What: Nothing has really changed about my feelings or knowledge about creative dance in the classroom. I took The Creative Dance for Elementary Students class a year ago. I know that creative dance can be used for any subject and any space. I know that creative dance, if done correctly, can reinforce new material and we need to be careful and not turn creative dance into drama. If not done correctly they may seem very similar or even the same, but they are different and bring different aspects to a lesson.
So What: One of the things I will take with me from this experience is that you need to look closely at the core. Don’t just look at dance or science, but look at both. How can you cover objectives in multiple subjects at one time? My favorite lesson was the one that Crissa, Ashley and Jason did on germs. They covered both science and dance using appropriate language for both. The activities were fun and engaging and really helped us remember haw germs can spread.
Only one of the lessons had music. I feel very strongly that music is an important part of creative dance. Music can help with the mood and feeling of the dance. It can help students learn about motion, emotion and counting. Music can help enrich the experience.
Now What: When starting out in the classroom I will start with the basic fundamentals of dance and dance language. So when I say something like “explode small and low” the students will understand what is being asked of them. Then as the students dance vocabulary increases we can more effectively integrate dance into other core curriculum. I may at times read strait from the lesson but as I become more comfortable with my lessons and abilities I won’t need to read. With practice I know that I can become not just comfortable but proficient with dance integration. I will also buy my own copy of Dee Winterton’s DVD Moving to Learn. He was amazing. I hope to use dance in my student teaching so I can start to get use to it now.
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