This appendix provides information on planning modules and dance-making lessons. The following chart describes steps to consider when planning the Dance 10, 20, 30 program:

Step One Step Two Step Three Step Four Step Five Step Six Step Seven Study the overall plan for Dance 10, 20, and 30. Become familiar with the core modules, the optional modules, and the foundational objectives. Select optional modules for the term, based on teacher expertise, students' interests, and the resources available. Take into consideration the school's plan for teaching 10, 20, and 30 level courses (multi-grade classes, levels offered in consecutive semesters, etc.). If experienced dance teachers wish to develop their own optional module they must ensure that the module addresses the foundational objectives and learning objectives for the course and includes experiences from all three components of the program. Identify and develop appropriate learning objectives from the foundational objectives. Plan a sequence of lessons for each module. Check to ensure that a variety of experiences has been included (discussing, researching, creating, looking at dances, learning dances, reflecting, etc.). In order that the student's own dance has meaning and reflects learning, the other experiences are essential. Modules should include experiences from all three components (creative/productive, cultural/historical, and critical/responsive). Plan resources to support the objectives, and to accommodate the needs, interests, and styles of the learners. Determine means of evaluating achievement of both foundational and specific learning objectives.

The following pages provide information that may be used for daily or module planning. Planning Considerations includes lists of Common Essential Learnings, instructional strategies, and assessment techniques. The companion document of resources, Arts Education: A Bibliography for the Secondary Level (1996), supports the planning cycle. The Dance Planning Sheet is a template the teacher may find useful.

Teacher Checklist for a Sequence of Lessons

Have you set appropriate learning objectives?
Have you mapped out a sequence of lessons?
Have you included opportunities for the students to explore and express themselves through dance?
Have you included activities which develop the Common Essential Learnings objectives?
Have you included opportunities for the students to research ideas, topics, etc.?
Have you included opportunities for both individual and group work?
Have you included opportunities for students to reflect on their own work?
Have you included opportunities for looking at dances?
Have you considered all three components (creative/productive, cultural/historical, and critical/responsive)?
Have you included Indian, Métis, or Inuit content, either specifically or as examples of general concepts?
Have you connected the sequence of lessons to things relevant to the students and their communities?
Have you included a variety of instructional resources?
Have you made plans to evaluate whether students have achieved the learning objectives, and how they are progressing toward achieving the foundational objectives?
Have you included gender-balanced resources, instructional approaches, and assessment techniques?
Have you adapted instructional methods and the learning environment to accommodate all students' learning needs?

Planning for Students' Dance-making

Dance-making activities focus on developing students' abilities to express themselves in the language of dance. Usually, dance-making activities will span several lessons. Students should be encouraged to create dances using their own ideas and experiences as starting-points; thus, their dance experiences become personally meaningful. Students will need support in developing their ideas or themes so that they go beyond pantomime or mimicry and address the objective of personal expression through dance.

The five steps described in this planning section outline ways teachers can plan lessons and assist students in dance-making. The steps allow for the incorporation of a variety of instructional methods; for example, brainstorming, discussion, co-operative learning groups, problem solving, demonstration, concept mapping, reflective discussion, synectics, focused imaging, and so on.

This process describes one way to plan and assist students' dance-making. Some teachers may already have their own preferred ways of planning. Whatever process is used, the teacher should include the students in the planning when appropriate and keep the foundational objectives in mind.

The five steps in the process show how teachers and students can develop themes and ideas in dance. The key is for the teacher and students to be familiar with the dance elements (which are the language of dance) and to ask questions that encourage full exploration of dance concepts. The steps also show how teachers and students can use movements as a starting-point (right-hand column), rather than a theme or idea (left-hand column).

Steps One to Four focus on planning for dance-making. Step Five is included to help teachers structure the dance-making lesson.

At first, teachers and students may wish to follow the five steps closely. However, strictly following these steps may inhibit intuitions and inspirations so valued in the creative process. Teachers and students should use the steps as a guide and explore any diversions that might arise. Teachers may find that individuals or groups of students with experience in dance-making will be able to follow the steps independently with little guidance.

