Model Unit for Teaching Dance

Lessons in the Unit

The following description of a unit of study is based on suggested activities which appear in the grade seven curriculum. This model unit appears in the curriculum for each of grades six to eight. Its purpose is to:

• provide a model so teachers can see how the suggested activities can be developed into a unit of study
• show how the three components can be integrated into a unit of study
• show how learning objectives for a unit can be derived from the foundational objectives
• show how the Common Essential Learnings can be developed through dance.

The Unit

Grade Seven
Unit One: From Source to Expression
Time: 14 weeks

Unit One focuses on developing the students' understanding of the process of creating dances. In this unit, students will research choreographers and their work, look at dances and create their own dances by generating, exploring, developing and forming movements into dance compositions.

The teacher should study this model unit before turning to the suggested activities for a particular grade.

Resources

Print:
Dance reviews such as those found in newspapers and magazines; for example, Footnotes, published by Dance Saskatchewan, Inc.
Cartoon caricatures

Music:
Popular hit parade song in 4/4 time
"Nexus: Fra Fra" found on Dance of the Octopus, Nexus and Judy Loman "Zoolook" found on Zoolook, Jean Michael Jarre
Music to play in background; for example, "Ethnicolor" found on Zoolook, Jean Michael Jarre; "Clapping Music" found on Early Works, Steve Reich; Solitudes: Volume 12, Listen to the Loons, Dan Gibson

Video:
"Full House" and "Crash Landing" found on Dancemakers: Full House

Equipment:
Drum or tambourine
Tape player
VCR and television
Video recording equipment

Foundational Objectives for the Unit

All of the foundational objectives for dance can be developed in each unit. However, Unit One focuses on the following objectives.

The students will:

• examine sources of ideas for dance-making, make connections between ideas and dance expressions, and use dance for personal expression
• develop an understanding of the elements of dance and principles of composition and apply this understanding to all their dance experiences
• examine the work of various dance artists
• develop critical thought and learn to support interpretations and opinions when responding to dance presentations.

The model unit focuses on the following Common Essential Learnings.

The students will:

• develop intuitive, imaginative thought and the ability to evaluate ideas, processes, experiences and objects in meaningful contexts (Critical and Creative Thinking)
• develop an understanding of how knowledge is created, evaluated, refined and changed within the field of dance (Critical and Creative Thinking)
• understand and use the vocabulary, structures and forms of expression which characterize dance (Communication)
• develop their abilities to meet their own learning needs (Independent Learning).