Multimodal Portfolio- Dance and Drama

Curriculum Expectations: A1. Creating and Presentin g :  apply the creative process to the composition of a variety of dance pieces, using the elements of dance to communicate feelings and ideas A1.1  create dance pieces to respond to issues that are personally meaningful to them A1.2  use dance as a language to communicate messages about themes of social justice and/or environmental health Learning Goals The learning goals for this lesson seemed to be using dance to discuss a variety of global issues and to express a feeling about the issue.  Issue The issue that we were exploring was oil spills.  Types of Movements Through this dance we also got to experiment with different types of loco and non loco-motive movements such as: walk, twist, stretch, or turn on the spot. Also, we used different directions to express the movement of oil (backwards, forwards, diagonal). In addition, we used space in different ways to convey the message of o...

I learned this class that the Ontario curriculum for Dance follows Laban's theory of dance. This theory focuses on using action words when teaching dance and stresses the importance of experimenting with these different types of movements. Throughout our dance classes we have explored movement through the use of action words such as: freeze, throw, soar etc. these words are important because it allows students to critically think about: body, energy, time and space . These action words can also be used as a way to integrate literacy. For example, in one activity we were given a poem and we had to critically think about which action words would accurately depict the poem. This really allowed us the opportunity to reflect and to discuss the real meaning behind these words and actually experiment with these movements.  Creative Process: The Arts Curriculum  It is important to note that allowing students time to go through the creative process really helps ...

      This drama activity was so interesting to me because it was such a different approach to learning about the digestive system. Originally I was not sure of how I could incorporate science into drama. However this activity, presented by Deb, opened my eyes to the possibilities and benefits of integrating drama with science. It is amazing because this activity hits the drama expectations, but also the Grade 5 science expectations. It provides students with the opportunity to discuss, interpret and understand theoretical concepts through the use of their bodies, sounds effects, and facial expression. It benefits all the learners and appeals to all the different types of learning styles (kinaesthetic, audio and visual)! Also, as a science teacher it makes it interesting to teach the subject and avoids the direct/lecture style of teaching and note-taking that is often associated with this subject. This activity allows students to be engaged and motivated to learn. I...