1

LBS 405: Engineering & the Arts in the Elementary Classroom

DANCE MODULE
Notetaking & Assignment Guide

Name: Alexandra Villarreal

Class Section: LBS 405-02
Instructor Name: Melissa Navarro
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scoring

____ Reviewed only for Elementary Subject Matter Waiver

____ Scored for points. Total Points ______ out of 30

————————————————————————-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction

Slide 2 Quick Write. Before beginning this module, write your responses to the following questions
in your own words:
a. What is dance? Artistically expressive movement. May include choreography, improve or free
movement of the body with or without music.
b. What types of experiences have you had with dance? I started dancing at the age of 3 and
continued onto competitive performance companies from age 8 until I graduated high school. My
first job at the age of 16 was as a perform and dancer in holiday parades and shows at Knotts’
Berry Farm. Overall, I would say I dedicated about 13 years of my life to growth and
development in dance training and performance.
c. How do you feel about dance, either as a participant or as an audience member?
Although I was once an active and passionate participant in dance I no longer take part in such
activities. I wish I had more time to get back into taking classes for fun but I am also nervous
about it because of the years I have been out of practice. I still very much enjoy being an
audience member of dance performance and love seeing new how dance continually grows and
evolves in the community, social media and television.

Review Slides 3-7

Slide 8: Watch the example of a third grade dance performance (you may need to put the
powerpoint in watch slide show for the link to work—click on left side of powerpoint slide)
1
 2

Response Questions:
● Do students seem to be expressing themselves? From this video I would say the students enjoyed
their performance and the opportunity to expresses themselves through movement in front of their peers
and family. The seemed enthusiastic and were concentrated on completing the choreography to show
how they move.
● In what way did this teacher show respect for students’ interests and ideas? The teacher
provided opportunity for individuality and expression of unique ideas by allowing them to wear different
“costumes” or in this case different colored shirts. Also, around 1:43 the teacher allotted about 40
seconds, or 5 counts of 8, for individuals or pairs to showcase their favorite move in the middle of a
circle as the rest of the class clapped to the beat. Lastly, the teacher ended the dance with self selected
poses by the students which I thought was a good way for students to show their creativity.
● What 3rd grade dance standards were met? 1.1 Combine and perform basic locomotor skills,
moving on a specific pathway (e.g., skip in circles, slide in zigzags, run in a variety of linear paths).
Combine and perform locomotor and axial movements (e.g., walk and turn, stretch and slide). 1.2
Demonstrate the ability to start, change, and stop movement. 2.8 Create, memorize, and perform original
movement sequences with a partner or a small.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dance Pedagogy

Slide #12 Reading #1 Contemporary Approaches to Dance Pedagogy – the Challenges of the 21st
Century by Anu Sööt & Ele Viskus

Response: Describe 1 of the 7 themes discussed in this review of literature on Dance Pedagogy.
Summarize the points that you believe are most applicable to an elementary school teacher.
- While reading Contemporary Approaches to Dance Pedagogy – the Challenges of the 21st Century by Anu
Sööt and Ele Viskus I was drawn to the theme, “Self-regulation and reflection in learning” because of the
paralleling connections and relevance I saw how this approach to dance instruction can be used in the
classroom. In this reading Sööt and Viskus highlight a quote from Sims and Erwin that I think rings true to
learning as a whole, “When dance teacher expect students only to repeat movements, they underestimate the
power of creative learning and the thought processes that can take place”(293). This directly relates to
classroom teachers in education as well. Educators cannot assume that students are empty vessels capable of
simply accumulating knowledge for the sake of test taking. Instead we should be using an approach that
allows for student centered, actively engaging, problem-solving based instruction that provides students with
a more fulfilling and powerful learning process. This method also allows for self reflection that helps
students take responsibility and ownership in there learning stimulating awareness of skill and opportunities
for improvement.
Slide # 13 Reading #2 “Physical Activity and U.S. Public Elementary Schools: Implications for our
Profession” by Lisa Beaulieu, Stephen Butterfield, Craig Mason, and Michael Loovis

Response Questions:
○ What do the authors mean by “non-traditional activities”? Can dance be a non-traditional
activity? In this reading non traditional activities is used to describe physical activities done to promote
wellness and exercise that may not typically fall under the categories of PE. Often, physical education
instruction is centered around sports, practicing and mastering the rules of the game as well as agility,
2
 3
working on fundamental skills of running, jumping and throwing. These non traditional activities
referred to in the article include things such as dance, martial arts, hiking and so on.
○ What did the authors discover about non-traditional activities in low-income schools that
serve mostly minority students? During the research of Lisa Beaulieu, Stephen Butterfield, Craig
Mason and Michael Loovis they found that low-income schools serving mostly minority students were
less likely to offer opportunities for non-tradition physical activities. Only 55% of schools among this
category used non traditional activities to promote physical education. In fact, there is also research to
support that these schools serving minority students in low income areas are less likely to meet physical
health standards overall because of a lack of access to resources and facilities.

