Dance

Reflection #3 Dance Integration in the Classroom

BEST Dance Elements:

Body - Impact Shapes

Energy - Four Emotions

Space - Flocking

Time - Machines

Think about the reading and the activities we did in class, as well as your own experience with dance in elementary school. Think about how this approach to childrens' creative dance might be different than studio dance (jazz, ballet, hip hop, etc.) or social dance - why do you think children's dance specialists might focus more on childrens' creative dance for education? How do you think you might use dance in your own teaching?

I thought what we did on Monday in class was amazing and fun! It was neat to learn how to incorporate dance and movement into the classroom. It made things more interesting to me and I was always wondering what we would be doing next. This type of approach to creative dance for children is different from studio dance because it is creative and you don't need ballet shoes, or a tutu. This way everyone could do it and not have to categorize what type of dance it is or use specific moves. Although children could pretend they are ballerinas and hip-hoppers.... Childrens' creative dance is not always done in a partnership, or as a social kind of dance; rather as a whole or part of the class moving and dancing all at the same time. I loved it! Doing the machines where each person in the group came up with a part to be for the machine and did sound effects was so fun! I'm sure all kids will respond well to this at any age! I think children's dance specialists might focus more on being creative for education because we want our students to have a large imagination and be able to express themselves how they want to be seen. Without creativity you loose a lot of what makes up people as they really are. I think using dance in my classroom will be a way of uniting my class and helping them develop respect for others because no one can dance creatively and be wrong! I want to use dance to help get their brains moving and thinking so they are better able to focus. I really liked the idea of using dance and movement with literature. The books we used and played around with in class are: "When Jessie Came Across the Sea," by Amy Hest, and "Water Dance," by Thomas Locker. It was interesting to learn that the boys will get into it as much as the girls would, so I shouldn't hesitate to try it! I am way excited about incorporating the arts into my classroom! :)