1 Danielle Murray D-367 Final Lesson Plan Warm- up Objective: At the end of a 5 minute period, the 7-8 year

old students will have blood flowing through all major muscle groups and be prepared for technical and creative skill development. This will be demonstrated by their participating in activities that incrementally become more cardiovascularly demanding and incorporate all major muscle groups. Description: Follow the Leader/ Follow the lines I (instructor) will lead the dancers to music in a single file line around the room following the lines of the basketball court. As I change movement the dancers will follow my new movement as well as stay on the pathway I have created along the lines of the basketball court. We will begin walking when the music begins and progress to walking quickly, swinging arms while walking, skipping, and jogging. If I feel it will help the students prepare their bodies for technical skill development, I may involve rolling on the floor and using different height levels during this warm-up activity. We will end on the center circle of the dance floor and continue into technical skill development. The music will continue to play until we begin locomotor skill development. Skill Development A. Qualitative Technique Objective: By the end of a 3 minute period the 7-8 year old students will have an introductory experience to head-tail connection by creating a C-curve with their back. Description: Protecting the balloon On the count of three, I (instructor) will invite the students to blow imaginary balloons as large as the can! I will show the dancers how to hold it safely without popping it in their lap. I will then invite the students to do the same by placing the imaginary balloon on their belly button. Step by step I will help them create a C-curve with their body around the balloon. This will be displayed by enveloping the imaginary balloon with their lap, stomach, head, and arms. I will walk among the students and

2 gently touch the curve of their back, their knees, head, or arms to encourage them to feel the curve in their spine around the balloon, bend more deeply into their knees, extend their neck &head, or use their arms more effectively to wrap the balloon. When finished I will say the key word ice which will signal to the students to melt slowing to the floor and prepare for floor barre. This will double as an ending signal for the C-curve activity. This activity and others in the technical portion of this lesson will help the students increase their growing attention span. Using the key words will reinforce the new vocabulary they are learning. Objective: By the end of a 3 minute activity the 7-8 year old students will be able to show their understanding of turned out legs and pointed toes by recognizing them on the instructor and demonstrating with their own legs and toes on floor barre. Description: Pencil toes Discuss with the students how a pencil is sharpened. After gathering into a circle facing inward, I (instructor) will invite the students to sit down with their legs extended in front of them. I will do this by using the key word ice which signals to them (in this specific class) to melt to the floor from a standing position. I will share with the students how our legs look like pencils, long and straight. Also, our feet and toes are like the end of a pencil. I will demonstrate what a foot looks like before it is sharpened and after; non pointed verses pointed toes. I will then invite the students to try sharpening their own toes. We will sharpen and UN-sharpen our toes a few times. Then, we will discuss how in a pencil sharpener the whole pencil is rotated. I will show how our legs can turn outward, like the pencil, when we point our toes. This helps our legs become turned out. As a class we will do this a few times. I will ask the children to identify if my legs are sharpened or UN-sharpened. If time allows, I will brush my hand over the childrens legs and feet to encourage them to send their energy through their legs and out their toes. This may help some students create a more correct pointed foot position. To signal the end of the activity I will say jack which will signal to the students to come to a standing position as fast as they can (just as a toy jack in the box pops out of his box very quickly). I will then stop the music that has been playing in the background. Finding a way to solve the problem of UN-sharpened toes will help increase their growing problem solving skills. B. Locomotor Skill Objective:

3 At the end of a 4 minute period the 7-8 year old students will be able to show their understanding of a rocking horse skip by demonstrating both front and back leg skips as well as the weight change in a rocking horse skip. Description: Lets Build a Rocking Horse! I will invite the students to stand on the blue line of the basketball court as I turn off the music and take a drum in hand. I will demonstrate a front leg skip. I will ask the students to do front leg skips across the floor to the blue line on the other side of the gym when they hear the drum begin to be played. I will also ask them to hold their front leg in front of them (demonstrating as I give the instruction) when they reach the blue line until all the dancers have reached the blue line too. When all the dancers reach the other side I will demonstrate a back leg skip. I will again ask the dancers to, at the sound of the drum, do back leg skips back to the original blue line. I will ask them to hold their back leg in arabesque when they reach the blue line, until all the dancers have reached the blue line too. During the skips and as the students are holding their legs up at the blue line, I will encourage them to point their toes and remember the pencil sharpening exercise we did during the technique portion of class. When the students have reached the line I will have them experiment with me. We will stay on the blue line and practice alternating between a front leg skip and a back leg skip; thus creating a rocking horse skip. I will break down the step by calling its movement: front-hop, back- hop, lift- hop, lift-hop, or counting one & two &. I will then ask the students at the sound of the drum to move these alternating skips, or rocking horse skips, across the floor. I will ask them to do the rocking horse skips a few times across the floor of the gym, giving secondary input as they do so. When it appears they understand the weight change, improvement has been made, and/or the 4 minutes for this activity are over, I will end the activity by stop playing the drum, giving a final compliment and asking the students to gather at the front of the room. At this age, many children are able to coordinate their separate limbs. This skipping activity will help them not only learn more complex movements alternating legs, but increase trust in their ability to rely upon one leg at a time to keep them balanced. Creative Activity Objective: At the end of a 10 minute creative dance experience the 7-8 year old students will be able to understand the concept of spiral shapes by identifying them in inanimate objects, making them with their own bodies, and possibly molding their classmates into spiral shapes. Description:

