Grade 7: Movement (Dance)

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 creative process to develop dances, alone and with others
refine and present dance sequences from a variety of dance forms, alone and with others
select, refine, and present movement sequences using elements of body awareness, space awareness, qualities, and relationships in dance activities

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Suggested Instructional Strategies

Students participate in a variety of dance forms, such as folk, line, jazz, contemporary, ballroom, and multicultural. Participation in dance provides social and recreational opportunities for students, preparing them for social events.

Strategies:

Have students plan and participate in a variety of warm-up activities and exercises to develop endurance, flexibility, and strength.
Using music as a stimulus, have students find different ways of walking in general space (e.g., quickly, slowly, on ice).
Have small groups create a four- or five-part walking sequence demonstrating a change in directions, levels, and pathways.
Have students perform a variety of established dances (e.g., Virginia reel, cherkassiya, troika, tanko buschi).
In groups of three or four, have students research a dance from another culture or country, and teach it to others.
As a community service, have students perform dances for seniors or other groups.
Have students interview a person who dances for a living, or research a famous dancer.
Have students listen to a piece of music; then develop a story or poem, and interpret it in a dance form of their choice.
Have students use scarves, fans, canes, or a parachute to create dance sequences with or without music.
Have students create a movement sequence, and then select an Orff instrument to provide rhythm for the sequence.

Suggested Assessment Strategies

Prepare a data recording sheet with these headings:
- Qualities--How the Body Moves (e.g., time, weight, space, flow)
- Body Awareness--What the Body Does (e.g., actions and shapes)
- Space Awareness--Where the Body Moves (e.g., directions, levels, pathways, planes, extensions)
- Body Parts--Relationships of the Body to Other Individuals or Groups
Record observations for each heading, such as:
- each element flows smoothly into the next
- body shape and control are evident
- uses space appropriately for elements selected
When students have created an individual dance focussing on body shapes (e.g., wide, narrow, twisted, curled), provide an opportunity for half the class to perform while the other half observes. Have students provide specific feedback focussing on the body shapes displayed in the dance.
After small groups create a movement sequence, look for elements such as clarity of movements, patterns, steps, flow of movements, creativity, and effective group participation.
Have students work in groups to create, practise, and teach a dance to a class of younger students. Have students assess their dance by:
- collecting feedback from the younger students
- reflecting and reporting on the success of their design, practices, and demonstration
- identifying two or three things they learned that they can apply to activities outside of physical education

Recommended Learning Resources

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Video

Multimedia

Table of Contents

Maintained by: Physical Education Coordinator

Revised: March 1996

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