Dance 4
Elements of Movement

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

It is expected that students will:

use the elements of movement in combination

demonstrate an awareness of techniques in a given dance style

demonstrate an awareness of the principles of movement in dance
identify ways in which safety, fitness, and health affect movement

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Elements of Movement in other grades click on an icon below.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Ask groups of students to create web charts of action words related to dance. Model and have students copy the different ways these terms can be applied (e.g., travelling and on the spot, stretched and contracted, slow and fast).
Invite a dancer from the high school or local community to talk about safety, fitness, and health issues related to movement. The discussion could focus on:
- physical preparation
- safety preparation (e.g., appropriate footwear and clothing)
- warmup, rehearsal, and cooldown
- diet, rest, and exercise patterns (ensure that issues such as body image and eating disorders are dealt with in a responsible manner)
  Invite the guest to teach components of these areas for students to practise.
Play "Simon Says." Challenge students to create movements based on instructions such as:
- Simon says to balance on three points (hand, elbow, and toe).
- Simon says to move like a person made of rubber.
Invite students to take turns giving instructions based on the elements or principles of movement.
As a class, learn a traditional folk dance. Have students practise and refine the steps with attention to the use of the elements of movement. Then ask them to perform the dance for another Grade 4 class, inviting the audience to try to identify the elements of movement used.
Have students suggest familiar occupations (e.g., parents' jobs, common careers in the community, their own career aspirations). Then ask students to work in groups to each select one occupation and consider the movements used in that occupation. Invite each group to combine these movements into a repeating sequence and to perform the sequence for the rest of the class.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

Ask students to work together in a line or circle formation to develop dance sequences that use elements of movement in simple combinations. To assess their dance sequences, note:
- number of different steps
- difficulty of the steps
- complexity of the dance formations
- extent to which students develop movements that suit the rhythm, music, and lyrics
Note as well the extent to which students:
- move to the beat and phrases of the music
- are able to change directions sharply and maintain rhythmic steps
After students have learned the steps of a traditional folk dance, have them create cartoon strips that represent some of the steps. For each cartoon, ask them to label the pathways, types of movement and direction, and use of space. Ask students to each identify one way the dance could enhance their own levels of fitness or health. Collect the cartoon strips and look for evidence that students are able to:
- accurately label the dance steps
- accurately identify the elements of movement in the dance steps
- make logical connections between dancing and personal fitness or health
When students have been taught basic dance vocabulary, invite them to develop dances that focus on their personal expression of recent themes in classroom literature or in a social studies or science unit. Have them select their own music and props. Videotape their dances and note the extent to which they:
- use locomotor or non-locomotor movements to accent specific beats
- maintain rhythm when performing their movement combinations
- create a series of movements to form a dance routine, alone or in small groups