DRAMA
Week 1 Strategy: Storytelling Our first week of class we focused on the art of storytelling where our professor used the strategy of story drama to tell us about the origin of the narwhal. Our professor told us a story in chunks where we did activities throughout the story. It was a very engaging activity where the storytelling strategies allowed us to also get involved and participate. One part of the story our professor stopped and had us have a town meeting that went along with the story. We were already invested in the story so it was a great point to stop and incorporate a drama activity. It was also a great opportunity to assess student comprehension and what they have understood from the story so far. I would definitely like to incorporate storytelling into my drama lessons and also try to integrate it within other subjects. Storytelling is a great way to capture students attention and can be used for a wide variety of subject areas. I can incorporate storytelling for science concepts, social studies and language are a few of the subjects I can see myself incorporating it into easily. By using storytelling within my lessons I will be able to incorporate cross-curricular learning and create fun drama activities within less “desirable� subject areas students may not find fun.. For my future classrooms there are so many different techniques within storytelling that can be introduced to my students to keep it exciting. For my drama presentation we have chosen to do storytelling strategies and are looking at the different techniques. We have decided on doing the kamishibai, clothesline, props and voice collage to have different strategies to keep stories fun and engaging for students.
Week 2 This week for drama our warm up activity was working on our breathing and voice. We breathed in deeply and worked on making unique noises to warm up our voices. This was a fun and goofy activity that got us motivated for drama class. As well, we did a warm up activity where we had to make factory noises and join in with our classmates with noises that complemented theirs. I can definitely see myself using this with a wide age range of classes because it doesn’t require a lot of courage from students who may be shy during drama class. This week we learned about Dwyer’s Learners Theory where it explains how information is absorbed, processed and retained. 20% of what you hear 30% of what you see 50% of what you write/draw 70% of what you discuss 80% of what you do/experience 90% of what you teach Each week we integrate another subject within our drama class and we had science this week. I was really excited when our drama professor told us how we were incorporating science within this lesson because it was very exciting and fun. We were first asked to pick a part of the digestive system and in pairs act out how the parts work. If we refer back to Dwyer’s learners theory we remember 80% of what you experience. I know this would be a much more effective way of teaching the organ systems because students are allowed to experience and be creative with their learning. We then had to put all parts of the digestive system together and have a piece of food travel through the system. It was a very creative lesson I can definitely see myself using in the future when I teach organ systems. As well, this week my group had the first presentation where we focused on different strategies for storytelling. The four strategies we presented was the clothesline, props, kamishibai and voice collage. The clothesline strategy is great for younger grades because students can organize the parts of the story. As well, you can differentiate this strategies for different grade levels by having students create their own clothesline story for older grades or have younger grades try and put up the pictures in the proper order. The props strategy is great for students who learn better kinaesthetically and can actually touch the props. I think this strategy would be best for younger grades because they would be more excited about a teacher bring in props to go along with the story. Kamishibai is a great story telling strategy that has great opportunities to be modified depending on the grade. Older students can create their own story and drawings to integrate language and visual arts along with drama. Lastly, voice collage is a great strategy for students to be creative and create an auditory
setting that goes along with the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this drama class and look forward to the next!