Assessment #1
Write a paragraph that uses evidence from both articles and the framework to describe the
importance of teaching dance in elementary school and a few concepts about how this should
happen. I think that it is important to teach dance in elementary school for many reasons. First, teaching dance
is a great way to involve students in a physical activity that goes beyond running laps around a track and allows
for creative expression in a fun environment. Research done by Lisa Beaulieu, Stephen Butterfield, Craig
Mason and Michael Loovis found that 64% of schools used untraditional actives in their physical education
programs and found it to be encouraging to students as it was more “enjoyable”. Finding non traditional
physical activities such as dance that excite students into getting active can make a huge difference in teaching
them to maintain healthy lives and carrying these skills with them into adulthood and further wellness. Dance is
also an important art form to be taught in school because of its educational benefits. Common learning and
practice strategies used in dance are closely aligned with skills taught in the classroom. Most specifically self
regulation and reflection as detailed by Anu Sööt and Ele Viskus in their article Contemporary Approaches to
Dance Pedagogy – the Challenges of the 21st Century. They explain how dance uses “guided improvisation,
creative problem solving, sharing, responding and critical reflection, shared meanings are constructed within the
context of the learning”(292) which are also effective strategies utilized by classroom teachers. I believe
evidence from both of these articles shows that dance can be used in a multitude of ways from physical activity
experiences to building collaboration and exploration opportunities in academic areas. As a teacher I would like
to use dance in both of these contexts within my classroom to enhance learning experiences.

Basic Elements of Dance

Review slides 15-19. Use the links on slide 19 to fill in the chart below:

Element Definition

Body The body is the main mode of expression in dance. It creates the mobil
figure that the audience sees and consist of systems such as balance,
reflexes, muscles and breath. Dancers use the way their bodies to
communicate emotions and identity through movements nad shapes.

3
 4
Action Action refers to the movement of a dancer such as walking, steps, facial
expressions, gestures and partner lifts. The action may be specifically
choreographed, left open for embellishment or even improvised. There
are traveling actions and movements known as locomotive and axial
which happens in one place.

Space Space has many meanings in dance and can be expressed through
movement in all of the following ways: direction, level, size and pathway.
These spacial relationships can take place between dancers or between
dancers and objects including concepts of near, far, around, over,
through, in front of and beside. These can also be expressed outwardly
or inwardly to themselves.

Time Timing takes on many forms in dance. It can refer to

the speed or tempo of the beat, it can also be rhythmic
patters and accents present, the duration of the piece or
the timing relationships (simultaneous or sequential)
between dancer and music. It can be categorized into
clock time, sensed time and event-sequence.

Energy Energy is all about how the movement happens. Energy variations include
qualities such as heavy or light, tight or loose, powerful and sharp or gentle
and free-flowing. Many of these qualities are reliant on the use of force,
tension and weight.

4
 5
Instruction in Dance

Review Slides 21-23

Slide 24: Read the article “Dancing the Curriculum” by Stacey Skoning

Response: Select one idea that aligns with your personal philosophy and summarize Skoning’s
argument for using dance throughout the curriculum.
Stacey Skoning’s article “Dancing the Curriculum” was interesting to me because it aligned very well with
some of my personal feelings about movement and as an asset for teaching academic curriculum. When
speaking about her experience in her “example classroom” Skoning recalls the teachers spending large amounts
of time trying to manage behaviors. Yet, Skoning suggests we take a different approach by harnessing these
‘behaviors’ that often manifest as movement such as fidgets and wiggles and use students movement
expressions to engage their learning and enhance their experiences. By doing this “Movement becomes an
expected activity and an internal part of the learning process rather than a problematic behavior”(172). As a
firm believer that strong focus on rules of compliance (sitting still, hands clasped, mouth zipped) may hinder
meaningful learning, I am a huge supporter of celebrating and encouraging movement, participating and
collaboration in the classroom. One way to do so as described by Skoning is through cooperative learning that
fosters opportunity for positive interdependence, individual accountability, and social skills in a small group.
Skoking combined movement and cooperative learning by asking students to create movement phrases that
represented characters they had read in a literature text. She found this to be an effectvive tool for all students
to harness expression, show their thinking and work together to support one another learning. Actives such as
this are what I hope to implement regularly into my classroom.

Slide 25: Review the websites on the slide and select a lesson

Paste a link to the lesson here: https://www.teachingchannel.org/video/reinforcing-concepts-with-dance

Response:
Explain why you like this lesson idea.
● Does this lesson you found reinforce what the VAPA framework suggests? This lesson is a great
example of how to combine dance and academics and it meets the VAPA framework standards. The
teacher used 4 basic body movements at different levels to have children show through dance the stages
of seed germination. The dance element of this lesson directly corresponds with content standards 1.2 ,
2.3 and 2.8 in the VAPA framework.
● Does this lesson align with your personal pedagogy? This lesson does align with my personal
pedagogy because it connects dance, physical activity and academic learning together. I believe this is a
good way to get students engaged and allow them to better connect to their learning.

5
 6
Slide 26: Mini-Activity Plan

Activity #1
Name of Activity Dance Symmetry
Learning Students will be able to express their knowledge of symmetry in geometry by
Objective creating shapes with their bodies and with partners that are symmetrical.
Materials Needed Pictures of shapes for reference and review of symmetry
Summary of How After a geometry lesson about symmetry and shapes students will find personal
Activity Unfolds space around the area provided and prepare to create symmetry with their
(Be specific!) bodies. We may first review pictures of examples and non examples of
symmetrical shapes before beginning. Students will have time to brainstorm
ideas and play with their body movement to find a symmetrical shape. We may
make a circle so students who feel confident can share their shape in the center
with the class and we can review their results. Once we have mastered single
body shapes we may partner up and create shapes as a pair that represent
symmetry to practice further collaboration and working together.