active play

How do things move? What kinds of forces cause movement? How can we cause movement? How do things move in the natural world? How can we represent movement with our bodies?

Explore moving to music, experimenting with combining shapes to create a new shape, moving like animals or machines.

Experiment with different ways that our bodies can move: locomotor, non-locomotor

Sea Creatures

How are living things the same and different? How do living things interact? How can we be good stewards of the Earth?

Explore moving like different living things, explore sustained movement through flocking

Shadows, flashlights, glow in the dark

How does light work? How is it created? Why is light important? How can we control light? How can we represent light?  How can we use light to create?

Telling stories through shadow puppets, experiment with moving shadows by changing the direction of the light source, record movement in different light, in mirrors etc., use different types of light to create different moods and effects on a dance phrase, play follow the leader and mirroring

Active students, difficult behaviours, difficulty getting along with each other

What are feelings? How do our feelings make us behave, act towards others?  Family/Community relationships

Do you have an opinion? Are all feelings ok? Who works together and how do they do it?

•link to relationship, magic hand, flocking, teacher and student in role, choral speaking, relationship, voice jar, human machine (create a human machine), explore expressing emotions through shape and movement with body socks

Noticing tree branches, colours. animals etc in nature and the community

Lines, patterns, colours in our world.  How nature creates art.  How can we create art in nature and inspired by nature? How do straight and curved lines combine to communicate?  What are different kinds of lines?  How can we combine lines to create something new?

body parts dance

* link to pathways, creating lines and shapes with our body

Noticing signs in the community e.g. stop signs

Environmental Print.  Everyone can “read” and “write”

How do we communicate rules and information  in the community?  

Pictures and symbols can serve as messages and tell stories

Creating dances and recording movement through photographs, symbols, drawings

Playing grocery store, pet store, school etc.

How do different settings change the ways we behave, dress, communicate, and speak?  How can we try on different roles and experiment with voice to learn more about how things work in different settings?  

Teacher and student in role, authentic props, creating a setting for drama (student teams to set up dramatic play areas with materials, signs and costumes that support the play)

Tools- hammers, screw drivers, wire, electronics parts, building materials, inventions

How do tools change our work and play?  What forces act on tools? What makes work easier? How do things work together to create something new?  What types of parts are required to create something that moves? How are things made?  e.g. chocolate, marbles, ice cream, crayons, cookies, toys, bouncy balls etc.

Human machine, exploring relationship in movement, sculptor and clay

Playing birthday party, wedding

How do people celebrate? Why do we celebrate? Are their differences in the way we celebrate? How can we plan for a celebration? What might we celebrate?

Explore how dance is used as part of celebrations in different cultures. Create a celebratory dance to share with parents, or other students using a variety of techniques

e.g. flocking, recipe dance, create a cinquain poem and attach movement to each word.  Explore ways to create a presentation as part of a celebration planned with the children

e.g. choral speaking/chanting with a poem or chant