UNDERSTANDING LIFE SYSTEMS- HUMAN ORGAN SYSTEMS 3.1 identify major systems in the human body (e.g., musculoskeletal system, digestive system, nervous system, circulatory system) and describe their roles and interrelationships 3.2 describe the basic structure and function of major organs in the respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems (e.g., we have two lungs; each one is about 25–30 cm long and cone-shaped; the right lung is slightly bigger because it has three lobes and the left lung has only two; our lungs are responsible for gas exchanges) Follow-up 3.4 identify common diseases and the organs and/or body systems that they affect (e.g., epilepsy affects the brain [central nervous system]; appendicitis affects the appendix [digestive system]; asthma and emphysema affect the lungs [respiratory system])
Week 3 This week we learned about the strategy of a drama structure which included: role play, 2 warm ups, teacher in role and movement. The warm up activities were a great way to get students involved and engaged. The one drama activity I really enjoyed this week were the tableaus. Each group was able to choose a different fairytale story and we had to create three different scenes from the story. My group decided to do Snow White and we effectively were able to portray the fairytale and have the class guess which one we were. I can see this being used in many different grade levels as a strategy to get students engaged, because I truly enjoyed it myself. As I learned this week, integrating math into drama can be quite tricky. We learned about another strategy called Hot Seating where a student would be asked several questions to determine what number the student in the chair was thinking of. This strategy could be modified for different grade levels and could be used as a fun minds on to add into a math lesson. The main activity of our drama class was using the story drama to integrate math numeration at a grade 6 level. Below is the information used in class: Background Information for Drama Structure: The Pirate Round was a sailing route followed by certain Anglo-American pirates, mainly during the late 17th century. The course led from the western Atlantic, around the southern tip of Africa, stopping at Madagascar, then on to targets such as the coast of Yemen and India. Pirates who followed the route are sometimes called Roundsmen. The Pirate Round was largely coextensive with the routes of the East India Company ships, of Britain and other nations. The East India Trading Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China. Ships were commandeered by the Company to haul goods along the Round, back to England. The ‘goods’ were usually Thomas Tew, also known as the Rhode Island Pirate, was a 17th century English privateer-turnedpirate. Tew pioneered the route which became known as the Pirate Round. Many other famous pirates, including Henry Every and William Kidd, would follow in Tew’s path. A privateer was a privately owned ship that engaged in maritime warfare against pirates. The privateer was commissioned by a company owner or government who could also sponsor the trip. Once a pirate ship was captured, the proceeds were divided between the issuer of the commission, the sponsor, the ship owner, and the captain and crew. Some crews were made up of professional merchant seamen, debtors, former pirates, and convicts. Some privateers ended up becoming pirates. This drama structure is based loosely on these historical facts. The mathematical probability concept develops the element of tension and critical thinking. Both the drama structure and the mathematical concept can be transferred to another setting depending on the age of the students involved.
The information above could also be integrated for a social studies unit, based on the history following the Ontario Curriculum. I really enjoyed this activity because it made math engaging and could also be integrated with drama and social studies. Drama Strategies 1. Tableau ● Frozen Scene ● In groups, students will think of a fairytale, movie, story, etc. and think of 3 separate scenes to tableau from their chosen story. Students will hold each tableau for 5 seconds. ● The rest of the class will guess which movie, story, etc they have chosen. 2. Hot Seating (Math Cross-Curricular) ● Chosen character in a “hot seat” where students ask several questions to determine which character the person in the seat is. ● In groups, one student will be in the “hot seat” where they will think of a whole number under 50 and the rest of the group members must ask questions to guess what number the person in the “hot seat” is. ● Students will have 2 minutes to ask questions and guess the number. They are encouraged to use operational sense when asking questions. 3. Picture Walk ● Students use prior knowledge and prediction to determine the outcome of the story by following the illustrations on each page before they begin to read ● Student look for’s: ○ Story setting and time ○ Expressions of characters ○ Cues for what what will happen 4. Fast Forward with Storytelling ● Looking into the future or foreshadowing a literary source ● Strategic pausing during a literature reading and having students guess what the next event will be ● As a class the teacher will read out a chosen literary source. ● The teacher will strategically pause in places where there is a “cliffhanger” and the students have to guess what will happen next.
