Before participating in our activities we reviewed all the concepts we have learned so far such as: shapes, levels, big space, little space, jump, hop, sustain and collapse. I guided them through these by using my drum and calling them out.
Spiders and Webs
With this holiday activity our learning objective was discovering positive and negative space. I drew an addition sign and a subtraction sign on a white board to help them visualize this concept. They knew them as "plus" and "minus" which is perfect! They are such smart first graders.
Positive space is the space your body takes up, and everything around it is negative space. For this activity we got in partners. One partner would be the spider (the positive space) by making a shape and the second partner would draw webs around them (creating and visualizing the negative space). Before we got up and did the activity I demonstrated this exercise with their teacher. She was the spider and I slowly drew webs around her. To give more tactile information I gave each web maker a kleenex to wave around and draw the space with. I put on some music from the Charlotte's web soundtrack to inspire spidery movement. The kids did a beautiful job and were so focused!
Pumpkin Patch and Bats
To learn some new pathways we danced like pumpkins and bats. First we all danced like pumpkins in a straight pathway. For this we all had to follow a leader in a single file line in straight pathways while making a pumpkin shape with our upper body. The kids followed well. We also listened to "Bibbidi Bobbity Boo" while we danced to get into the pumpkin spirit.
We then discussed some characteristics of bats. Each student raised their hand and gave great answers! Some answers that were said were, "they sleep upside down" "they make this shape with their bodies" and "they fly." With this information we moved like bats through the space to learn the concept of a zig zag pathway. We then took turns being pumpkins and bats. It was an energetic activity!
Trees and Leaves
Our last dance game of the day was a dance phrase using all of the energy qualities we had learned to this point. Those are sustain, sway, and collapse. We started our dance in a tree shape of their choice to then improvising sustaining movements. Then we began to sway. Afterwhich we collapsed three times. 1, 2, 3! To bring us to the floor then to complete the phrase we did a big inhale and exhale.
This was a really lovely dance and the children did so beautifully. I am always so impressed with their focus, artistic choices and ability to follow directions. I can't wait to learn more together!
Kira, this is a beautiful lesson plan! Your lessons include fun objects, which adds so much excitement. You have the talent of reaching different learners through those objects as well as the whiteboard visual representation and fun music choices. I also loved reading about how you involved the teacher. The students must have loved that!
ReplyDeleteKira! You're awesome. I'm sure the dancers feed off of your energy as you teach. I love how you are able to hit many different points or elements of dance without overwhelming the students. I also like how you call your activities "games." I'm sure the students are excited when they get to play dance games. Way to go!
ReplyDeleteI love this lesson! The kids probably loved doing a dance that had to do with the fall weather and the holiday season. I love how creative you were with using a tissue to give them more of a visual. I think I can definitely use more simple props in my teaching to help the students better understand concepts. You're a rock star! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to see you and your dancers. It seems to me that you have enthusiasm and are enjoying this experience! They must love you!
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