ECL302 Task 1 Literacy Demands
Lotte Riddle
Literacy Demands in Dance
Ludwig (2000) uses four kinds of literacy resources or practices developed by Luke and
Freebody’s to determine the literacy demands in the Arts. This model recognises the practice
that students need to be able to break down the codes and symbols of written, spoken, aural
and visual texts of dance literacy and these skills are referred to as code breaking. (Luke &
Freebody, 1999) Examples of such skills used in dance are:
 recognising notational systems in dance and music;
 using visual, aural, spatial and gestural symbols;
 recognising gestures and movements;
 using posture and movement to create a given role/dance;
(Santoro, 2004; Ludwig, 2000)
There are many different sources of information or text types that students use in the study
of dance at secondary level. Students might read about dance related topics in textbooks,
reference books, magazines and newspapers or on websites. They might listen to music, oral
explanations, reports, tapes, radio/television programs, interviews or teacher talk.
(Dumbleton and Lountain, 1999; VCAA, 2006)
As dance has a strong focus on the physical body, the visual image is very important and this
means students could be asked to watch DVDs, video clips, film with interviews or dance
sequences or students could go to a live performance. (Dumbleton and Lountain, 1999;
VCAA, 2006)
Observation and reflection are important parts of the creative process and students could
then be asked to write about the performance in the form of an essay or review. Another
very common writing task in Dance is to keep a reflective journal in which students write
about their experiences, thoughts, ideas and feelings. Other examples of writing activities are
to sit a test, write a report, create a poster or note down a dance sequence observed, learnt
or choreographed. (Dumbleton and Lountain, 1999; VCAA, 2006)
Students need to not only be able to break down dance language; they also need to be able to
understand the meaning of it. Students are text participants, the second practice mentioned
in Luke and Freebody’s model, or in other words they need to be able to comprehend and
compose written, spoken, aural and visual texts. (Ludwig, 2000) Activities that require such
skills in dance are notating dance steps, naming the techniques used in dance (such as
relaxation, improvisation) and interpreting literal and inferential meanings in gestures and
movements (expressive intention). (Santoro, 2004; Ludwig, 2000)
Appendix I shows a journal entree of a year eight dance student after learning about swing
dance for the first time. The writing shows an example of how students are required to be
code breakers and text participants as they need to learn about the spelling and the meaning
of words in relation to dance. Students also need to be able to describe body movements and
write about their thoughts, ideas and feelings in response to their class experiences.
The following statement is from the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS)
describing arts language. This is designed for students in year 7-10.
“Students can learn to speak/write about their works, about other people’s works, they
can learn to use symbol systems, as appropriate and they can develop skills in speaking
about arts in terms of content and use of technique, process, elements, principles and/or
conventions, media, materials, equipment and technologies.” (VCAA, 2008, p. 26)
Learning about arts languages is a complex task and it is most often unfamiliar terrain for
students when taking on art subjects at school. Dance language includes vocabulary and
specified language terminology about many different topics. Some examples of the topics and
the kind of words that students can come across are:
 anatomy and physiological functions of the dancer’s body: pelvis, vertebral discs,
muscles, joints, ligaments, contraction, release, flexibility, stamina, body alignment;
 overall shape, organisation or development of a dance work;
 expressive intention;
 technical vocabulary: parallel or open position, unison, plié, balance, attitude;
 qualities and elements of movements: space, time, energy, flow, tension, vibratory,
sustained, pulse, gesture, percussive.
(VCAA, 2006)
One common teaching approach used to assist students in learning the required vocabulary
is to teach students the abbreviation of the group of words. An example is the abbreviation
for body actions, GLEFTS, which stands for gesture, locomotion, elevation, falling, turning
and stillness. (VCAA, 2006)
In understanding the meaning of dance language students are required to consider and rely
on personal and other’s life experiences, especially since dance is an expressive art form. To
comprehend and compose dance, students therefore need to not only understand the
meaning of the different texts, they also need to be able to use those texts in different ways
for different cultural and social functions. In Luke & Freebody’s four practice model these
kind of skills are referred to as text user skills in. (Ludwig, 2000) Activities that require such
skills in dance are for example doing research on dance styles or choreographers,
discussions about own or other’s dances and studying dance reviews. (Santoro, 2004;
Ludwig, 2000; VCAA, 2006)
Appendix II shows a sample of work from a year eight student who is learning about the
origins of the cultural dance systems of swing and contemporary dance. A research grid is
used as an approach to help the students to learn the spelling of words (code breaking),
better understand what they mean (text participant) and to make it easier to eventually
understand the cultural and social functions of these dance styles (text user).
