This unit is designed to help students develop an awareness that dance in its many forms is a part of the life in students' own community. This unit focuses on the students' understanding of the role of dance in daily life, in various cultures and time periods.
Sample Topic: "Home, School, Community"
Suggested Resources:
Starter List of Activities
1. Introductory Activities
Talk about dance in the community. In what kind of dances do students, parents, and others in the community participate? Wedding and anniversary dances? Community cabarets? Cultural events?
2. Main Activities
Invite a heritage dance group to perform at the school. In preparation, have the students compile a list of interview questions for the visiting dancers.
If possible, arrange for the performers to teach the students some basic steps. For example, students might learn a round dance, a Métis jig, or Ukrainian dance step.
3. Concluding Activities
Write thank-you letters to the heritage dance performers. Draw pictures of the dancers to include with the letters. Include students' comments about the performance.
Teacher Information:
At each grade, students should experience a mini-unit or unit of study that uses a dancer, choreographer, company, dance form, or cultural heritage style as its focal point. The following is one way to conduct a dance artist study unit or mini-unit. This suggestion uses a Canadian dancer as a focus.
Sample Topic: "Canadian Dancer"
Suggested Resources:
Starter List of Activities
1. Introductory Activities
Invite a local dancer or dance group to visit the classroom to discuss their work and training, or have students write or e-mail dance companies in Canada to ask about the life and training of a dancer.
2. Main Activities
Select a local dancer or dance company to study where possible. Saskatchewan and Canadian dancers and companies should be included as examples throughout the year. Remember that, although resources at hand might be limited, this unit includes some research. Consult with your school library staff and others in the community.
View videos of Canadian dancers and dance companies.
Read stories about the life and work of a dancer.
The class and/or teacher may write to dance companies for information and order books on inter-library loan. Dance Saskatchewan Incorporated in Saskatoon has an excellent library of dance resources, as does Dance Collection Danse in Ontario . Consult Arts Education: A Bibliography for the Elementary Level (2003) for contact information for these two organizations and others.
Some dance companies or performance centres will have old posters from past performances that the centres may be willing to give to the class.
Many dance companies have Internet websites with images and biographical information. Canadian and international dance magazines also contain information about dancers.
Some dancers are willing to conduct an interview with students using a speakerphone, or one or two students could ask permission to record a telephone interview to be shared with the class. The teacher could arrange with a Canadian dancer or choreographer to answer a class letter. These resource people may be willing to send a picture or videotape to the students.
3. Concluding Activities
Display pictures of dancers in the classroom along with any information that students have researched.