Teacher Note A "dance-making lesson" refers to any portion of a dance class in which students create dances. Dance-making refers also to choreography.

The Dance-making Process At a Glance and in Detail

Step One Starting-points When planning for students' dance-making, the teacher and students might choose to start working from a theme or idea, or they might start with movement itself.

Step Two Brainstorming Once a starting-point has been chosen, teachers and students may use discussion and brainstorming to decide on the movements they will explore.

Step Three Finding the Movements for Exploration Teachers and students may choose to make concept maps or webs of possible movements for further exploration. Over the next few lessons, students will go on to improvise, explore, develop, and refine further their movements, working from the suggestion s on the concept maps.

Step Four Taking Stock At this point, students and teachers might need to focus on small parts of the concept webs of Step Three for further exploration.

Step Five Structuring Dance-making Lessons Dance-making lessons should be structured to allow for warm-up, exploration and development, sequencing the dance phrase, cool down, and reflection.

Tips for Teaching the Dance-making Lesson

Dance-making lessons require students to be active learners. Students are experiencing, gaining knowledge, experimenting, and facilitating at the same time. Often there is a social dimension where students are working with partners or in groups. To facilitate students' learning in the creative dance lesson, teachers need to be interactive -- constantly coaching, guiding, and discussing with the students. Following are tips that will help the teacher:

• Set a warm and accepting atmosphere where students feel safe and free to take risks. Show enthusiasm. Join the students in the activities whenever possible to help establish trust between the teacher and the students.
• Set ground rules to keep the lesson running smoothly. For example, students should know they are to start and stop on a signal from the teacher, students should know where the boundaries of the dance space are, etc.
• Establish general space awareness early to ensure students do not bump into each other.
• Use themes and topics of interest to the students.
• Use the voice effectively. Coach the students while they move, but be clear and loud enough so that they can hear. Say words in a manner that conveys their meanings, thereby encouraging students to respond in a particular way; for example, s t r e e e e e t c h.
• Use images to stimulate the students' imaginations and develop their movement qualities. Use a rich vocabulary of adjectives and adverbs. Use a variety of images to encourage students to explore several possibilities. Remember that imagery can also limit students if used incorrectly. Do not ask students to "be" something or you will get mimicry rather than movement exploration.
• Use visual aids to get ideas across to students whenever possible.
• Use percussion instruments and music to help stimulate the students to move. For example, crashing cymbals could encourage students to leap high off the ground.
• Ensure that students have a complete dance experience, even when they are simply exploring movements.
• Emphasize the fact that stillness is important. Stillness is not a state of "not doing", but is rather a state of ready alertness -- a mental and emotional preparation for the ensuing activity.
• Use repetition. Students get satisfaction from learning a phrase of movement and repeating it.
• Make the lesson challenging. Demand excellence.
• Be generous with praise for the students' quality efforts.

Accompaniment

Accompanying students in their dance will help motivate them to move. The following discusses three methods of accompaniment: percussion instruments, music, and student-created accompaniment.

Percussion Instruments

Percussion instruments are well suited to the creative dance lesson. The teacher can stimulate the students to move by using a variety of instruments, and by adapting the tempo and accents to suit the students' movement explorations.

The following are some examples of how percussion instruments can be used.

• Drums, blocks, claves, and tambourines can be used for movements that require short, strong sounds.
• Tambourines, maracas, castanets, and bells can be used for movements that require long sounds.
• Cymbals, gongs, and triangles can be used for movements that require soft, sustained sounds.

Music

Music is an effective way to motivate students to move. Music can be used as background to enhance movement that has been structured already, or the movement can be sequenced according to the musical structure. If music is to be used to create a mood or an atmosphere, simply put the music on and let it play. If music is to be used for a more structured purpose, then it must be analyzed. Teachers will need to identify the time signature, the tempo, and the number of beats in a musical phrase. When the music is analyzed, the teacher can set the dance tasks, keeping in mind the musical structure. When introducing music to the students, begin by having them listen to the beat of the music.

