Arts Impact Lesson Plan

ARTS IMPACT LESSON PLAN

Dance Lesson

Smooth and Sharp and Shapes

Authors: Alma White with Joanne Petroff

Grade Level: 1st Grade

Enduring Understanding: Sharp and smooth movements can be used as transitions between shapes.

Lesson Description (Use for family communication and displaying student art)

Students make straight, curved, twisted, and angular shapes. They move with smooth, flowing, continuous energy. They move with sharp, sudden, abrupt energy. Students create a dance of shapes and transition between the shapes using smooth or sharp energy.

Learning Targets and Assessment Criteria

Target: Makes a shape.

Criteria:Creates a still form with the body using straight, curved, angular, or twisted lines.

Target: Demonstrates a sharp or smooth energy quality.

Criteria:Dances with sudden, abrupt movements or continuous, ongoing movements.

Target: Demonstrates transitions between shapes using a sharp or smooth energy quality.

Criteria:Links a series of still forms in sequence using sudden, abrupt or continuous, ongoing movements.

Vocabulary

Arts:

Shape:

Angular
Curved
Straight
Twisted

Energy Qualities:

Sharp
Smooth

Self and General Space

Materials

Museum Artworks or Performance

Backstage Tour, Pacific Northwest Ballet,April 8, 2016

Materials

Music for Creative Dance, Volume III and Volume IV by Eric Chappelle; Drum; Class Assessment Worksheet

Pacific Northwest Ballet image:

Company dancers in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Cylindrical Shadows

©Angela Sterling

Learning Standards

WA Arts State Grade Level Expectations

For the full description of each WA State Arts Grade Level Expectation, see:

1.1.1 Elements: Shape, Energy

1.1.4 Principles of Choreography: Form and Structure

1.2.1 Skills and Techniques: Focus and Concentration, Sequence, and Pattern

1.4.1 Audience Skills

2.1.1 Creative Process

2.2.1 Performance Process

2.3.1 Responding Process

Early Learning Guidelines, if applicable

For a full description of Washington State Early Learning and Child Development Guidelines see:

(Age 4-5) 3. Touching, seeing, hearing and moving around: Using the large muscles (gross motor skills): Move with purpose from one place to another using the whole body; show coordination & balance; enjoy challenging self to try new and increasingly difficult activities.

(Age 4-5) 5. Communicating: Speaking and listening: Remember and follow directions involving two or three steps.

(Age 4-5) 6. Learning about my world: Arts: Show creativity and imagination.

ICON KEY:

 = Indicates note or reminder for teacher

 = Embedded assessment points in the lesson

Pre-Teach

Introduce the concepts of self-space and general space, kinesphere, and dancer neutral.

Lesson Steps Outline

1. Lead students in BrainDance warm-up focusing on smooth and sharp energy and shapes.

Music: #20 “Potpourri” from Music for Creative Dance, Volume III by Eric Chappelle

2. Introduce, model, and guide making shapes.

Music: drum

 Criteria-based teacher checklist, self and peer assessment: Creates a still form with the body using straight, curved, angular, or twisted lines.

3. Introduce, model, and guide dancing with smooth and sharp energy qualities.

Music: #16 “Energy” from Music for Creative Dance, Volume IV by Eric Chappelle

 Criteria-based teacher checklist: Dances with sudden, abrupt movements or continuous, ongoing movements.

4. Guide creation of shapes and smooth and sharp transitions in between.

Music: #16 “Energy” from Music for Creative Dance, Volume IV by Eric Chappelle

 Criteria-based teacher checklist: Links a series of still forms in sequence using sudden, abrupt or continuous, ongoing movements.

5. Facilitate performance and reflection.

 Criteria-based teacher checklist, peer assessment: Links a series of still forms in sequence using sudden, abrupt or continuous, ongoing movements.

Criteria-based reflection: Connects shapes, smooth and sharp energy in the natural world and daily life.

