Teachers should always comply with school board and school protocols in addition to guidelines from federal, provincial, and municipal public health agencies. CODE recommends that teachers use professional judgment when considering the use of any adaptations offered in this resource.
Elementary Dance
Convention or Strategy
Suggested Adaptations
Body Storming
Following physical distancing guidelines, direct students to find personal space marked areas of the room (e.g., tape a metre grid on the floor) or move to an alternative learning space such as the gymnasium, library or school yard.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Sowing Seeds: Lesson 8, Lesson 9, Lesson 10
- Exploring the Elements of Dance Through Picture Books: Lessons 1-5
- Exploring Animal Moves: Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3
- Financial Literacy & Media Messages: Lesson 2
- The Name Jar: Warm-Ups
Dance Phrases and Sequences
Depending on group sizes, blending dance sequences may involve the following: There may only be enough room in your space for 1 or 2 groups to work together at a time. Non-moving groups can be brainstorming, researching, planning, revisiting media projects from the previous lesson, finding more source imagery, and observing processes.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Financial Literacy & Media Messages Lesson 2
Elements of Dance: Exploring Space & Locomotor Movement
When exploring pathways, use tape or chalk pens to create varying pathways (e.g. loops, curves, zig-zag, etc) on the floor. Instruct students to sit in a large circle or square around the tape lines. Have students move along those pathways, one at a time to maintain physical distance, using various locomotor movements (e.g. skipping, galloping, rolling, etc.). If needed use digital images to indicate the type of locomotor movement and intended pathway.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Exploring the Elements of Dance Through Picture Books: Lesson 2
Flocking
Roughly position half the class in a “stretched” diamond formation to accommodate for physical distancing. The other half of the class may watch in their own personal spaces, marked on the floor or at tables, etc. Students need enough room to move their arms freely, and bend and stretch within their personal space. The outdoors are particularly good for the first flocking experience as space is not limited.
During physical distancing, flocking should be done in smaller groups at a larger distance than is traditional. If working on-line, students could do a full turn after they are leading and then go on to follow another predetermined leader on the screen.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Exploring Animal Moves - Lesson 5
Mirroring
Partner students together. Students can face a partner two metres across from each other. When face to face, outstretched hands should not touch one another. If needed, use tape on the floor to indicate where students must remain while mirroring.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Exploring the Elements of Dance Through Picture Books: Lesson 5
- Exploring Animal Moves: Lesson 4
Shadow Dance
Students will not be able to explore interconnectedness in dance in the same way during physical distancing. They can be encouraged to try the ideas of responding to one another and working with levels, negative and positive spaces, shapes, and angles from afar. Students might also like the idea of working with projected images or projected shadows. Projected image: Record A and live feed or replay the video and B could respond to A’s movements. Shadow: Shine a light on A and B interconnects with A’s shadow.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- In or Out: Lesson 4
Warm-ups
Lead the class through a warm-up to prepare them for the dance lesson. See Physical Warm-ups for suggestions. This may need to be done in 2 groupings depending on space. Ensure students remain in their ‘home spaces’. You may also consider an outdoor space if students are able to focus there.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- In or Out: Lesson 4
Elementary Drama
Convention or Strategy
Suggested Adaptations
Artefacts
In lieu of having physical objects in the classroom, project images of these artifacts on a screen or wall in the classroom, or the teacher can number them and display them throughout the room so that everyone can see them.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- The Name Jar
- In or Out: Lesson 7
Choral Speaking
Make the groups small and use a physically distanced triangle or four corners for staging safely. For all vocally focused activities, it is important to ensure the students are separated physically and all facing the same way rather than facing one another. The unknown issue with this strategy is whether or not masks will be required. Muffled choral reading may be the outcome but the students will still be speaking aloud together, hearing one another, seeing one another and working together in a variety of ways. The creative process here will be more important than the product.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- In or Out Lesson 4
- Sowing Seeds: Lesson 2, Lesson 3, Lesson 4, Lesson 6, Lesson 9, Lesson 10
- The Name Jar
- The Tunnel: Lesson
Clay and Sculptor
Assign partners and have students decide who will be the clay and who will be the sculptor. Choose a word or phrase from a text or source you are working with and tell the sculptors to create a piece of art using that word as the title using the "clay" in front of them by verbally instructing their partner to take on a specific pose and/or facial expression. Under normal class circumstances, students would ‘shape’ the other by physically moving them into a specific pose, however to accommodate for physical distancing, this ‘shaping’ will occur verbally.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Building a Community: Lesson 3
Corridor of Voices/Landscape of Voices
The Corridor of Voices used here is changed to Landscape of Voices to reflect an adaptation of the technique wherein students stand in two lines often facing inwards while the teacher or a student in role walks down the ‘corridor’ stopping at each student and facing them to receive the thoughts of others. In Landscape of Voices students stand at a distance from each other and the perspective of each student is given when the teacher or a student in role gestures/points at them, or calls their name.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Building a Community: Lesson 3
- Sowing Seeds: Lesson 7
- The Name Jar
Hot Seating
Allow time to elapse before permitting students to move into a space that has just been occupied by other students. If masks are required, students will have to speak slowly and clearly to be understood. Consider what actions and gestures might add to their role play for clarity. Consider if shifting the spotlight from one speaker to the next can be done without students changing position in the space. Alternatively, chairs can be placed (2 metres apart) facing the rest of the class to maintain safe physical distancing. You may consider an outdoor space..
