The Journey to Dance and Drama Education

The following lesson is a cross-curricular lesson blending Dance and Language Arts that can be used for any grades! This lesson integrates action based performance based on the syllables of your name. Movements are created based on the syllables of each individual and then the movements from each group member will be combined to create a dance!  Action Syllable:  For our first week of dance class we started with a creative ice-breaker called  Action Syllable , where the entire class stood in a gigantic circle passing the focus by going around and introducing yourself and performing an action based on the syllables of your name. We went around the circle and threw in some challenges by trying to  remember everyone’s name and their action associated with them!  Then, we were divided up into groups based on the syllables of our names. In each group, we had one person with either 4 or more syllables, one person with three, two and one syllab...

The following lesson is a cross-curricular lesson blending Dance and Math designed for Grade 4's. This lesson focuses on creating repetition and pattern in order to create harmony and interest in dance phrases. Students will use their bodies to create a wide variety of shapes while using the space in different ways to show these shapes. What kinds of shapes can I make with my body? How does the negative space we create when we make a shape with our bodies look to others? How do structure and pattern change a dance phrase? Expectations A1. creating and presenting: apply the creative process. A1.3 create dance phrases using a variety of pattern forms.   A2. reflecting, responding, and analysing A2.1: demonstrate an understanding of how the elements of dance can be used in their own and others’ dance phrases to illustrate or explore learning in other subject areas. A2.2: identify, using dance vocabulary, the elements of dance used in their own and others’ dance phrases and e...

The following lesson is a cross-curricular lesson blending Drama and Math designed for Grade 5s. This lesson focuses on transformational geometry by using their body to create shapes, translate, rotate and reflect them. Warm-up Activity: For the warm up we did an activity called " Atom ". Students walked around the classroom but they had to follow the path of floor tiles, when they ran into another person they had to switch directions. Then the teacher calls out a number and the students have to form groups with that number of individuals. To integrate this with a minds on activity in math, the teacher calls out a number representing the number of vertices of a shape. The students then have to form that shape in their groups using their bodies (arms, legs, fingers, etc.). Here is an example of my classmates forming a shape using their arms. This activity was extended to transformations of shapes by translating, rotating, and reflecting the shapes. Curriculum Elem...

The following lesson is a cross-curricular lesson blending Dance and Social Studies designed for Grade 7's. This lesson focuses on encouraging students to become more environmentally literate. Strand A: Physical Patterns in a Changing World (Overall Expectation A3.; Specific Expectation A3.7). The Arts curriculum – Dance (Overall Expectation A2.; Specific Expectation A2.1 and A2.3). Activity: For this activity students worked in groups of four. We had our colleagues explore the concept of global warming through movement. Each group created a movement piece that interprets the David Suzuki quote on climate change. They were given prompting questions to help them better analyze the meaning and significance of the quote (e.g., What does this quote mean? How do you feel when you hear this quote? What is Global Warming). Groups were given a task to create a movement sequence that demonstrates their interpretation of the quote. They had to include a minimum of four movem...

The following lesson is a cross-curricular lesson blending Drama and Science designed for Grade 5's. This lesson focuses on the human organ systems and their various function and roles by building a body machine showing each step of the system. Using theatrical skills to dramatize the workings of the digestive tract, students will gain understanding of the role of the different organs in digestion by playing their parts, learn how nutrients from food are absorbed in the digestive tract, and discover that chemicals in our food may also be absorbed in the digestive tract. Overall Expectation: 2: Investigate the structure and function of the major organs of various human body systems; Specific Expectations: 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...