Learning Goals

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

  • Engage in the Creative Process
  • Create a dance piece inspired by aspects of their identity
  • Give peer feedback
Materials
Terminology

Minds On

Individual > Identity Chart

Invite students to revisit their Identity Chart that they have been working on in previous lessons. Ask them to select four ideas from their chart. These should be things they are comfortable sharing and discussing in a group. Students can circle or use sticky notes to highlight their selections.

Action

Individual > Bodystorming

Ask students to spread out in the room. Ask them to select one of their ideas and create a movement to represent that idea. Coach students as needed to experiment with the elements of dance. (see Appendix 3 Bodystorming Script for sample teacher script, if needed). Repeat this process for all four ideas, so that at the end of the bodystorming, students have four movements that are inspired by the four ideas they chose from their Identity Chart.

Pairs > Building Choreography

Pair up students. Ask students to share their movements with each other and give them a few minutes to rehearse so that both students know all eight movements.

Small Group > Building Choreography

Join pairs together to create groups of four. Ask students to share their movements with their new group members. Give groups time to practice so that all group members know all of the movements. Each group of four should now have 16 movements to work with.

Invite students to use these movements to create a short dance piece using the following parameters:

  • they must use all 16 movements
  • they can’t add any new movements, but can vary the movements (e.g., do the movement at a different level, make the movement travel, face a different direction etc.)
  • they can put the movements in any order they want
  • they can repeat the movements as many times as they want
  • they incorporate the elements of dance

Give students time to create their dance piece

Whole Class > Creating Criteria

Pause the rehearsal and gather the class together. Invite them to consider what would make a good dance piece and what a successful rehearsal process might look like. Use these suggestions to establish success criteria.

Possible success criteria might include:

  • all students are contributing to the choreography
  • try a variety of ideas before determining which ideas works best
  • staying on task and engaged in the creative process
  • the dance piece uses all of the movements in an interesting and unique way
  • the dance pieces uses a variety of the elements of dance
  • group members know the choreography well

See PDF #2 Sample Assessment Tool. You can edit or adapt the criteria based on student input.

Small Group > Rehearsing Dance Pieces

Give students additional time to create and rehearse their dance piece. Remind them to refer to the criteria as they work. Circulate and side coach, as needed.

For students who require an additional challenge, encourage them to incorporate one or more choreographic forms in their dance piece.

Whole Class > Peer Feedback

Invite groups to share their dance pieces one at a time. As for the audience to give feedback, based on the established criteria, using the two stars and a wish format.

Small Group > Revising Dance Pieces

Give students time to revise their dance pieces based on peer feedback.

Whole Class > Establishing Audience Etiquette

Ask students: What is the difference between live performance and pre-recorded performance? Discuss their responses.

Divide students into small groups. Students will take turns being performers and audience members. Have the students perform a popular, well-known song (e.g., Happy Birthday, O' Canada, nursery rhymes, Old MacDonald etc.). The remaining students will act as the audience. The teacher in role will become a student and will create different scenarios where he/she will demonstrate inappropriate audience etiquette (i.e. excessive gum chewing, talking on their cell phone, unwrapping candies, talking to their neighbour, fidgeting, using inappropriate sitting posture).

After each group has had an opportunity to perform, have a discussion.

Questions for Discussion:

  • Were there any problems during your performance? 
  • How did you feel during your performance? 
  • How did this affect your performance?

As a class, facilitate the creation of a student-developed set of criteria for appropriate audience etiquette.

Sample Criteria:

  1. Listen quietly during the performance. 
  2. Sit up straight.
  3. Look at the stage.
  4. Sit calmly and quietly.

See also Teaching Audience Etiquette from the CODE website.

Whole Class > Sharing Dance Pieces

Invite groups to share their dance pieces. Students may also wish to share the ideas from their Identity Chart that inspired their movements.

Whole Class > Sharing Dance Pieces

Invite groups to share their dance pieces. Students may also wish to share the ideas from their Identity Chart that inspired their movements.

Consolidation

Whole Class > Reflection

As a class, watch the video of Gurdeep Pandher dancing. In this video, he discusses dance, culture and joy.

Questions for Discussion

  • How can dance bring people together?
  • How can dancing be part of our identity?
  • What connections can you make between Gurdeep Pandher’s dancing and the dance pieces you created in class?
  • How can dance cultivate joy for you? 

What's next?

You're off to a strong start. Consider these CODE resources for your next steps:

Foundations

Units