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- If I had $100 Lesson
- The Tunnel Lesson
- In or Out: Lesson 7
Tableau
Students could create tableaux in individual statues, or at home with their family and take a picture. Groups of students could also create statues in reaction to each other from at least two metres apart to ensure physical distancing. Alternatively the class may create tableaux one at a time with the teacher guiding and sharing explicit prompts for the observing students. You may choose to create a grid on the floor or to mark out where students may form a tableau to ensure they have their own space according to physical distancing guidelines. Considerations need to be made for sharing these tableaux. For example, adjustments may need to be made for how many students present their tableau sequence at once based on the needs of the space. You may also consider an outdoor space
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Building a Community: Lesson 1, 2, 3, and 5
- If I had $100 Lesson
- In or Out: Lesson 7
- Sowing Seeds: Lesson 2, Lesson 3, Lesson 4, Lesson 10
- The Tunnel Lesson
Secondary Dance
Convention or Strategy
Suggested Adaptations
Warm-up / Conditioning Sequence
To facilitate adequate spacing measure out and mark space on the floor using painter’s tape or Gaff tape to ensure a safe distance between students. Be sure to also measure out the space where the teacher is leading.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Considering Beauty: Lesson 6
- Embodying the Dancer: Lesson 1 and 2
Guided Improvisation
This can be teacher led while students move physically in their own designated space.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Considering Beauty: Lesson 1
Call and Response
This type of partner work can be done at a far distance.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Needs vs Wants: Lesson 1 and 2
Secondary Drama
Convention or Strategy
Suggested Adaptation
The Great Game of Power
Instead of having students manipulate chairs and a water bottle to change the power dynamics, the students take turns asking the teacher to rearrange the desks and water bottle.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Financial Literacy Through Theatre of the Oppressed - Lesson 2
Image Theatre
The “images” will be created through verbal commands and instructions by partners, instead of physical manipulation, and the “gallery walk” will be conducted from two metres apart, and move in one direction to allow students to maintain a safe distance.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Clowning For Change - Lesson 4
- Financial Literacy Through Theatre of the Oppressed - Lesson 3
Inside/Outside Circle
Inside/Outside Circle usually has the class get into two concentric circles, the inside circle facing the outside circle, with the ability to change partners quickly. In order to maintain physical distancing, have students sit on chairs two or four lines facing each other so that every student has a partner leaving 2 meters between the students for physical distancing. One line moves and all students carry their own chair to maintain physical distancing, but allowing for maximum collaboration and participation.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Verbatim Theatre - Lesson 1
Newspaper Theatre (Theatre of the Oppressed)
Groups will be only 3-4 students, and will share their readings from at least two metres apart, and will not face each other while reading/speaking, unless masked.
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Financial Literacy Through Theatre of the Oppressed - Lesson 2
Wax Museum
In order to play Wax Museum safely, students need to have established a gesture that reminds other students that they are entering within two metres, and the game could be played in shifts to allow for proper physical distancing (e.g, If you have a class of 28, split them into three groups of 10, 9 and 9 to create more space to move).
Conventions/Strategies can be found in:
- Clowning For Change - Lesson 3
