Students perform a folk dance and learn about locomotor and non-locomotor movements.
- Length: 1 class period
- Grades: 4-5
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students will learn about the dance element of space by creating movement that lets them experience shape, level, and pathway.
- Students will learn and perform locomotor and non-locomotor movements.
- Students will perform the folk dance “Little Johnny Brown” with a comfort level that lets them improvise movement.
For middle school:
Students will be able to describe the composition and elements of dance in this folk dance.
Resources Used
Little Johnny Brown
Found On: Dancing Threads
Students explore the basic dance element of force through movement activities and discussion.
- Length: 1-2 class periods
- Grades: P-5
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students will understand the basic dance element of force.
- Students will compare/contrast the use of force as it distinguishes the expressive qualities of a given dance (such as the Arabian and Chinese dances in The Nutcracker).
- Students will explore the use of force in several of its many expressions.
Resource Used:
Arabian and Chinese Dances from The Nutcracker
Students perform a folk dance and learn about its cultural and historical meaning.
- Length: 1 class period
- Grades: 6-8
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students will be able to perform the dance/game “Little Johnny Brown.”
- Students will create and perform non-locomotor movements emphasizing the accent in music.
- Students will know the ways that dance demonstrates community values and history.
Resource Used:
Little Johnny Brown
Found On: Dancing Threads
Students perform a folk dance and discuss its cultural and historical meanings.
- Length: 1 class period
- Grades: 1-5
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students will be able to perform the dance/game “Little Johnny Brown.”
- Students will be able to keep the beat while moving (grades 3-5).
- Students will know the origins of the dance.
- Students will know the symbolism of the circle, the blanket, and the buzzard-lope.
Resource Used:
Little Johnny Brown
Found On: Dancing Threads – Community Dances from Africa to Zuni
Students analyze two dances from The Nutcracker and get an understanding of how choreographers create dances by creating short movement sequences for familiar characters.
- Length: 1-2 class sessions
- Grades: 6-8
Concepts/Objectives:
- The student will be able to distinguish how it feels to do a sharp versus a smooth movement.
- The student will be able to explain the kind of energy it takes to perform sharp versus smooth movements.
- The student will be able to perform movement that looks distinctly sharp or smooth.
- The student will be able to improvise or choreograph a dance that has sharp and smooth movements.
Resource Used:
Arabian and Chinese Dances from The Nutcracker
Found On: Dance Performances
Students watch and analyze the Arabian and Chinese dances from The Nutcracker and then create a dance map.
- Length: 1 class period
- Grades: 4-8
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students will create a divertissement.
- Students will understand the basic dance elements.
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Students will understand the effects of different choices (in terms of the basic dance elements) on the quality and meaning of a dance.
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Students will understand how the dance elements enable a choreographer to tell a story through dance.
Resource Used:
Arabian and Chinese Dances from The Nutcracker
Found On: Dance Performances
Students explore sharp and smooth movements.
- Length: 1-3 class periods
- Grades: K-5
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students distinguish how it feels to do a sharp vs. a smooth movement.
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Students explain the kind of energy it takes to perform sharp vs. smooth movements.
- Students perform movements that look distinctly smooth or sharp.
- Students improvise or choreograph a dance that has sharp and smooth movements.
Resources Used:
Arabian and Chinese Dances from The Nutcracker
Found On: Dance Performances
Students examine the subject matter of Ellis Wilson’s paintings and write articles about what his work communicates about life and culture.
- Length: 1-2 class sessions
- Grades: 9-12
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students will closely examine the subject matter of Ellis Wilson’s paintings of Haiti.
- Students will analyze how Wilson’s choices (realistic vs. abstract images, use of elements of art) affect what he communicates about his subject matter.
- Students will consider the purpose(s) of Wilson’s art.
- Students will observe Ellis Wilson’s use of the two-dimensional medium of oil paint in his work.
- Students will analyze what Wilson’s work communicates about life and culture.
Resource Used:
Poor Man’s Africa
Found On: Visual Arts and Culture
Students demonstrate rhythm through clapping and tapping and improvise “conversations” through tap.
- Length: 1-2 class periods
- Grades: 6-12
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students will gain a better understanding of the relationship between music and dance; specifically, between rhythm and tap dance.
- Students will be able to recognize the use of improvisation and syncopation in tap dance and how the choreographer/dancer uses these elements to express him/herself.
Resource Used:
DanceSense Program 10: Tap and Percussive Dance
Found On: DanceSense
Students listen to, research, and try out traditional styles of playing guitar.
- Length: 2 class periods or longer, at teacher’s discretion
- Grades: 5-8
Concepts/Objectives:
- Students will understand and appreciate traditional guitar styles such as thumb-picking.
Resource Used:
“A Full Sound”
From: Program 3 of the KET series World of Our Own: Kentucky Folkways
