Learning Goals

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to …

  • create a learning space that helps students “feel comfortable emotionally, psychologically” and physically and demonstrate “care and concern for the safety of others”
  • become better acquainted with their peers so that they can take creative risks in a safe environment
Materials
  • Chart paper and markers
  • Blank paper or dance notebooks
  • duct tape to mark gathering space as required
  • object to indicate who is speaking during a community circle (optional)
  • class set of chairs
  • Appendix #2 Sample Signals and Cues
Terminology

Minds On

Whole Group > Defining the Space

  • Inform your students that in dance class, they will be creating, rehearsing and presenting ideas to each other as part of our work. They will also begin and end each class with a community circle.
  • Teacher Prompt: How might we need to change the physical arrangement of our space in order to allow for this to happen safely?
  • Record students’ suggestions so that they can be viewed easily in the learning space.
  • As a collective define the following:
    • potential area(s) to meet in a circle
    • potential area(s) to create and rehearse
    • potential area(s) to share/perform 
  • Decide upon the physical arrangements that will work best for your space and that can be accomplished in a safe and efficient way.
Teacher Tip

If space is limited:

  • Cluster desks into groups or move the desks to the perimeter/one side of the room to create a big enough space for community circle 
  • Try to book the library or gymnasium for your dance period or work outside if you can
  • Have small groups rehearse in the hall just outside of your class. Stand in the doorway so you can monitor students both inside/outside the room 
  • When sharing/performing, have students sit in their desks and use the largest open space in the room for groups to share their work
  • Have a space in the room with a mat and some props like scarves and noise cancelling headphones for ASD students to play independently/have a place to self regulate if they are unable to engage with the whole class task

If you have your own dance room:

  • Consider removing all chairs and have students assemble in a circle when they come in the room
  • Consider having the lights turned off with soft or having gentle music playing when students enter the space

Whole Class > Try it out!

  • Once you have come up with the physical arrangements for rehearsing and for sharing/performing in your space:
    • have the students practice going to and from the designated spaces
    • make adjustments as necessary in terms of safety and ease of movement
    • call out anytime students are not following expectations as soon as you see it (make them go back and do it again, safely and without disruption until they can transition effectively)
    • determine a verbal signal or cue that you will use when transitioning to and from these places. See Appendix 2 Sample Signals and Cues.

Teacher Tip: Reflect on the effectiveness of the verbal signals or cues you chose. Is there a better choice that might be more clear?

*Safety tip: If this requires the moving of furniture, ensure that students are only moving desks and chairs. You’ll need an adult to move around heavier pieces of furniture.

Action

Whole Group > Community Circle

Invite students to sit in a circle on the floor.

Discuss the purpose of the circle. Sample responses might be:

  • to be accountable and present for one another by facing each other/not having option to separate
  • to reinforce the notion that we are interconnected-one person impacts the functioning of the whole
  • to reinforce that each member of the group has something to contribute

Outline the protocol for circle sharing and discuss the expectations. Sample expectation might include:

  • One person speaks at a time
  • Others actively listen (eye contact not required but encouraged, commitment not to interrupt or carry on side conversation with someone else)
  • Sharing is voluntary and could happen either:
    • spontaneously once the invitation to speak has been opened
    • could be formalized by the request to hold an agreed upon object that indicates whose turn it is to speak (e.g., a stuffed animal, a stick). Decide as a group which format you would like to use.
  • Sharing uses I statements and respectful language. It speaks to an issue, an idea or a behaviour not to a person’s character or identity.

Teacher Tip: You will need to negotiate what you mean by respectful language and refine it as you work and make it part of your classroom norms.

Whole Group > Discussion > Taking Safe Risks

Tell students that for the next few lessons, you will be working together to explore your identity through dance. Invite students to think about what they know about dance. Some teacher prompts might include:

  • What is dance?
  • What might be the difference between ‘dance’ at school and in private lessons?
  • What kinds of dance do we know about?

Remind students of the format that you have decided upon for sharing (spontaneously speaking when there is a silence OR putting their hand up to indicate they want the agreed upon speaking object to be passed to them). Record student ideas in a digital format or on chart paper so that they can return to their thinking about dance throughout the year. 

Before inviting students into movement, have a discussion about expectations to maintain student psychological and physical safety.

Teacher prompt: In your own words, what does it mean to “take safe risks”?

Once students have shared their ideas, take a moment to summarize common responses that you heard and examples of alternative ways to think about the phrase that were mentioned as a way to bring closure to the task. 

Extension: Create a Charter of Responsibilities for the dance classroom.

Sample Responsibilities:

  • Participation - students should participate in ways that are available to them (e.g., if they are passing their turn to share an idea, they are actively listening and thinking)
  • Honour your body - students can “leave” an activity for any reason (with clear limits about what leaving looks like, e.g., witnessing from the side of the movement space, using a quiet space, using noise cancelling headphones, going for a drink of water); and students can return at any time. This also includes honouring the limits of their energy, their flexibility, etc. They should think carefully when pressured to do what their peers are doing and about how far to push themselves while taking “safe risks”.
  • Be safe and protect others’ space - students should be mindful of other students and the space while moving to keep their peers safe
  • Seek consent and suggest alternatives - in activities involving touch, students should make it a norm to seek consent; if a student does not consent, they should consider an alternative they can suggest
  • Ask questions/ask for help - students have a responsibility to let their peers and teacher know when the instructions/questions did not make sense to them so that they can participate
  • Be a supportive classmate - using encouraging words, being a caring witness (not laughing or making anyone feel judged) so that everyone can take safe risks
Teacher Tip: Responsibilities

Be wary of too much use of the “passing” at the start of the year. While you want to provide shy or anxious students a tool to be able to manage their reluctance to share or difficulties coming up with an idea on the spot, you also want to communicate that when they come to class, they are going to take part. 

  • Tell students at the start of the sharing that you will come back to them after everyone has gone when they pass the first time around the circle
  • Allow students to ask the group for help coming up with a response. They can use a phrase like-”I’d like a helping hand” to signal that another member of the circle can help them form a response by providing a guiding question or an example of a response that might fit the circumstance for them to use.
  • For students who struggle with abstract thinking: provide them with a list of two or three options for a choice of something that might fit the situation and have them select from the provided options. E.g., How did you feel about using the digital countdown? Could you see it? Could you not see it? Did you forget to look?

Support students in recognizing when leaving and returning might be appropriate when honouring their bodies. For students with anxiety about being witnessed or not processing instructions “correctly”, leaving gives them a chance to observe before diving in.

Consolidation

Whole Class > Freeze Frame Locomotor Warm-up

Invite students to walk around the space at a safe pace. Cue them to notice empty spaces and to move towards them to try to keep the room flowing with movement. Explain that you will play some music and that when you press stop they will freeze into a pose. Use the following teacher prompts to engage students in exploring locomotor movement of their body parts in personal and general space.  

Teacher Prompts:

  • This time, can you freeze into a low pose? a high pose?
  • This time, can you freeze into an angular pose? a round pose?
  • What is the smallest pose you can make? the largest?

Suggested music: Freeze Frame by the J. Geils Band

Teacher Tip:

This activity is a precursor to a general repeatable warm-up as students get comfortable with movement. Eventually students can lead the warm up and it will act as a clear transition to get students ready for the work of dance class. Some suggestions for general warm-ups for future lessons include Brain Activation, Body Scan Warm-up, March & Freeze, Stretch & Shake.

Assessment for Learning (AfL)

Observe students to inform lesson planning and determine next steps