● The students will provide evidence or reasoning to stand behind their “look into the future” Integrated Curriculum ● Math Grade 6 ○ Use a variety of mental strategies to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems involving whole numbers (e.g., use the commutative property: 4 x 16 x 5 = 4 x 5 x 16, which gives 20 x 16 = 320; use the distributive property: (500 + 15) ÷ 5 = 500 ÷ 5 + 15 ÷ 5, which gives 100 + 3 = 103 Literary Source of Inspiration ● “The Lion and the Mouse” retold by Cheyenne Cisco (1998). ● “Sandy’s Incredible Shrinking” Footprint by Femida Handy and Carole Carpenter (2010). Modifications ● Modified for different grade levels or students using easier or more complex operations ● Using different literary sources for different learners or class interests ● Telling the students how detailed their answers should be for each drama activity/strategy ● Strategic grouping ● Allowing or not allowing different math tools for the Hot Seat strategy depending on grade level and differentiation
Week 4 This week was an interesting drama lesson for me that I really enjoyed. For the warm up activity we did a gallery walk, which I was unsure of at first being used as a drama strategy. I’ve used gallery walks in math before, but was not sure how it would fit in with drama. Once we did the activity, i was able to see the connection and it was a unique experience for me. We had to choose which picture we identified with around the room and connect it to our experience during our practicum. I can see myself using this in the future as a warm up activity and possibly using that image to create a drama skit from their inferences. This week we looked at the Multimodality Theory by Gunther Kress that claims we make meaning and communicate through multiple modes of expression: visual, auditory, gestural, linguistic, and spatial. You can combine modes in different ways and they are impacted by context, relationships, purposes, and social exchanges. In my classrooms I’ve always tried to incorporate many different modes, but will continue to try and incorporate all into my teaching. Our activity for this week was looking at the elements of Tableaux. I’ve always wondered how you would assess a tableau and this week gave me a better understanding how to evaluate tableaux when I use them in my classrooms. Elements of Tableaux: 1) Use a variety of levels 2) Everyone must be involved 3) May depict people or inanimate objects 4) Scene must depict an emotional moment During my practicum placement I used tableaux to integrate drama into social studies for my grade six class. They each received primary and secondary documents about one of the battles fought in the War of 1812 and had to create many tableaux to explain to the class what happened along with a summary. It was a great strategy to get students engaged and got them reviewing the material closely. The kids really enjoyed integrating a drama activity into social studies and I can see myself using tableaux quite a bit. Now I have a framework to assess tableaux and can use the elements to create success criteria.
Week 5 During our fifth week of drama class we started the class off again with storytelling. This time we incorporated the strategies of story suspension, alter ego and forum theatre. The prof read a story to our class, but in order for the story to truly be engaging is that students need to buy into the story. The story was about bullying and I think it was a great way to discuss a sensitive topic within the class and to act what would be an appropriate reaction if you see someone being bullied. One of the interesting discussion points that got brought up in class was the difference between a story and a scenario. Children will take the task more seriously if they are invested in a story, whereas a scenario isn’t as meaningful to the student. I will definitely use story telling in my future classroom to get students engaged in a meaningful discussion. Another discussion that was meaningful was the idea that “A quality education is about more than academic achievement – it is about the development of the whole person.” I connect with this idea, because it really is true that you are teaching the whole student, not just academic material. You want students to come out of your classroom as positive members of society and integrating scenarios where students have to respond positively and effectively, grows the mind of the whole student. As well we discussed in class that “Character development is not a stand-alone initiative; it has linkages with learning and academic achievement, respect for diversity, citizenship development and parent and community partnerships”. During the group presentation I really enjoyed the activities they chose to present. Zach’s activity “walking blind” was a great activity to build trust within the classroom and integrate importance values within your students. I really had fun doing this activity and it made me want to trust my peers. I will definitely be using this activity within my classroom because I really enjoyed it. I also liked Brett’s activity of alter ego. I think this would be a great activity to use when difficult choices and seeing both perspectives. Overall, I really enjoyed this class and have learned new strategies to use in my future drama classes.
