Grades K to 1: Movement (Dance)

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

• demonstrate body awareness when performing dance activities
  
• move safely through space when creating movement sequences, with or without music
  
• perform locomotor and non-locomotor skills individually, with a partner, and with objects
  
• demonstrate basic dance steps, alone and with others
  
• use movement to respond to a variety of stimuli
  

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Movement (Dance) in other grades click on an icon below.

Suggested Instructional Strategies

Through dance experiences, children in grades K to 1 gain an awareness of their own and other cultures, enhance their self-esteem, and learn to solve problems, express feelings, and co-operate with others.

Strategies:

• Use simple movement sentences to reinforce body and space awareness, locomotor and non-locomotor skills, and control (e.g., hop forward, walk slowly).
  
• Have students explore specific skills such as body actions (swing, sink), relationships (mirroring, following), formations (lines, circles), and effort and qualities (time, force).
  
• Provide a variety of stimuli (e.g., vocabulary, poetry, story) to create movement. (e.g., "Show me how you would walk in snowshoes." "Show me different ways you can move to this piece of music.")
  
• Have students model and create clapping patterns and other non-locomotor movements to music to display a variety of qualities (e.g., force, speed).
  
• Have students create movement patterns to music using movement sentences, and teach them to a partner (e.g., two movements performed for eight beats each with a change in direction).
  
• Have students learn dance patterns from various cultures (e.g., European, South American, Aboriginal, African).
  
• Discuss the origin of dances, and find out about that country or culture.
  
• Create patterns of non-locomotor movements by choosing activities such as: "clap 4 times, slap knee 2 times, tap head 3 times."

Suggested Assessment Strategies

• To assess students' dances, observe the extent to which students develop moves that fit with rhythms, music, and lyrics.
  
• Have students work with a partner to create a dance sequence using some of the locomotion skills (e.g., walk, run). Look for evidence that students are able to develop a movement sequence and repeat the pattern.
  
• Ask other students if they are able to identify and repeat the pattern demonstrated. Collect evidence that students are able to represent movement sequences demonstrated by others.
  
• Ask one child to perform a series of non-locomotor movements (e.g., clapping for eight beats) in a pattern, and ask the other students to copy the pattern. Look for evidence of the student's ability to create the pattern and the other students' ability to reproduce it.
  
• Videotape the whole class demonstrating an aspect of dance. Have students watch the video to collect data in the following categories:
  
  • Someone who didn't bump into anyone was . . . .
    
  • Someone who moved to the music was . . . .
    
  • One time I moved safely was . . . .
    
  • One thing I noticed about myself was . . . .
    
• Have students record their observations on a data collection sheet by drawing or writing their responses.

Recommended Learning Resources

Print Material

• Assessing Attitudes in Physical Education: A Collection of Assessment Tools
  
• The Canadian Active Living Challenge
  
• Dance for Young Children: Finding the Magic in Movement
  
• Inclusion of Students with Special Needs in Physical Education
  
• A Quality Approach to Primary Physical Education: A Resource Guide for Teachers - Dance

• Teaching Beginning Dance Improvisation
  
• Teaching Folk Dance Activities

• Can You Speak Dance?

Table of Contents

Province of British Columbia
Ministry of Education
Curriculum Branch © 1995 Copyright

Maintained by: Physical Education Coordinator

Revised: March 1996

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