Unit 1 — Elements of Dance and Kinesthetic Movement
Description
This unit introduces students to the fundamental elements of dance through experiential learning and physical practice. Students develop kinesthetic awareness and body control through exercises that build strength, flexibility, balance, and coordination. They learn to distinguish between symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes, understand how weight shift and transitions create flow, and explore the relationship of bodily skills to time, space, and energy. Through structured activities such as Follow the Changing Leader, Echoing, and Pass the Movement, students practice improvisation and create short choreographed sequences based on single body parts. Students also learn to identify and vary locomotor patterns and explore positive and negative space, levels, directions, and pathways.
Essential Questions
- Why did we make these movement and spatial choices?
- How do dancers make movement and spatial choices?
- What are the impacts of movement quality and speed?
- How can the elements of dance be used to express content, emotions, and personal expression?
Learning Objectives
- Exhibit control in balance while performing dance sequences.
- Dance with weight shift, transition, and flow.
- Distinguish between symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes.
- Understand and apply conditioning principles including balance, strength, flexibility, endurance, and alignment.
- Understand the relationship of bodily skills to time, space, and energy.
- Understand positive and negative space, range, shape, levels, directions, symmetry/asymmetry, pathways, and mapping.
- Practice exercises and combinations that build strength, awareness, coordination, and control.
- Employ basic discipline-specific dance terminology to categorize works and describe movements.
Supplemental Resources
- Markers and chart paper for creating webs of small and large movements.
- Colored pencils and paper for documenting choreographic process and sketching movement ideas.
- Index cards for labeling body parts and movement directions.
- Printed word lists and glossary of dance terms for vocabulary building.
- Sticky notes for students to record feelings and observations about movement quality.
Dance - Connecting
Dance - Creating
Dance - Performing
Dance - Responding
Students read and comprehend diverse texts to understand themes and central ideas in dance history and cultural contexts. Students participate in collaborative discussions about dance performances and cultural significance. Students write reflections, research reports, and informative texts about dance origins, cultural influences, and choreographic analysis.
Students examine how culture is expressed through dance and explore the cultural diversity and individuality reflected in various dance forms. Students investigate the historical and cultural origins of dances from different regions and time periods, learning about diverse cultures and their traditions. Students analyze how dance reflects the values, beliefs, and perspectives of different communities and societies.
Formative Assessments
- Reflection and discussion after improvisation dances about how it felt to move.
- KWL chart to identify prior knowledge of cultural dance.
- Self-assessment allowing students to evaluate their own learning and performance with respect to curricular objectives and specified criteria.
- Sharing feelings, dreams, and wishes about dance and dancing.
- Hand signals to indicate understanding of specific dance concepts and principles.
Summative Assessment
Performance rubric evaluation of planned and improvised sequences with distinct beginning, middle, and end that manipulate time, space, and energy. Choreography of a short dance based on one body part including shapes, pathways, axial and locomotor steps.
Benchmark Assessment
A movement task requiring students to perform a short sequence incorporating at least two contrasting shapes (symmetrical and asymmetrical), a weight shift, and a clear pathway through space. Teacher observation and checklist assess control, balance, and flow while moving.
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding of dance elements through movement responses with visual or verbal cues rather than independent execution. Teacher observation of modified sequences using repetitive patterns, hand-over-hand guidance, or reduced complexity of shapes and transitions may be used in place of full choreography requirements.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may benefit from visual supports such as illustrated movement cards or posted diagrams showing body shapes, pathways, and levels to reference during practice and choreography. Breaking multi-step movement sequences into smaller, numbered segments with verbal and physical modeling will support processing and motor planning. Allow students to demonstrate understanding through movement or verbal description rather than written response, and provide additional time and repetition when learning new combinations or transitions. Self-assessment tools may be simplified with picture-supported criteria so students can meaningfully evaluate their own movement and performance.
Section 504
Ensure preferential positioning within the movement space so students have a clear sightline to the teacher's demonstrations and are not distracted by peripheral activity. Provide extended time during structured improvisation or choreography tasks, and allow brief movement breaks as needed to support sustained focus and participation throughout the class period.
ELL / MLL
Use visual demonstrations, gesture, and physical modeling as the primary means of introducing dance concepts such as symmetry, levels, and pathways, reducing reliance on verbal-only explanation. Key dance vocabulary should be displayed with accompanying images or diagrams, and directions for activities should be given in short, clear steps with a physical demonstration before students are asked to move. Connecting movement concepts to dance forms or physical traditions familiar to students' home cultures can build meaningful background knowledge and encourage participation.
At Risk (RTI)
Begin with familiar, accessible movement experiences such as everyday locomotor patterns before introducing formal dance terminology, helping students connect new concepts to movements they already know. Reduce the complexity of early choreography tasks by focusing on one element at a time — such as shape or pathway — before combining multiple elements, so students experience early success and build confidence. Frequent check-ins and positive reinforcement during practice will help maintain engagement and support students in staying on task during longer movement sequences.
Gifted & Talented
Invite students to explore the relationships among multiple dance elements simultaneously — for example, investigating how a change in energy also shifts the use of space and time — and to articulate those connections using precise discipline-specific vocabulary. Students may be challenged to choreograph sequences that intentionally manipulate contrast, such as alternating symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes or shifting between positive and negative space, and to reflect analytically on the artistic choices they are making. Encouraging students to draw on knowledge of other art forms or to research how a particular cultural dance tradition uses the elements explored in this unit can deepen their understanding beyond classroom practice.