DANCE
Week 1 Our first week of dance class we focused a bit on the elements of dance. We were told you don’t have to be a great dancer to be able to teach this strand, but rather focus more on the idea of movement exploration. Going into class and hearing this, I felt a bit more comfortable and confident in my ability to do well in this class and to teach in my future classrooms. We began our class with exploring movement by coming up with a dance move to the amount of syllables in our names. This was a fun activity I can see myself using in my future classrooms. One challenge I would find in my classroom is how to make sure students with special needs are included in the dance activities. I hope throughout this course I will feel more confident to be able to have an inclusive classroom that does not leave out students with limitations in a more active learning environment. For our last in-class activity we looked at the elements of dance concerning energy and space. We were instructed to focus on an ABA form where we came up with a dance that went along with the theme of a poem given to us in class. I liked this activity because it gave us the freedom to be creative and really focus on the words of the poem and how to portray the emotions within dance. We used parts of the creative process to create our dance. I definitely think I will use this activity within my future classrooms, but I will differentiate my instructions by allowing students to choose their own poem and music they want to create a dance too. I would also make sure to allow students to have peer feedback from each other so they can revise their dance and prepare them for their performances. As well, I will make sure there is a reflection piece involved to incorporate more of the Ontario Curriculum. I especially think for older ages, dance can be a tricky subject to teach as students are shy and embarrassed. In my future classrooms I will encourage students to take risks and create a positive community where students will feel comfortable performing in front of each other. As well, I think I will need to give students lots of choice to improve their motivation and engagement. Curriculum Expectations: Language grade 6 Reading 1.6: extend understanding of text /ideas by connecting, comparing and contrasting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and insights, to familiar texts and to the world around them. Dance grade 6 A1.2 use dance as a language to interpret and depict central themes in literature (e.g., develop a movement vocabulary that reinterprets themes such as good versus evil or humans versus nature; construct a dance that explores bravery in a legend or peace in a poem)
Lesson plan: -Display the Departures poem to the class. Discuss the verbs and imagery words in the poem. Discuss these verbs in one column, and in another column, list one or more emotion or feeling that is associated with that verb (e.g., leaving - sadness, regret; hover - anticipation, anxiety). Invite students to find their own space in the large open area. Explain that you are going to call out the verbs posted on the wall, one at a time, and the students must respond by creating a whole body gesture/movement that expresses that word using ABA patterning (3 distinct movements, where the first movement is repeated after the second). Highlight the 2 elements of energy (heavy vs light movements) and space (levels- low, medium and high). Model a few examples and/or invite students to share a few examples. Allow students plenty of time for exploration. Organize students into small groups (3-5 students). Direct each student, in turn, to teach their short dance phrase to the other members in the group. Once group members know all of the phrases, ask them to find a way to link them together so that transitions are smooth. All group members will be performing the movements in unison. Have each group present their dance phrases to the class with music. Have someone read the poem aloud while each group performs to add to the performance. Music link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9-qLNwwkmE
Week 2 In this weeks dance class the first presentation we watched integrated the science curriculum and focused on the Rondo form. We looked at a space video that showed how the moon rotates around the earth, which rotates around the sun. We then took the Rondo form ABACADA and were told to make a dance that used this form with the rotations of the moon, earth and sun. I was a bit confused of how to use this form trying to replicate the rotation of the moon, sun and earth, but the presenters let us use our creativity and told us not to focus too much on this form. This was a really fun activity to help me understand these rotations and going by Dwyer’s Learners Theory I will have learned 80% of what I experienced. Dwyer’s Learners Theory explains how information is absorbed, processed and retained: 20% of what you hear 30% of what you see 50% of what you write/draw 70% of what you discuss 80% of what you do/experience 90% of what you teach Another theory we learned this week was Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory.