LESSON STEPS

1. Lead students in BrainDance warm-up focusing on smooth and sharp energy and shapes. (BrainDance originally developed by Anne Green Gilbert, reference: Brain-Compatible Dance Education, video: BrainDance, Variations for Infants through Seniors).

Music: #20 “Potpourri” from Music for Creative Dance, Volume III by Eric Chappelle

Breath (Before the music begins.)

Your muscles and your brain need oxygen, so inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Breathe deeply and slowly.

Tactile (Begin the music.)

Wake up your hands. Tap from the top of your head all the way to your toes. Hold your shape!

Tap from your toes to the top of your head. Hold the shape!

Core-Distal

Grow into a big straight shape. Shrink into a small twisted shape.

Head-Tail

Curl your spine forwards and backwards and forwards and backwards.

Curve from side to side. Twist gently side to side.

Upper Half

The top half of your body dances, while the lower half is frozen. Use smooth continuous ongoing movement.

Lower Half

The lower half of your body dances, while the upper half is frozen. Continue using smooth movements.

Body-Half Right, then Left

Your left side is frozen and only the right side dances. Use sharp, sudden movements.

Now the right side is frozen and the left half dances. Use sharp, sudden movements.

Cross-Lateral

Use your hands to draw lines crossing in front of your body. What other crisscross movements can you do? Use smooth movements.

Eye Tracking

Keep your eyes on your right hand. Move it from one side to the other and up and down.

Watch your left hand as you smoothly move it from side to side and up and down.

Spin/Vestibular

Glue your arms to your sides. Turn. Freeze in a straight shape. Turn the other direction. Freeze in a curved shape. Turn. Freeze in anangular shape.Turn. Freeze in a twisted shape.

Breath

Breathe quietly.

2.Introduce, model, and guide making shapes.

Music: drum

Today I used some words in the BrainDance to describe shapes: straight, curved, angular, and twisted.

Let’s look at this picture of the Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers and see if we can find the dancers using all these different shapes.

We’ve looked at dancers making shapes that have angular, straight, curved, and twisted lines. Let’s do that with our bodies.

I’m going to give you 5 drumbeats and you are going to make 5 different straight-line shapes. Do I have a volunteer to show us what a straight-line shape looks like? Ready? Let’s make our shapes.

Will someone show us a curved shape? Notice how it looks like parts of a circle or maybe the letter “s”. Next let’s try 5 curve shapes on my drumbeat.

Will someone show us how to make a twisted shape like a washcloth when you wring the water out? Keep twisting and turn your body into the washcloth. Let’s try 5 twisted shapes on my drumbeat.

For our last shapes, the angular shapes, let’s start with a straight line. Now let’s break it into short straight lines by bending at the elbow, bending at the wrist, tilting your head, bending a knee… Remember to use lots of short, straight lines. Let’s try 5 angular shapes with my drumbeat.

Make 10 shapes on my drumbeat. Your own choice of shape, but please try and use all the different types of shapes.

Turn to your neighbor and show them one of your shapes and tell your partner the type of shape you made.

 Criteria-based teacher checklist, self and peer assessment: Creates a still form with the body using straight, curved, angular, or twisted lines.

______

3. Introduce, model, and guidedancing with smooth and sharp energy qualities.

Music: #16 “Energy” fromMusic for Creative Dance, Volume IV by Eric Chappelle

 Use first two sections only.

Sit and listen to this music that makes me use smooth, continuous, flowing movements.

Let your hands do a dance that’s smooth and continuous. No stops, it keeps going.

Now change your hand dance to a sharp quality movement. It should be start-stop, or like a robot. It’s sudden. It’s jerky.

Please stand and we’ll go through the two energy quality movements staying in your self-space or one spot. First smooth and then sharp.

Now dance through the general space looking for the empty spaces as you use first smooth movements and then sharp movements.

 Start music at the beginning of track each time.

Criteria-based teacher checklist: Dances with sudden, abrupt movements or continuous, ongoing movements.

4.Guide creation of shapes and smooth and sharp transitions in between.

