Classroom Resource

Swoop, Lift, and Leap to the Lore

Subject Area

Arts Education
English Language Arts

Grade(s)

6, 7, 8

Overview

In this lesson, students will identify how animals and elements of nature are represented by dancers. They will read poetry by Indigenous and Native Peoples of North America.  Using basic locomotor movement, students will choreograph and perform a dance from a poem.    

Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 6 - Dance

AE17.D.6.15

Determine meaning or artistic intent from the patterns of movement in a dance work.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.D.6.15

Vocabulary

  • artistic intent
  • genre-specific terminology
  • cultural movement practices
  • artistic expression
  • elements of dance

Essential Questions

EU: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
EQ: How is dance understood?

Skills Examples

  • Read the artistic statement from a professional dance work before viewing. After viewing, discuss as a class what recurring movements were performed and how it contributed to the artistic intent.
  • Observe and reflect on the Rippling back and forth actions in the body parts and spatial design in Alvin Ailey's Wade in the Water.
  • Identify the elements of dance in a specific dance style or culture movement practice.
  • Document in writing a phrase of choreography and underline the elements of dance.
  • Discuss how the elements of dance help to communicate intent.
  • Create a short movement phrase that tells a story using the elements of dance.
  • Identify characteristics in ballet, tap and jazz dance styles and discuss how the qualities contribute to the artistic intent.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 7 - Dance

AE17.D.7.17

Explain how the artistic expression of various dances is achieved through the elements of dance technique, context, and production elements.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.D.7.17

Vocabulary

  • Compare movement patterns' relationships to dance.
  • Genre-specific terminology
  • Cultural movement practices
  • Dance Technique
  • Production elements
  • Context Cues
  • artistic criteria
  • Artistic Intent
  • Genre

Essential Questions

EU: Dance is interpreted by considering intent, meaning, and artistic expression as communicated through the use of body, elements of dance, dance technique, dance structure, and context.
EQ: How is dance interpreted?

Skills Examples

  • Compare the minimalism and repetition used in Laura Dean's Infinity in relation to Petipa's Entrance of the Shades in La Bayadere.
  • Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the elements of dance in two different dance styles or genres.
  • Brainstorm props, lighting design and costuming for a dance.
  • Discuss what style of dance would be best suited for a dance about war.
  • Collaborate to create a rubric to identify the elements of dance used to create intent.
  • Articulate the differences between works by different choreographers by referencing their historical or cultural contexts.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 8 - Dance

AE17.D.8.17

Observe a dance and explain how artistic expression is achieved through relationships among the elements of dance, use of body, dance technique, and context, and provide evidence to support your interpretation using genre-specific dance terminology.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.D.8.17

Vocabulary

  • Describe and perform recurring patterns of movement.
  • genre-specific terminology
  • elements of dance
  • genres
  • styles
  • culture movement practice
  • artistic expression relationships
  • Evaluate choreography using artistic criteria.

Essential Questions

EU: Dance is interpreted by considering intent, meaning, and artistic expression as communicated through the use of body, elements of dance, dance technique, dance structure, and context.
EQ: How is dance interpreted?

Skills Examples

  • Improvise a short dance phrase that can be repeated and describe how it is related to the context of a dance and artistic intent.
  • Sustain the developpe in an adagio to extend the classical line.
  • Utilize plie to perform a hip hop skill.
  • Observe Alwin Nikolais's Noumenon and discuss how the movement, costuming, lighting, and sound score created intent for the choreography.
  • Write a critique on an observed dance work using an established outline of topics to cover.
  • Consider the use of musical form as patterns to express ideas, such as canon to express a fear that finds some relief but just keeps returning, or motif and development to express a nagging feeling that won't go away, and each time it comes back it gets worse. Patterns of movement by nature may represent ideas for the artistic intent.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 6

ELA21.6.3

Explain how authors use setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view to contribute to the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry, using textual evidence from the writing.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.6.3

Vocabulary

  • Setting
  • Plot
  • Characters
  • Theme
  • Conflict
  • Dialogue
  • Point of view
  • Prose
  • Poetry
  • Textual evidence

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Authors of prose and poetry use literary elements, such as setting, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view, throughout a text to develop and drive the plot.
  • Poetry is a genre of text that uses distinctive style and rhythm to aid in the expression of feelings, while prose is written in ordinary language.
  • Analysis of a text should be supported with text evidence from the writing.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify the setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view in prose and poetry.
  • Explain how literary elements contribute to the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry.
  • Support their explanations of literary elements with textual evidence.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Prose and poetry contain common literary elements, such as setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
  • Literary elements contribute to the meaning of poetry and prose.
  • When they analyze a text, they should include text evidence to support their claims.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 7

ELA21.7.3

Explain how the author’s choice of setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view contribute to and/or enhance the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry, using textual evidence from the writing.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.7.3

Vocabulary

  • Setting
  • Plot
  • Characters
  • Theme
  • Conflict
  • Dialogue
  • Point of view
  • Author's purpose
  • Prose
  • Poetry
  • Textual evidence

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Authors of prose and poetry use literary elements, such as setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view, throughout a text to develop and/or enhance the meaning of the text.
  • An author's use of literary elements can indicate the author's purpose for writing the text.
  • Poetry is a genre of text that uses distinctive style and rhythm to aid in the expression of feelings, while prose is written in ordinary language.
  • Analysis of a text should be supported with text evidence from the writing.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify the setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view in prose and poetry.
  • Explain how literary elements contribute to and/or enhance the meaning and purpose of prose and poetry.
  • Support their explanations of literary elements with textual evidence.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Prose and poetry contain common literary elements, such as setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
  • Literary elements contribute to and/or enhance the meaning and purpose of poetry and prose.
  • When they analyze a text, they should include text evidence to support their claims.
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 8

ELA21.8.3

Analyze how authors use key literary elements, including setting, plot, theme, characters, internal and external conflict, dialogue, and point of view, to contribute to the meaning and purpose of a text, using text evidence as support.

Unpacked Content

UP:ELA21.8.3

Vocabulary

  • Literary elements
  • Setting
  • Plot
  • Theme
  • Characters
  • Internal conflict
  • External conflict
  • Dialogue
  • Points of view
  • Text evidence

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Authors of prose and poetry use literary elements, such as setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view, throughout a text to develop and/or enhance the meaning of the text.
  • An author's use of literary elements can indicate the author's purpose for writing the text.
  • Analysis of a text should be supported with text evidence from the writing.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify the setting, plot, characters, theme, internal and external conflict, dialogue, and point of view in literary text.
  • Analyze how literary elements contribute to the meaning and purpose of literary text.
  • Support their analysis of literary elements with textual evidence.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Prose and poetry contain common literary elements, such as setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict, dialogue, and point of view.
  • Literary elements contribute to the meaning and purpose of literary text.
  • When they analyze a text, they should include text evidence to support their claims.
Link to Resource
https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-reso…

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

The Kennedy Center
Accessibility

Accessibility

Text Resources: Content is organized under headings and subheadings
License

License Type

Custom

Custom License Type (URL)

https://www.kennedy-center.org/terms-conditions/

Approved Date

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