4 Commonality: What do these objects have in common? I will lay out several spiral and curly objects and ask the dancers what they have in common. As the dancers respond, if they do not mention it I will guide their answers to end with the commonality that the objects are all spirals. I will then stand and demonstrate one high, one medium height, and one low spiral shape. I will invite the students to stand and spread out in the space. As they stand I will take the drum in my hand and speak the instruction, when you hear the sound of the drum, find a spiral shape with your body in the space. I will hit the drum once and let them find a spiral shape. If there seems to be confusion or misunderstanding about spiral shapes I will clarify at this time. If there does not seem to be clarification needed I will then say, Each time you hear a beat on the drum find a new spiral shape in the space. At this point I have alternate plans depending on how well the students are grasping the concept of spiral shapes. a. If the students are having a difficult time I will invite them to come into a circle at the front of the gym. I will then give each of them a pipe cleaner and ask them to create a spiral shape with their pipe cleaner. During this time I will play music from a Compact disk to help inspire them. I will give encouraging words and compliment their creativeness and spiral shapes. When they are finished making their shapes Ill invite the students to hold them to lay their spirals gently on the blue line of the basketball court. Then I will pair them (a group of three will be fine if we have odd numbers) and ask them to take turns molding their partner into a spiral shape. The music will still be playing during this time. If time allows I will invite the students once molded by their partner to try moving around the room in that shape. I will end the activity by saying the key word Hole which will signal to the dancers to fall to the ground as fast as they can, just as if they were jumping into a hole. I will invite the dancers to come to the center of the room and we will begin cool down. b. If the students are grasping the concept of spiral shapes well I will then place three large circles on the floor of the basketball court; one in the downstage left corner, one in the center of the room, and one in the upstage right corner. I will ask them to travel, starting in the downstage left corner of the room, from circle to circle across the room. I will instruct them to travel in their own dancing way between the circles but when they reach a circle they must find their own spiral shape and hold it for 3 seconds then move on to the next circle. I will begin the movement by turning on music on the CD player. I will let them know that I will tell the first person in line when to start moving but after that whenever the dancer in front of them makes a shape on the second circle (center circle) they may begin their journey across the floor at the first circle. This way more students are crossing the floor at a time. I will ask that after the students have held their final shape for 3 seconds that they make a line on the blue line of the

5 basketball court. If time allows when the students have finished their first journey across the floor, I will invite them to return following the same path but adding the instruction that they include the rocking horse step from technique in their movement. I will give encouraging secondary comments regarding their technique (pointed toes, rounded backs in shapes, etc.) as they move across the floor. I will invite them to point their toes, move fast or slow, or dance high or low. When the students have all finished crossing the floor. I will use the keyword Hole to invite them to sit down on the floor in the line they have created on the blue line of the basketball court. Hole is a key word from their class that signals to the dancers to fall to the ground as fast as they can, just as if they were jumping into a hole. I will then change the track of music playing to a softer melody and begin cool down. This activity will help the students increase their ability to take directions well and wait for his or her turn in activities. Both of which are emotional developmental milestones for this age group. Cool Down Objective: By the end of a 3 minute period the students will have calmed their minds and active bodies and be prepared for the remainder of class with their regular instructor by participating in breathing and stretching exercises. Description: Mirror Mirror on the wall I will sit in front of the students and invite them to mirror me as they stretch their legs in front of them. We will take deep breaths in and exhale them as I invite the students to run their hands down their legs to their toes, pushing out any spirals that might be left in them. I will continue to coach them through taking deep breaths as we stretch out their arms, back, and other leg muscles. When the class seems to be calm and have found peace in stretching and breathing deeply I will thank them for their great dancing and good behavior. I will then pass the attention of the students to their regular instructor for the remainder of the class period. I will stop the music that is currently playing.