Lesson Overview

Estimated Time: 100 minuntes

Students will use the elements of dance to communicate the power of addiction and addictive behaviour. They will use their knowledge from lesson one and apply it by communicating through creative movement.

Connections to Financial Literacy

Connections to financial literacy can be made as students learn about healthy living - for example, the impact of alcohol abuse on both health and finances and the influence of the media on food choices. Such learning opportunities can be linked to the living skills, which are integrated across all strands of the health and physical education curriculum. The living skill expectations address personal skills (self-awareness and self-monitoring skills; adaptive, coping, and management skills), interpersonal skills (communication skills; relationship and social skills), and critical and creative thinking skills (e.g., setting goals, solving problems, making decisions, evaluating choices). The following expectations provide a context for exploring the financial implications of choices, using these skills.

C. Healthy Living

C1. Understanding Health Concepts
Substance Use, Addiction, and Related Behaviours

  • C1.2 describe the short- and long-term effects of alcohol abuse, and identify factors that can affect intoxication

C2. Making Healthy Choices
Substance Use, Addiction, and Related Behaviours

  • C2.3 demonstrate the ability to apply decision-making, assertiveness, and refusal skills to deal with pressures pertaining to alcohol use or other behaviours that could later lead to addiction (e.g., smoking, drug use, gambling)

Connections to financial literacy can be made in Science and Technology when exploring short- and long-term financial implications of using various consumer products and of choosing various options for conserving energy and resources. Financial literacy skills are also developed as students explore the financial costs and benefits of various choices from different perspectives.

Understanding Life Systems
1. Relating Science and Technology to Society and the Environment

  • 1.2 evaluate the effects, both beneficial and harmful, of various technologies on human body systems, taking different perspectives into account

Curriculum Expectations

Dance

A1. Creating and Presenting

  • A1.1 translate into movement sequences a variety of images and ideas from other classroom subjects, including the arts
  • A1.4 use the element of relationship in short dance pieces to communicate an idea

A2. Reflecting Responding and Analysing

  • A2.2 identify the elements of dance used in their own and others’ dance pieces and explain how they help communicate a message

Learning Goals

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to

  • use creative movement to communicate the power of addiction
  • use the element of relationship in dance to follow a leader during a movement sequence
  • apply a previous understanding of addiction to a creative movement piece
  • reflect on their own and others’ dance piece and identify what makes the movement meaningful

Instructional Components and Context

Readiness

Students should have an understanding of addiction from the previous lesson - Lesson One: Making Choices. Students should be able to define addiction and give examples of how addiction affects people both physically and financially and state examples of different types of addiction. Students should also have previous experience with the elements of dance.  

Terminology

Dance

Dance piece
Elements of dance
Body
Relationship
Mirroring
Levels
Tempo

Materials

Video Projector
Music for creative movement (instrumental)
BLM #4 Addiction Reflection Sheet
BLM #5 Success Criteria Checklist for Addiction Reflection

Lesson Plan

Minds On

Whole Class > Examining Power Relationships

Begin by reminding students of the learning from the previous lesson regarding the financial and physical implications of addiction to a substance or activity. Prompt: How can we define addiction? Re-post or revisit the student charts from lesson one and ask students to identify the impact of addiction to alcohol, smoking and gambling. Students should also be able to state examples of different types of addictions from the previous lesson (see Lesson 1: Making Choices).

Remind students that people who are addicted to a substance or activity, need that substance or activity to feel good. Ask students to consider in cases of addiction, who holds the power?  Prompt: When you think of someone who is addicted to alcohol, who do you think holds more power - the person drinking the alcohol, or the alcohol? You should be able to elicit from students that when a person chooses to drink, the choice is still theirs. When a person becomes addicted to alcohol, they no longer feel that they have control over their choices, so the power then belongs to the alcohol.

Introduce the video clip from “So You Think You Can Dance.” Advise students they they will be watching a dance piece that presents the concept of addiction. Students will also be introduced to the meaning and purpose of the dance (with choreographer’s and dancers’ comments) prior to the dance piece in the clip. Tell students they will be watching the clip twice: once for observation, and the second time they will be looking for elements of dance in the piece.

Watch the clip here

After viewing the clip once, ask students to consider the elements of body and relationship in this piece. Prompt: Who leads at different points in the dance (relationship)? What does the leadership communicate? How do the dancers use different parts of their body to communicate ideas?

