Unit Objectives

• Explore full body movements with different dynamics (quick/slow), levels (high/low), music (easier/harder to count)

• Begin to develop coordination in full body movements like jumping jacks, turns, and leaps.

• Begin to instill the importance parts of dancing as a group: watching one another, copying movement to their own bodies, listening to the music, staying in line.

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Lesson Plan 1

• Begin to establish a structure of the class for the students

• Introducing ideas of full body movement, what it is, what it

looks like, what the possibilities are

• Introduce ideas of coordination

• Introduce ideas of focus and paying attention

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With a younger age group, I want to make sure that, first and foremost, I am keeping my students engaged at all times.  To help with this I will employ a set structure that we will use throughout the rest of this unit.  I will break the class up into four or five sections each about 5-6-minute increments so that we are pacing the class, but also giving them new things to do to keep them engaged throughout the course.  This class would be to introduce ideas that we are going to be working on throughout the unit.

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Lesson Plan 2

• Reinforce a structure of the class for the students

• Further exploring full body movement in the warm up

• Begin learning ballet and modern positions

• Using those positions to start to develop coordination more

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After having them in class once, I want to build off of what we already learned, revisit some things we did not quiet grasp and reinforce the structure of the class.  The goal would be to start to get everyone making positions and I can do this through different “freeze” game.  Beginning to explain more dance vocabulary and continue to work on coordination.  I would still play games that involve watching each other to start instilling the key skills of special awareness and unity.

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Lesson Plan 3

• Reinforce a structure of the class for the students

• Begin learning ballet and modern movements

• Begin to find coordination with their own bodies in a group

• Begin to develop a sense of special awareness

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Halfway through the unit, I would expect to see some growth in my students.  I would expect them to start to anticipate the next section in the class.  I would hope that they would be ready to explore even bigger movements.  They should start to develop some coordination in dance positions and be able to begin transitioning into some simple dance movements.  I want to reinforce the fun of dance and also start to give them a little time to make their own dance choices.  I want to begin to give them more freedom to make their own choices while still maintaining control of the classroom.

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Lesson Plan 4

• Ask the students what the order of the class is

• Allowing the students to use the vocabulary they have

learned to make their own choices Have more experience

with full body movement

• Have improved coordination with their own bodies as well

as coordination in a group

• Develop a better sense of special awareness

• Begin to work on unity and the elements that go into dancing

as a group

 

By the end of this unit, I not only hope that my students have met the objectives of the unit, but that they also had a really great dancing experience with me.  I want to give them this last class in the unit to take what I have taught them through games and phrases and make their own movements.  I would use other prompts and questions to get them exploring movement for themselves.  We could use their movement to further explore dancing “bigger” and “smaller” while still doing the same “move.”  I am more interested in the progress made, than the ultimate meeting of the objectives.

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