After watching the presentation, we focused more on the elements of dance and did a fun activity where we looked at imitating the sounds of a thunderstorm. We first rubbed our hands together, snapped our fingers, tapped our legs and then stomped our feet which really showed the transition of the sounds of a thunder storm. I found this activity very interesting with how we can make sounds similar to nature. We were then asked to make a dance to imitate a storm in nature and show the transition forward and coming back down. My group decided to create a piece imitating a tsunami where we started out slow and at a lower level which gradually grew to a big storm and a wave
that crashed. I really liked this activity because it made me think about how a Tsunami forms and it was great experiential learning. I can definitely see myself using this lesson within my class to integrate dance within a science lesson. The curriculum expectations this lesson would go with are: Science grade 4 3.3 identify factors (e.g., availability of water or food, amount of light, type of weather) that affect the ability of plants and animals to survive in a specific habitat Dance A1.1 translate into dance a variety of movement sequences observed in nature (e.g., wind developing into a tornado; water freezing and melting on a landscape; rain transforming into a storm; a caterpillar evolving into a butterfly Choreographic forms: Call and response- A choreographic form in which one soloist or group performs, followed by a second soloist or group whose performance responds to the first. Retrograde - A choreographic form in which a dance or movement sequence is performed in reverse order (e.g., a dance phrase performed from back to front). Lesson details: Ask students to spread out in the room and body storm specific elements in weather. Prompt: How can you use your body to demonstrate rain? What does thunder look like? -Use the form of call and response to allow certain students to share their movements and then have another one respond to that movement with their own. -Share learning goal with students: Students will be working to create a sequence of movements representing weather forms before, during and after the storm. -Separate students into four groups; each representing the specific components of a thunderstorm (wind, rain, thunder, lightening). Each group will come up with a collaborative piece of creative movement that illustrates that element. -Ask groups to share their movement pieces with the class. Once all the groups have shared, ask groups to use the form of retrograde to perform their movement pieces again but in reverse order to visualize how the storm begins, progresses and ends in reverse. -Have each group perform their new movement pieces.
Week 3 This week we looked at the choreographic form of mirroring and the element of body. I really enjoyed this week’s lesson and actually used it in my grade 6 class during my final placement which was very successful. We also discussed the importance of the creative process and making sure it is integrated within your lessons.
The warm up activity was very engaging and it really got students moving in a comfortable manner. During my placement I called this “follow the leader” and had a great response from the kids. I’ve learned throughout my experiences at Brock, what I’ve enjoyed doing, I’ve incorporated into my placements. This warm up was easy for students to understand and they thoroughly enjoyed this warm up activity. After the warm up activity and when we were comfortable with mirroring, we got into two lines to resemble a line of symmetry. This was a great extension to mirroring and really made students think how they had to move their bodies to ensure the line of symmetry was accurate. The final task was to create a dance that used mirroring and symmetry. I had a lot of fun with my group members completing this task and when I did this in my grade 6 class, they really got creative and enjoyed the challenge of making sure their dance was symmetrical and used mirroring.
Choreographic Forms: Mirroring – Partners face each other and decide who will be the first leader. The leader will begin to perform slow movements with different body parts while his/her partner follows along. The goal is to have both partners moving at (almost) the same time. Curriculum Expectations: Geometry and Spatial Sense- gr 5 create and analyse designs by translating and/or reflecting a shape, or shapes, using a variety of tools DanceA1.1 translate into movement sequences a variety of images and ideas from other classroom subjects, including the arts (e.g., portray the character of a young, boisterous child from a drama by using a variety of levels, quick movements, and indirect pathways in dance; develop movement phrases based on an image from a history textbook, a newspaper article, an Aboriginal story, or a painting in visual arts class) Lesson details: -Display video on Lines of Symmetry to class. Discuss lines of symmetry and how we can show symmetry using our body. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu2dcm8BlAo -Students will work with a partner to explore different symmetrical movements and pathways. Create 2 lines and have students, 2 at a time, travel from one end of the
room to the other experimenting with different pathways. Line 1 will create the pathway and movement while line 2 will have to follow while creating a symmetrical mirror to their partner in line one. -In groups of 4 or 6, students will create a symmetrical dance phrase that uses different shapes and pathways as well as the choreographic form of mirroring, where the first movement is repeated after each new movement. Give each group a particular style of dance to base their symmetry dance around. - Each dance phrase will includes consist of 32 beats long. Allow students to practice their dance phrases while conferencing from group to group. -Next allow 2 groups to partner up and perform their dance phrase to each other. -Give more time for each group to make any changes. -Have each group present their dance phrases to the class. Play specific music for each group that relates to their particular style of dance.