Music: #16 “Energy” from Music for Creative Dance, Volume IV by Eric Chappelle

 Use first two sections only.

We need to decide on three shapes, one straight, one curved, and one angular that are the same for all of us.

Who would like to share an idea for a straight shape? Let’s all try that shape. Look at how _____ makes the shape. Notice the details of the straight shape. Let’s all make that shape again. This is our straight shape; remember it.

Now we need a suggestion. Who would like to share a curved shape? Let’s try it. (Go through the same process.) This is the curved shape; remember it.

Our third shape will be the angular shape. Would someone share an example? (Go through the same process.)This is our angular shape; remember it.

Let’s practice our three shapes… straight, curved, angular…

For the fourth shape, we’ll all choose our own shapes. It will be a twisted shape, but it can be your own twisted shape. Practice your twisted shape and remember it.

Let’s practice our four shapes: straight, curved, angular, twisted (student’s choice).

Your next step is to use music to help guide the transitions in between the shapes. Let’s practice eight counts of smooth movement in between each shape. Start from dancer neutral and use flowing movement to transition into the straight shape; then 8 counts of smooth movement to the curved shape; 8 counts to the angular shape; and 8 counts to your own twisted shape. Let’s rehearse this again.

Now let’s do the same process with sharp, sudden changes into each shape. Start from dancer neutral and take one count to get to the straight shape, hold it for 7 counts. One count to the curved shape, hold 7 counts. One count to the angular shape, hold it for 7 counts. One count to your own twisted shape hold it for 7 counts. Let’s rehearse this again.

 Criteria-based teacher checklist: Links a series of still forms in sequence using sudden, abrupt or continuous, ongoing movements.

5. Facilitate performance and reflection.

Divide students into two groups, audience and performers. Review expectations for audience and for performers.

Performers, what do you expect from your audience?

Audience, what do you expect from the performers?

(After each performance) Audience, what did you see? Describe some of the shapes and smooth and sharp movements you saw.

Are there times in your day that you may use these shapes? Can you think of any animals or other critters that make these shapes(e.g. giraffes, snakes)? How do you know?

Did you like to move with sharp energy? Why? Did you like to move with smooth energy? Why?

In the classroom which type of energy qualities or movements do we think are safest to use? Why? How about out on the playground? Why?

Criteria-based teacher checklist, peer assessment: Links a series of still forms in sequence using sudden, abrupt or continuous, ongoing movements.

Criteria-based reflection: Connects shapes, smooth and sharp energy in the natural world and daily life.

ARTS IMPACT LESSON PLAN Arts Foundations Dance Lesson

First Grade: Smooth and Sharp and Shapes

CLASS ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET

Discilines: Dance; Dance; Dance

Concept: Shape; Energy; Shape and Energy

Criteria: Creates a still form with the body using straight, curves, angular, or twisted lines; Dances with sudden, abrupt movements or continuous, ongoing movements; Links a series of still forms in sequence using sudden, abrupt or continuous, ongoing movements.

Total 3

Student Name

What was effective in the lesson? Why?

What do I want to consider for the next time I teach this lesson?

How could I connect the concepts in this lesson with other disciplines?

Teacher

Date

ARTS IMPACT FAMILY LETTER

ARTS LESSON: Smooth and Sharp and Shapes

Dear Family:

Today your child participated in a dance lesson. We talked about freezing in shapes and moving with smooth and sharp energy.

We made straight, curved, twisted, and angular shapes.

We moved with smooth, flowing, continuous energy.

We moved with sharp, sudden, abrupt energy.

We created a dance with shapes and transitioned between our shapes using smooth or sharp energy.

At home, you could look at cats or dogs or insects as they move with smooth or sharp energy and try to copy their movements.

Enduring Understanding: Sharp and smooth movements can be used as transitions between shapes.

Arts Impact Arts Foundations 2015-16

Alma White; Concord International Elementary School; Smooth and Sharp and Shapes