Selecting music is usually a matter of personal preference. The following will provide some guidance.

• Select music that makes you feel like moving.
• Use a variety of musical styles during the year.
• Be mindful of music with words that might elicit movements of a mimetic nature.
• Select music that will elicit the desired movement qualities.

Teacher Note Teachers should keep in mind that some dance educators believe music should be used sparingly. They claim that music tends to structure movement, and when students are involved in finding their own unique solution to a problem, their breadth of discovery may be limited by the imposition of a metric rhythm. Also, beginning students of dance tend to let music dictate their quality of movement instead of making their own choices as to the qualities they desire.

Dance, Societies, and Cultures

In cultures past and present, dance has been a means of expressing emotions, ideas, and customs that have significance in the daily lives and history of people. The dances expressed themes such as work and conflict. They were, and in some cases still are, closely related to a people's religion, ceremonies, spirituality, rituals, and celebrations. The study of these dances affords a glimpse into a people and their values, beliefs, and way of life.

Studying social and cultural dances should not be only an historical investigation. Dances still exist today as valid expressions of a people. In fact, though altered through time, many of the current dances retain vestiges of the past. Students should learn about social and cultural dances by studying the historical and present day aspects of the culture or society, and by experiencing the dances themselves. As students actively participate in exploring the culture or society, they gain new insights and come to appreciate the significance of the dances in an authentic manner.

The following topics can be considered by the teacher when planning activities exploring the dances of various cultures and societies:

• the origin of the dance to be learned
• the purpose of the dance (for example, social, ritual, ceremonial, celebratory, occupational, etc.)
• the geography and climate of the country of origin
• the beliefs and customs of the culture or society
• any historical factors that may have influenced the dance
• the symbolism, if any, used in the dance.

Teaching a Set Dance

As in dance-making lessons, teachers should plan warm-up and cool down activities when teaching a set dance such as a cultural or social dance. Teachers may wish to use steps of the dance as the basis of the warm-up activities. In this way, the students can develop the skills they will be using later in the dance lesson. Teachers may find the following tips useful in teaching a set dance.

• Explain that dances can be broken down into two parts: the steps of the dance or the actual movements made, and the floor pattern or the pathway made when the dancers move. Begin by teaching the steps of the dance. Each step should be described and demonstrated separately. The steps should be done slowly at first, without the music, and then at the proper tempo.
• Teach one part of the basic step pattern at a time. When two parts have been learned, combine them in order to establish continuity of the dance.
• Explain the floor pattern next. The dancers should walk through the floor pattern, then combine the step pattern and the floor pattern; first without music, then with music. Remember that not all dances have a set floor pattern.
• Have students do the whole dance to music. Repeat the dance several times so that all students can be more fluent in the dance and experience enjoyment.

In addition, the following tips will help the class run smoothly.

• Use "key" or one-syllable words to cue the steps (walks, hops, stamps, etc.); to cue directional changes (sideways, forward, backward, right, left); and to provide musical alertness for beginning (ready). Verbalization in this manner helps students keep the main rhythmic pattern and encourages them to gain a sense of the whole.
• Overlook small errors in favour of establishing a movement sense for the dance itself -- its transitions, vigour, and uniqueness.
• Encourage the students to identify the musical phrases in the dance. Most traditional dances are phrased similarly to the music. Movement memory rarely fails when one is familiar with the accents and general qualities of the music.
• Encourage vigorous activity so that students become involved in physical activity and have little time to worry about such things as with whom they are dancing.
• Encourage opportunities for solo, line, circle, scatter, or small group formations. This reduces the thinking that one must have a partner to dance.
• Restrict choice when partners are needed (ask students to face the person standing opposite them, the person closest to them, etc.).
• Encourage frequent and rapid changes of partners.

Teacher Note Please refer to the bibliography for a listing of resources that contain information and instructions for a variety of set dances.