Dancing to Haikus-Part 2: Dance Party

Learning Resource Type

Learning Activity

Subject Area

Arts Education
English Language Arts

Grade(s)

2

Overview

This activity is designed to be presented after the activity Dancing to Haikus-Part 1: Counting Syllables. In this activity, the teacher will introduce pairing a haiku poem with locomotor movements, such as jumping, twirling, and skipping. The students will develop ideas to connect locomotor movements with prompting from a haiku poem. 

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Phase

During/Explore/Explain
English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 2

ELA21.2.32

Identify rhyme schemes in poems or songs.

UP:ELA21.2.32

Vocabulary

  • Rhyme schemes
  • Poems
  • Songs

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Rhyme schemes are patterns of sound that repeat at the end of a line or stanza in a poem or song.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Identify rhyming words in poems or songs.
  • Identify the pattern of sounds that repeat at the end of a line or stanza in poems or songs.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Rhyming words have the same vowel and ending sound.
  • Poems and songs often have a pattern of rhyming words, called a rhyme scheme.
Arts Education (2017) Grade(s): 2 - Dance

AE17.D.2.2

Connect a variety of moments while manipulating the elements of dance through locomotor and non-locomotor movements.

UP:AE17.D.2.2

Vocabulary

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

Essential Questions

EU: Choreographers use a variety of sources as inspiration and transform concepts and ideas into movement for artistic expression.
EQ: Where do choreographers get ideas for dances?

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 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

Learning Objectives

The students will respond to movement with prompts from the teacher and words in a haiku poem.

The students will suggest additional movement ideas for a haiku poem.

The students will connect a variety of moments while manipulating the elements of dance through locomotor movements. 

Activity Details

1. Read the haiku "Beaches"  and complete the following movements for each line:

Line 1: Walk slowly while pretending to "scatter" sand from hands.

Line 2: Use arms to imitate waves crashing.

Line 3: Spread arms from the front to the side while "shimmering" hands.

2. Read the poem again, asking students to imitate movements. After completing this several times, ask the students, "How did I make these movements up?" After discussion, the students should understand the teacher was prompted by the words in the haiku when developing the movements. The term "choreography" can be introduced to students: Choreography is when we make up a sequence of movements. 

3. Read another haiku to students, such as the "What am I?" haiku found on this website: KidZone Poetry-Haiku. After reading the poem, ask the students which words in the poem could suggest a movement. With assistance from the teacher, the students should develop other movement ideas, such as shaking their legs during the line, "Green and speckled legs". Discuss with the students that because the poem used the word legs, a leg movement would express the words in the haiku.

4. Lastly, divide students into small groups of two to three students each. Assign each group of students a haiku (additional haikus can be found on this website: KidZone Poetry-Haiku). The teacher should require each group to create at least three locomotor or non-locomotor movements (one per line of the poem) that correspond to the words in the haiku. After students develop the movements, they should explain how their movements expressed the words or phrases in the poem. 

Assessment Strategies

At the conclusion of the activity, the teacher can check for the students' understanding by requiring each group to perform their haiku dance. Students have met the stated learning objectives if they are able to connect at least three locomotor movements that respond to the words of their assigned haiku poem. In addition, the students should explain how their movements expressed a particular word or phrase within the poem. 

Background / Preparation

In preparation for this activity, the teacher can utilize the activity Dancing to Haikus-Part 1: Counting Syllables. This lesson will introduce students to counting syllables as well as the haiku syllabication pattern.

The teacher will need to have access to several haikus to present to students. A variety of haikus can be found on this website: KidZone Poetry-Haiku.   

ALSDE LOGO