Dancing
a Rainstorm
Name: Rebecca Schmidt
Studio/School/Institution: Penn
View Christian School
City, State: Telford, Pennsylvania
Teaching Environment: Elementary
School Classroom
Age and/or Grade: 8-9 years (3rd grade)
Standards Benchmark Age and grade: 9-10 years (4th grade)
Primary Standards
IV Inter-Connecting, 3c Connect Dance and Other
Disciplines
Learn content knowledge in other disciplines through movement experiences. Create
movement based on ideas from other disciplines or art forms.
Secondary Standard(s):
I Performing, 2c Movement Skills
Locomotor movement: demonstrate and identify locomotor movements
I Performing, 3a (2) Elements of Dance
Pathways: Dance through space in a straight, curved, circular, diagonal, zigzag,
and combination of pathways.
II Creating, 1a Apply Choreographic Principles, Structures, and Processes
Generate original choreography: Improvise
to discover and explore new ways of combining axial and locomotor movements varying the use of the dance elements of space,
time and energy.
IV
Interconnecting, 3a Connect Dance and other Disciplines
Respond
in movement to a variety of sensory stimuli (sight, sound, touch)
Duration of Activity: 30 minutes
Materials and Supplies Needed:
Music for Rest and
Renewal (with Nature Sounds), The Candlelit
Guitarist. Instruments, such as cymbals and drums, which can be used to represent thunder.
Description of Activity:
Introduction to Activity (10-15 minutes)
1.
Introduction to thunderstorms
a.
Discuss rainstorms in detail. Ask
students to recall specific rainstorms they remember experiencing and have them share with the class. Allow students to describe
how they felt before, during, and after the storm.
b.
Discuss different types of storms
and the weather that accompanies them. (For example, during a tornado, it would be very windy outside and during a thunderstorm,
one would hear loud booms.)
2.
Warm-up: “Who Has Seen the
Wind?” (Kristen Bissinger)
Objective: To stretch and warm
up muscles in the waist, sides, back, and shoulders. This exercise is especially applicable to the lesson because it has to
do with wind, which is a theme that will be returned to later in the lesson.
Activity: Instructor reads through
poem and performs movements once on their own, and then asks students to stand up and join them. Students are to be standing
in a circle with their legs about shoulder width apart. Recite poem and perform corresponding movements:
“Who has seen the wind? (Stretch arms above head, shrug shoulders)
Neither you nor I; (Shake head and arms)
But when the leaves hang trembling, the
wind is passing by (Sway arms)
Who has seen the wind? (Stretch arms above head, shrug shoulders)
Neither I nor you; (Shake head and arms)
But when the trees bow down their heads,
(bend at the waist and let arms hang)
The wind is passing through.” (Swirl arms around)
3.
Model main activity:
a.
Demonstrate how to do the dance.
(Do not play the music from the CD, but show the class how you would dance to rain and thunder. For example, use light, airy
movements when dancing rain and loud footsteps when dancing thunder.)
b.
Have students become acquainted
with the instruments that will be used. Hold up the cymbals and model to the students the correct way to use them. Do the
same thing with the drums.
Main Activity (10-15 minutes)
1.
Students will find a spot anywhere
in the room, making sure they can still observe the instructor. There should be at least three feet of self space for every
person because they will be moving around a lot. Students are told to relax their muscles and picture a spring day in their
heads.
2.
The soft “rain” music
plays from the CD player. Students are told that this represents the beginning of the rainstorm and are to dance around the
room using locomotor movements such as gliding, skipping, and walking. They can move in any direction and in any pathway with
any focus. Their energy should be smooth and sustained at first, but one the “storm” begins to pick up, they can
use sharper movements. Their speed should be slow at first, but once the beat of the drum is incorporated (to represent thunder);
students are encouraged to move faster. They can walk to the rhythm of the drum. Students should be improvising the movements
in their own personal way.
3.
Incorporate the drums to represent
thunder and gradually add the cymbals to show that the storm is getting more severe and picking up winds. Students can move
in zigzags all around the room with sharper movements and stronger weight. They can shake and sway their arms.
4.
After a few minutes of intense
thunderstorm, gradually silence the instruments so the only noise left in the room is the light rain music. Have students
slow their movements and flow freely around the room until they are back in their original spots. Turn off the music.
Wrap-up (5-10 minutes)
1.
Sit in circle and give students
opportunity to talk about which sounds they like to dance to and why. (They are no right or wrong answers.)
2.
Instructor should give feedback
about what they observed in the classroom and then relate back to the stories shared at the beginning of class to tie everything
in together.
Assessment: Divide students into groups and have them create short dances. This will move
the lesson from improvisation to choreographic form. Another form of assessment is to have each group perform their personal
improvisational dances for each other.
Adaptations for Diverse Learners: The following are accommodations that could be used for a
student who is blind.
1.
The instructor can include the
student who is blind in every aspect of the activity. However, instead of having them use locomotor movements around the classroom,
they can just non-locomotor movements and remain stationary. This will keep both the student who is blind and the other students
safe. A partner could also work with them so they can experience the joy of locomotion.
2.
The use of music for this activity
will allow the student who is blind to feel included because they are hearing the same music as everyone else.