Week 4 During this week's class we looked at a cultural dance called “A Story Before Time�. I really enjoyed this dance and can see myself using this video as a great introduction into narrative dances. As a class we looked at different Aboriginal dance moves and identified the moves they were using based on the elements we learned in class. I really enjoyed the dance activity because it was very open for students to create their own dance interpretations. By getting us to pick four dance moves that we saw in the video, it was a great starting place for students to begin their dances and left them with a choice. I would specify for my students that their first dance would have to be in unison and would make for an easier transition into the canon form. It was a very fun activity that I can definitely see myself using in the future. Choreographic Forms: Canon- A choreographic form in which a dance phrase is performed by more than one soloist or group and begins at different times so that the phrases overlap. Narrative - A choreographic form that follows a storyline, often conveys a specific message, and usually includes an introduction, rising action, a climax, and a resolution. Lesson details: Whole Class > Viewing Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxeuSIijskU Lesson details: Whole Class > Viewing Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxeuSIijskU Show the class a video clip of " A Story Before Time" performed by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre based in Toronto. (See hyperlink). As students are watching, ask them to identify some basic movements of Aboriginal dance. They should think in terms of the 5 elements of dance and what is the same or different about Aboriginal dance and other dance styles they are familiar with. Prompt: What body shapes did you see in the video? What level was used most often? Was the tempo fast or slow? Was the dancing heavy or light, smooth or sharp?(fast and heavy). Did any of these movements tell a story? Organize students into groups of 4. Guide the students to choose 3 or 4 movements that they saw in the video or that they created based on the movements from the video and link them together as a movement phrase. Think about the elements of time and energy when coming up with your movement phrases (Fast movements vs slow movements, Heavy vs lighter movements). Discuss how we can use narrative form to try and tell a story with our movements.
Each group will perform the movement phrase in unison and then have each member repeat the movements in canon form while the other group members repeat a simple movement such as swaying back and forth. Each group will perform their dance phrases to the class. Curriculum Expectations: Social studies grade 4: A1.4 compare two or more early societies in terms of their relationship with the environment (e.g., with reference to seasonal rhythms, use of land and resources, differences between urban and rural communities, religious/spiritual practices/beliefs with respect to the environment), and describe some key similarities and differences in environmental practices between these societies and present day Canada. Dance: A3.1 describe, with teacher guidance, types of dances used among Aboriginal peoples in the past and the present that express aspects of their cultural identity (e.g., war dances to express prayers for victory and/or gratitude for success; initiation dances to mark rites of passage; shamans’ dances to assist in physical or spiritual healing; contemporary powwow dances for cultural affirmation and/or revitalization)
Week 5 Karate Contest: Everyone is put into groups of 3 or 4, to make a total of 4 groups. Each group is labelled North, South, East and West. Each group must decide on 3 karate moves, with sounds and practice them in sequence. When everyone is ready, each group stands across from each other, creating a square (North across from South and East across from West). Then the teacher introduces team East and team West to begin. The 2 groups step forward, facing each other, bow to each other and then perform their karate moves at the same time. They step back, bow again and then the teacher introduces team North and South and they perform their moves at the same time as each other. I really enjoyed this activity to get the class started. I had a lot of fun with my group members and I know this activity would be a hit in my future classrooms. However, my only concern with this activity is that students may be inappropriate and make stereotypes. You would need to know if your class can handle this activity to use it with a class. This week my group had our presentation where we integrated dance and mental health. Our lesson began with viewing a clip from Inside Out (2015); introducing to the class the range of emotions that humans have in efforts to make connections