Classroom Resource

The Way West - The Oregon Trail: Theme and Variation Folk Dance

Subject Area

Arts Education

Grade(s)

2

Overview

Students will study and learn various folk dances from the Oregon Trail.  They will choreograph a folk dance based on the steps they learned throughout the unit.  They will perform the dance for their class.  

Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Dance

AE17.D.2.3

Create a dance phrase with a main idea that has a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.D.2.3

Vocabulary

  • prompts
  • elements of dance
  • locomotor
  • non-locomotor
  • dance phrase
  • structure
  • concept and inspirations
    • for choreography
  • dance phrase
  • improvisation
  • notation

Essential Questions

EU: The elements of dance, dance structures, and choreographic devices serve as both a foundation and a departure point for choreographers.
EQ: What influences choice-making in creating choreography?

Skills Examples

  • Execute a sequence of movements in different ways (i.e., different levels, timing, directions, body parts).
  • Create a dance based on a short story, with a beginning, middle and end.
    • Create a dance to a short poem and explain why movement expressed the idea.
  • Improvise movement to verbs and adjectives. Recall the movement and sequence to repeat.
  • Using basic stick figures to draw shapes used in a series of movements.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Dance

AE17.D.2.13

Perform a dance in a space where the audience and performers occupy different areas while focusing on projecting to the audience.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.D.2.13

Vocabulary

  • Space
  • Shape
    • Symmetrical
    • Asymmetrical
  • Facing
  • Pathway
  • Time:
    • Accented beat
    • Downbeat
    • Duple meter
    • Triple meter
  • Utilize quality of movement
  • Embody
  • Locomotor
  • Non-locomotor
  • Personal space
  • General space
  • Spatial relationship
  • Body awareness
  • Space
  • Projection in performance
  • Production elements

Essential Questions

EU: Dance performance is an interaction between performer, production elements, and audience that heightens and amplifies artistic expression.
EQ: How does a dancer heighten artistry in a public performance?

Skills Examples

  • Identify symmetrical and asymmetrical body shapes and examine relationships between body parts.
  • Differentiate between circling and turning as two separate ways of continuous directional change.
  • Recall and practice given steps or sequencing with facing or level changes (what was up, make it down, face the back instead of the front).
  • Create body shapes that change level and facings.
  • Demonstrate locomotor movement on a straight pathway, circular pathway, zig zag pathway; making clear changes when called out.
  • Identify the beat in metered music and execute movement on the downbeat (the 1) of duple and triple meter.
  • Demonstrate an accented movement (clap, stomp, or jump) only on the downbeat of a piece of music. Practice with different tempos and 2/4, 4/4, and 3/4 music.
    • Other examples: Waltz, triplet, walking, or marching.
  • Review the terms adverb and adjective and make a list of descriptive words, choose several and execute a given movement or sequence with the word in mind or explore the word with their body in free movement.
    • (i.e., bouncy, jiggly, loose, strong, etc.).
    • Other examples: Bouncy leap or floppy fall.
  • Demonstrate movement and sequencing that utilizes a variety of pathways for personal space and group formations.
    • Skipping across the floor followed by skipping in place.
  • Identify modifications for spatial placement in a dance phrase.
  • Repeat movement or sequencing in a group formation or group dance using an awareness of his/her own body in space and make modifications to adjust placement as needed or requested.
  • Practice using production elements (i.e., multimedia equipment, scenery, costumes, lighting).

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Dance

AE17.D.2.16

Observe or perform dance movements from a specific genre or culture and describe or demonstrate the movements.

Unpacked Content

UP:AE17.D.2.16

Vocabulary

  • Identify recurring movement.
  • Create recurring movement.
  • Perform dance movements from a culture or genre and describe movement.
  • Identify meaning utilizing simple dance terminology.
  • Identify and explain movement to convey a theme or concept.

Essential Questions

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

Skills Examples

  • Students create a call and response hand clapping rhythm and allow students to identify the pattern.
  • Students create a short phrase that includes a pattern of movement, then have other students identify the pattern.
  • View and/ or perform the Russian Troika, Charleston Bump, or Hoe Ana cultural dances.
  • Sauté to show surprise, melt to show sadness, leap to show happiness.
  • Identify the characters and describe the story in a narrative dance.
  • Draw a picture and write a caption in response to a live or recorded performance of dance.
  • Create short sentence that tell a story and have students improvise movement to describe the sentence.

Anchor Standards

Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.
Link to Resource
https://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/dan2-thewaywest-pdf

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

Other

Resource Provider other

Colorado Department of Education
Accessibility
License

License Type

CUSTOM

Custom License Type (URL)

http://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/samplecurriculumproject

Comments or Notes

Unit Storyboard

Approved Date

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