BC Education - Appendix D: K to 7 Samples

Dance Sample 2: Grades 2 to 3

Topic:

Clowning Around

Prescribed Learning Outcomes:

Elements of Movement

It is expected that students will:

move safely in both personal and general space
move in a variety of levels, pathways, and directions, using a variety of body shapes
move in time to a variety of rhythms, metres, and tempos

Creation and Composition

It is expected that students will:

move expressively to a variety of sounds and music
create movement sequences based on patterns, characters, and stories

Presentation and Performance

It is expected that students will:

demonstrate a willingness to rehearse and perform dance
demonstrate respect for the contributions of others
demonstrate an awareness of appropriate performance skills and audience etiquette

Overview

In this unit, students were given opportunities to learn about and practise dance strategies including mirroring, leaping, flocking, follow-the-leader, and pair dancing with a hoop. Evaluation was based on teacher observation, self- and peer assessment, and conferences.

Planning for Assessment and Evaluation

Students in pairs participated in mirroring activities in which they moved slowly to music. One student stood and the other lay on the floor acting as the shadow. They explored movement with arms, torso, hips, and the upper body. At a signal, they changed places. The teacher also had students explore real shadow movements on a sunny day.
Students formed groups of four. The teacher asked them to select leaders and move together around the gym as if they were flocks of birds or schools of fish. They continued to explore movement as music was added.
Students were encouraged to include different levels of movement and devise ways to change leaders. To focus students' attention on pathways, the teacher instructed half the "flocks" to sit, while the others travelled around, between, and through the spaces that were left. At a change in the music, students switched places.
Students worked in clown pairs to practise taking turns leaping over each other. The teacher and students discussed how to lie down and move in safe ways. The teacher introduced the idea of the importance of alignment, then students practised leaping to music.
Students participated in a follow-the-leader activity as a form of echoing. In the gym, the class was divided into two groups facing each other. One side developed movements to the music. The clowns facing them mirrored their actions taking into account the use of tempo, level, and the direction students faced. Students took turns leading the dances. Dancers led and followed from both sides of the gym as they passed between one another.
In pairs, students planned dances with hoops composed of three repeating 8-beat sequences. Students started their sequences with the hoops held between them at waist height. Because the teacher set a slow pace, this served as a cooldown activity.
The teacher and students worked together to combine the dances they had created into a whole-class presentation. Parents were invited to participate by making clown costumes and painting clown faces on the students.

Defining the Criteria

The teacher reviewed the learning outcomes and explained the task requirements to the students. The teacher and students talked about what they should work toward in their "Clowning Around" dances. Together they decided that the following key criteria should be demonstrated throughout the process of creating, composing, and presenting their dances:

correctly uses dance vocabulary
accurately responds to dance vocabulary
uses a variety of levels of movement
shows awareness of appropriate space
moves expressively to music
willingly engages in dance activities
demonstrates persona of a clown

The teacher listed the criteria in age-appropriate language on a Clowning Around Criteria chart and displayed it for ongoing student reference.

Assessing and Evaluating Student Performance

Throughout the unit, the teacher circulated to conduct individual and small-group conferences. Students also gave one another feedback and assessed their own work. They noticed what they had accomplished and what they had to continue to work on. They also complimented each other on movements they particularly liked.

During informal conferences, the teacher prompted students to demonstrate their knowledge and application of dance vocabulary using the following requests:

Show me you can move in curved pathways.
Show me high, medium, and low levels.
Show me how your flock can focus your bodies in the same direction.
Show me an interesting movement at a level that you used in your flock.
Get into your flocks and show me the ready position for mirroring.

The teacher took photographs of the flocks freezing in actions that showed various levels, pairs in their improvised hoop dances, and pairs doing mirroring activities. Using dance vocabulary, students wrote captions for the photographs that completed the sentence stem "When you look at my photograph, I want you to notice ___________________ ." Students drew pictures with labels to explain what worked well and what was hard and needed more work.

The teacher observed and made notes as students worked on their dances. The teacher then held conferences to offer feedback and discuss goals for future dances. Photographs, captions, and written reflections were dated and placed in students' portfolios for referral at the student-led conferences.

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Revised: July 8, 1998

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