Key Questions for Discussion:

What was the message being communicated by this dance?
Do you think the message was clear? If so, what made it clear?
How did the element of relationship help to communicate that message?
Which dancer had the most power? Why?
How might the use of space in relationship to the dancers communicate ideas?
What did you notice about how the dancers used their body in this piece?

Connections

Connections: Students will use their prior knowledge about addiction and the video clip to create their own movement piece depicting power relationships. Provide opportunities for students to view or research other dance pieces related to addiction.

Differentiation: Some students may choose to record their observations when observing the clip, for greater clarity of ideas.

Assessment for learning: Assess student discussion and response to the video for understanding before proceeding with the lesson using anecdotal notes.

 

Action!

Pairs/Small Group > Power through Mirroring

Students will alternate leads in this activity to experiment with power relationships in dance.

Arrange students in pairs, and ask each student to stand facing each other. Have students self-identify which partner will be “A” and which partner will be “B.” Advise students that partner “B” is going to be the first leader. Ask students to begin by having both palms facing each other.  Person “A” should mirror the movements of person “B” without it being clear who is leading the movement. Remind students that moving too quickly will not allow for smooth mirroring. The movement should be slow and sustained so that the audience is not aware of who is leading or following. Encourage students to play with levels during this activity. Alternate leads so that both person “A” and person “B” have an opportunity to lead the movements. Use music as a stimulus and to inform the tempo for this activity.

Divide the class into half so that some students may demonstrate while the other half observes. While the class is viewing, ask them to consider the power arrangements in this movement activity. Prompts: Who has the power in this relationship? How do you know? Is it clear who has the power? What movement or body part provides that suggestion of power? Why? Encourage students to identify that since the movement is being mirrored, and it is unclear who is leading, both partners hold the power in the movement. Although there is a leader, it should not be obvious who it is, therefore making it an equal power relationship.

Next, ask each pair to find another pair, so that they are now in groups of four. Explain to the students that they are now going to experiment with power relationships. Instruct one student to lead the group, having the other three follow. The leader will lead the movement by using their hand only. While the leader’s hand moves, the students must mirror the movement using their bodies. Allow students to have the opportunity to alternate leads. Discuss with students the power relationship in this movement exercise.

Key Questions for Discussion:

Who had the power in this movement exercise?
How did you feel when you were following the leaders hand movements?  
What did you find challenging when you followed? Why?
Can you think of another relationship where someone or something holds all of the power?

Consolidation

Small Group > Connecting Addiction and Movement

Divide the class into three groups and select one leader from each group. Identify the three leaders as “alcohol.” The remaining members of the group should be numbered off, and asked to remember which person they follow in numerical order. Ensure that students know who the leader of their group is.

Begin by asking the designated leaders to stand at the front of the room with their hand up, ready to lead movement, as with the small group mirroring activity. Ensure there is a significant amount of space between the leaders. Share with students that they are going to create a movement piece representing how easy it might be for people to become addicted to alcohol, and what power this type of addiction can have over them. Ask the class move freely about the room. They may move in any way that they choose, experimenting with the elements of dance. You may also choose to begin this activity with students simply walking about the room. The leaders at the front should begin to move their hands, even though there are no followers at this time.  

In numerical order, have the students begin to follow their designated lead at the front - similar to the mirroring activity. The other students should continue to move freely about the room until they see the number before them join the leader and follow their dictated movement. Encourage students not to rush. By the end of the activity, all students should have joined the leader of their group, and should be following the movement led by the leaders hand. This activity will highlight for students that although they are initially of their own free will to move about the room, they eventually succumb to the power of an addiction. Explain to students that addiction is complex and their are many factors which contribute to addiction. This activity provides them with an overall understanding of what the power of that addiction that is exercised in this complex relationship might look and feel like.

Following this activity, have students complete BLM #4 Addiction Reflection Sheet.

Connections

Connections: This activity could also be used for other substances or activities in which addiction is common (e.g. smoking). Students can consider the movement associated with the addiction of that specific substance or activity while making reference to the anchor charts and reflections from the video viewed and previous research.

Differentiation: Select a student leader for each group whom you observed stimulating creative movement successfully in the previous activities. Some students may require a scribe for the reflection activity.
 

Assessment of learning: Students written reflections should be evaluated using BLM #5 Success Criteria Checklist for Addiction Reflection.