Introduction

Dance Analysis

Section 1

Section 2 

Section 3

Section 4

Management Suggestions

Assessment Strategy

Teacher Reflections

Dr Hopper Website
 

Introduction to Dance

This movement sequence is based on a story we created about little elves that are hiding behind a secret door, shown in the picture above.  These tiny elves are coming out of this door into the real world for the very first time.  They are scared of humans so they need to be very quiet but they are also very excited to explore their new surroundings.

This dance is best suited to students in the primary grades because it is a short dance with a lot of repetition.  The music and imagery is fun and energetic so young children will be excited to start moving creatively.  This dance can be adapted to suit the needs of a variety of grade and ability levels including those students with special needs.

Before beginning this dance we expect that students

• Have had experience moving throughout the gym and finding own personal space

• May have some experience moving to the beat

• May have some experience working cooperatively with partners

After learning the dance, we expect that students will be able to:

• Move safely in both general and personal space

• Move in time according to musical cues

• Move in a variety of levels and pathways

• Move to the beat of the music and explore different shapes to convey an idea or image

• Work cooperatively with a partner to create an AB relationship

• Link a variety of movements together to a piece of music

Connections to BC IRP for PE (K - 7)

Suggestions on how to use the dance:

This dance can be used as part of a integrated unit for drama and language arts using the Harris Burdick pictures.  It is also a great dance to be used for a Christmas theme or performance.  The possibilities are endless!

Support from literature for dance unit:

This dance was adapted from two lessons from Sally Carline's Teaching Children Dance.  This is a great resource for finding creative dances and appropriate music for elementary students.  This book is bursting with energetic introductory activities, action words, and dances for grades K-7.  We definitely recommend this book to teachers who are new to the creative dance scene.  For further information about creative dance, you could also look at some of the references from the mail menu (Boorman and Joyce).