between emotions and dance. We then had the class engage in a discussion based on how humans identify with a wide range emotions based on personal/sensory experiences and how this can have an impact of movements when dancing. Activity: • After getting into groups of 4, each group will pick a popsicle stick that identifies a particular emotion that that group will investigate and portray. • One person from each group will pick 4 “Action Cards” that go with the emotion • Each group will develop a sequence using their 4 action cards, incorporate transition moves and make connections to the emotion chosen As an extension to this activity the teacher could have a class discussion of what emotions boys and girls go through during puberty. Going along with the movie Inside Out, students will have to create a dance that portrays the challenging emotions students go through during puberty by combining emotions. Curriculum Connections: Grade 6. A. DANCE A1. Creating and Presenting A1.3 use guiding improvisation in a variety of ways as a starting point for choreography (e.g., use exercises such mirroring, flocking, and body storming to create
movement material for choreography) Teacher prompt: “How can a guided improvisation like flocking expand your movement vocabulary?” The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8 | The Arts, page 122 Grade 6 Health and Physical Education - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1-8, Health and physical Education, page 158 C2. Demonstrate the ability to apply health knowledge and living skills to make reasoned decisions and take appropriate actions relating to their personal health and well-being; C2.4 describe emotional and interpersonal stresses related to puberty.
This week the theory we looked at was Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that describes if a physical need is not met, then a student is not able to focus and then may not be able to reach their full potential.
Cross-Curricular lesson using a Social Justice theme with Dance: Using the choreographic form of Flocking to express the themes of Bully and Victim. Curriculum Expectations: Dance gr. 7/8 A1.2 use dance as a language to communicate messages about themes of social justice and/or environmental health Health C2.3 apply personal skills and interpersonal skills (e.g., self-awareness and selfmanagement skills, including anger management; communication skills, including listening skills and assertiveness skills) to promote positive interaction and avoid or manage conflict in social situations (e.g., classroom groups, groups of friends, sports teams, school clubs) Flocking- A type of movement improvisation in which students mirror or shadow each other's movement in groups. Often uses a diamond formation. Students follow the movements of a leader and share leadership throughout the group. Theme and Variation- choreographic form that starts with an original movement idea that is repeated with various modifications (e.g., performed faster or slower, with lighter or stronger movements, in a new place) while still maintaining its structure and sequence, resulting in an A-A1-A2-A3 pattern. The theme may be repeated between the variations.
Lesson Details: -Watch video on bullying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5CIQhK2suE -Brainstorm with the class any and all words that come to mind that express the thoughts and feelings of a Bully. Do the same with the thoughts and feelings of a victim. Record answers on chart paper. -Brainstorm and “Bodystormâ€? any and all actions that may express the various words, ideas, thoughts that the students have expressed. -Watch bullying dance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azr3Dr-dUj8 -Divide the class into groups of 4. Half the groups in the class are assigned the topic of Bully and the other half is assigned the topic of Victim. -In groups of 4, each student chooses 3 or 4 actions they wish to use to express their topic. Students link those 3 or 4 actions together to create a movement sequence. -Use the form of theme and variation by repeating a movement again and again in different ways (e.g., performed faster or slower, with lighter or stronger movements, in a new place). -Place the students in a diamond shape on the space. One person is at the head of the diamond and leads the other 3. The other 3 follow the movement sequence of the leader. When that sequence is done, the diamond turns Âź turn so that a new leader is followed. Repeat so that everyone gets a chance at being the leader. (Flocking) -Put two groups together so that you have a group performing movements as a Bully in their diamond formation and the other group performing movements as a victim in their diamond formation. Place one diamond inside the other. Both diamonds perform at the same time. This creates a powerful performance.