Examine the movement of characters in the story, Caps for Sale. Using the text, pupils invent gestures and movements for some of the actions and major events. They practice retelling a story by using the movements they developed. They...

A series of lessons about dance would be a great addition to your physical education class. Straightforward as well as creative, it teaches the basic skills of dance movement. A rubric helps guide the dancers to let them know what steps...

Students discuss dance elements and create a dance map. They choose a dance theme and incorporate movement into their dance maps and choreography. They also experiment with different types of music.

Upper elementary artists create works which demonstrate an understanding of the many elements of theater and the visual arts. This four-day plan combines many wonderful aspects of visual, musical, and theatrical arts into one very...

Get your class up and moving as they explore how to express movement and dance through words. Designed around two poems by Lillian Morrison about break dancing, the activity truly captures the creative and multi-sensory aspects of...

Students draw portraits of a dancer. In this visual-arts instructional activity, students study the work of James Wyeth online. They then watch a dance performance and sketch 10 - 15 pieces depicting dancers. Five of these sketches will...

Elementary schoolers explore states of matter by concentrating on the ways in which water moves between its solid, liquid, and gaseous states in a variety of Earth environments. Learners interpret these movements through dance. The...

This four to five day mini dance unit has many components. Discussion on what makes a good dance partner, research on famous dancing pairs, as well as learning a choreographed piece in class. The class learns a short dance sequence and...

Students explore butterfly life cycles and movement.  In this integrated fine arts and biology life cycle instructional activity, students listen to the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and identify the related life...

Students study Greek literature. In this Greek tragedies lesson, students explore the dance-dramas of Martha Graham. Students study the choreography that brings ancient Greek literature to life.

Students make choices about dance elements and organize them in expressive ways. They plan and present dance works for a familiar audience. They identify dance elements in their and classmates work.

Students identify and demonstrate movement elements in relation to musical notation. They clap to rhythms, beat on drums, match musical notes to speech patterns and use the rhythms of the their names to create a dance.

Fourth graders discuss the many elements of weather. They research an aspect of weather they find most interesting. They create movements to go along with the element they have chosen.

Students discover movement and pantomime techniques in this adventurous story telling experience for kindergarten. Assessment is done through a short question and answer session and students drawing the "adventure".

Students create a dance based on the sounds they hear during a recording of rainstorm. They learn the elements of dance and explore the environment.

Fourth graders create dances through a randomly generated process (such as throwing a dice) and perform their dances for the class. Class work is based on Merce Cunningham's "Chance Dance" and includes walking, skipping hopping, and...

Students are introduced to the key concepts of maps; direction, pathway/line, shape and symbol. They create the pathways and shapes they have "mapped" out on paper on the floor. They dance along the paths.

Young scholars explore characterization in Little Women. In this literature lesson, students participate in written analysis and research in order to explore Alcott's characterization in the novel.

Students demonstrate choreographic principles, processes, and structures.

Students view video and become familiar with the type of movement in jazz dance.  In this jazz dance lesson, students write a cinquain about jazz dance.  Students recognize the elements of jazz dance and the type of music...

Students study and perform dances with a dance specialist, while others photograph their movements. The resulting slides were used to help both these students and others explain dance and write creatively.

Students demonstrate knowledge of the processes, principles, and structure of line dance. In groups students choreograph their own line dance, implementing moves learned from previous dances taught in the line dance unit.

Young scholars explore dance. They analyze and outline the movements of the dance "Roger de Coverly" from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Students choose music and choreograph a dance similar to "Roger de Coverly." They perform the...

Students gather around the three selected paintings. The teacher guide students in looking at different elements of the paintings and help students make the connections between the visual art and movement skills.