Lesson 1 - On-the-spot and Traveling Movements

Whole Class > Introducing Dance

Introduce the word dance to the students. Ask them to turn to a partner and do the knee to knee, eye to eye strategy and talk about dances they have seen at family parties, live performances, on television (media) or in movies.  

Prompt: What is dance? Where have you seen dancing? What did you see? 

Déclencheur : Qu’est-ce que c’est la danse? Où as-tu déjà vu de la danse? Qu’est-ce que tu as vu?

After students have discussed with their partner, ask them to share. Record their responses on chart paper. You may, for instance, end up with list of different dance styles or genres that students are already aware of (e.g. ballet, jazz, ballroom, Chinese ribbon dance, cultural dances, free movement, silly dancing, etc). Discuss with students what all of these dances have in common? They all involve moving our bodies through space!

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Side-coach and provide feedback as children are dancing
Provide feedback and suggestions while the students are dancing

Assessment as Learning (AaL)

Self-assessment and group self-assessment during creation of movement

Differentiation (DI)

Performing the dances in a large group takes the pressure off nervous or anxious students, particularly as this is an introductory lesson. 

Students self-select the way they interpret the movements listed on the charts/lists. Students with limited voluntary movement will be able to participate fully by choosing those body parts that they are able to move. For students with extremely limited voluntary movement, teachers may want to use or create a tool such as the Simpson Board that will allow those students to direct the movement of others.

The lists of movements should be available for students to refer to as they dance.

Teachers should be sensitive to cultural differences and differences in exposure to dance due to socio-economic factors.

Quick Tips

Comments should focus on describing and highlighting students' efforts without passing judgment or suggesting that one response is better than another.

Mirroring Warm-up/Cool-down

Group Mirror exercise: Find your bubble space and face me. Mirror, or follow, my movements. Keep your eyes on me at all times and be my mirror reflection. Try to move each body part  and joint. Start with your head and move down to your toes. Use basic non-locomotor movements such as swinging, bending, twisting, stretching, etc. Begin with stronger, larger movements and transition to softer, smaller movements towards the end of the cool-down (reverse the order for the warm-up).

Individual > Exploring Personal Space

In order to ensure their safety, students need to understand how to move throughout the room (general space) while maintaining a cushion of space around their bodies (called personal space). Ask students to explore the size of their personal space bubble while remaining in one spot (you may want to designate spots using pieces of tape or small mats). Ask students to glue your feet to the floor and reach their hands way out into the space.   

Prompt: How far can they go? What happens if you bend your knees? Try it on a low level, close to the floor. This space you've just explored is called your bubble space; it's going to travel with you wherever you dance. (See PDF #2) 

Déclencheur : Ils vont jusqu’où? Qu’est-ce qui se passe si tu plies tes genoux? Essaie à un niveau plus bas, près du sol. Cette espace, c’est ta bulle. Elle te suivra partout où tu danseras.  (Voir FR-PDF #2) 

Then, ask students to move throughout the general space (in silence), using a variety of locomotor (traveling) movements (Voir PDF #1), and without touching anyone or anything else. 

Prompt: Take the bubble with you!  Déclencheur : Apporte ta bulle! Using a bell or a drum, instruct the students to practice freezing when they hear that particular sound.

Individual > Exploring Non-Locomotor Movements

Now that students have been reminded how to move safely in both personal and general space, ask them to return to their bubble spot. Use your bell or your drum to signal transitions to the students (when they should move back to their spot, when they should freeze). Ask students what movements can we do right here, without moving from our spots?  Make a list of all of the on-the-spot movements that we can do. Explain to students that in dance, we call these non-locomotor movements. Ask students what movements can we do that will move us all around the room? Tell students that after we try each movement, we're going to dance back to our special bubble spot and that you will add the word to a different list, one of traveling movements. Explain that in dance we call these locomotor movements.   

Prompt: Don't forget to take your bubble space with you while you're moving so that everyone can stay safe.

Déclencheur : N’oublie pas de garder ta bulle avec toi quand tu bouges, pour que tout le monde soit hors de danger.

Whole Class > Creating a Movement Phrase

Now that students are aware of the movement possibilities in both self and general space, explain that they will, with your help, co-create a movement phrase that alternates between locomotor (traveling) and non-locomotor movements (on-the-spot). Record the order of the movements on chart paper (you may also want to include pictograms that symbolize the movements or simple pictures) so that students can refer to them as they dance. 

Prompt: We're going to choose three movements from each of the lists we've made so that we have six movements all together. Which on-the spot movement should we start with? Then which traveling movement? Then what? Let's switch back and forth between the lists so that we make a pattern.  Can you freeze in a shape at the end? Let's practice our dance a few times so that we know what comes next. You can look at the list if you forget. 

Déclencheur : Nous allons choisir des mouvements de chacune des listes que nous avons faites, pour avoir en tout six mouvements. Avec quel mouvement sur place devrait-on commencer? Ensuite, quel mouvement devrait-on faire pour nous déplacer? Ensuite? On va alterner nos listes pour créer un modèle. Peux-tu faire une forme figée à la fin ? Pratiquons cette danse quelques fois pour trouver ce qui viendra après. Tu peux regarder la liste si tu as un blanc de mémoire.

Whole Class >Sharing Movement Phrases

Ask half of the class to sit while the other half dances. You may want to call out the movements if you see that the students are forgetting. Switch roles and the students who watched can dance.
After each performance, ask the students to reflect on what they saw and how they felt both as performers and as observers.  

Prompt: What movements did they enjoy doing? Which movements did they find difficult or challenging? Which movements did they find most interesting when they were watching? Were those different from the ones that they preferred to dance themselves?

Questions incitatives : Quels mouvements ont-ils aimé exécuter? Quels mouvements ont-ils trouvés plus difficiles? Quels mouvements ont-ils trouvés intéressants à regarder? Ces mouvements étaient-ils les mêmes que ceux qu’ils ont préféré en dansant?

As a formal reflection, ask students to draw themselves performing their favourite movement from the piece and to write a few sentences describing the movement and how they felt while dancing it.