Text user skills are also required from students in Dance when studying the expressive
intension of dance works.
“Expressive intention: The intention of the choreographer or reason for creating the
dance. The origins of the intention may come from many sources including the
choreographer’s ideas, emotions, observations and exploration of movement itself.”
(VCAA, 2006, p. 40)
Appendix III & IV show a brainstorm activity VCE students did in preparation for their
character solos. It shows how students need to have knowledge of the structure of a dance,
elements and quality of body movement, expressive intention and they need to be able to
write/notate down their ideas in relation to these topics to plan for their solo. The literacy
demands in this task are very complex and include students to have advanced skills as code
breakers, text participants and text users.
The last practice in Luke and Freebody’s model is that of text analyst. Students need to be
able to recognise and understand the context of the text and be aware of different points of
views. (Ludwig, 2000) A text analysing activity could be a discussion about ritual, social,
religious practices of dance, a description of gender differences in dance or a comparison of
different purposes of dance in society (to challenge, question, entertain, inform, educate or
sell). (VCAA, 2006; Ludwig, 2000)
Dance is a subject that might not seem to be demanding in literacy skills because it is
practically orientated. However, as discussed above, there certainly are many different
literacy skills needed to study dance in both theoretical and practical ways. Interestingly a
significant literacy demand in dance, that differentiates the subject from many others, is that
students need to learn to read, write and talk about the human body. More interesting they
also need to be able to listen to, see, feel and hear the human body. A great many skills are
required to achieve this and it can be argued that therefore the literacy demands in dance
are just as great as in other subjects. There are many strategies that can assist students in
developing those skills and this assignment will discuss some examples next.
An approach to teach literacy in Dance
Context
The school is a co-educational year seven-twelve state school in Victoria. It is situated in a
middle socio-economical class suburb and there are currently approximately nine hundred
students enrolled.
Students
This approach is planned for a year 8 dance class (elective unit that runs over two terms).
There are 19 girls in this class.
VELS
Level 5 The Arts - Standards
Students “compare, analyse, evaluate, and interpret the content, meaning and qualities in
arts works created in different social, cultural and historical contexts, offering informed
responses and opinions and using appropriate arts language.” (VCAA, 2008, p. 21)
Topic
Analysing dances – anatomy and physiological functions of the dancer’s body
Part 1 Body Maps
As an introduction the teacher leads a discussion on sharing stories about dancing students
have observed in their life in live performance, dance classes or on TV. Asking questions like:
-
What was the movement like?
Can you describe what happened in the dance piece?
What did the movement mean?
What body parts were the dancers using?
The teacher provides students with large sheets of paper and divides students in groups of 3
or 4. Students draw the shape of a human body on the sheet and brainstorm anatomical
structures of the body. They write those on the sheet and link the word to the appropriate
body part. The task is left quite open at this stage to allow students to really think about the
topic and any questions they might have.
When questions arise the teacher can help students by brainstorming with the class on
anatomical structures students could think about (muscles, bones, body parts and joints).
The teacher can furthermore guide students in sharing some of the words they had come up
with so far.
Hang up the posters to share and discuss with the class the words that came up. At this point
the teacher can add words that they want to teach the students and the spelling and meaning
of words can be discussed.
This activities are pre-reading exercises for students to explore practices such as code
breaking and text participation. Remembering the dancing they saw and transferring what
they saw into words makes them explore their literacy skills in reading movements of the
physical body and using dance vocabulary to describe it. They also learn to spell words and
by working in small groups students will be learning from each other. (Santoro, 2004)
Part 2 Writing about dance
The teacher shows students a dance. The class is divided in half and each half watches a
different dance sequence, ideally two dance clips are showing different cultural dance
systems.
Students partner up with someone from the other group and they describe the body
movements they have seen. As a guide the teacher can remind students of the body actions
(GLEFTS) and of descriptive approaches discussed in the leading up activities.
Class discussion in which students are asked questions such as:
- Was it difficult to describe?
- Did the vocabulary we have been looking at help you in any way?
- What was most challenging?
- Could someone give an example of what was said in your discussions?
- Which words did you use a lot?
- What sort of words would you want to learn to make it easier?
The teacher watches both videos with the class and models to students how he/she would
describe each of the dances. This prepares students to then write in their journals about one
of the dances themselves. In this writing they are asked to describe the body movements and
using dance vocabulary. Students will write in their journals in the class so that they can use
the posters as help and each other to discuss what they had seen and put it in words.
Students compare their writings and discuss the differences in observations and note
writing. The teacher guides students in a discussion to recognise the differences that have
come up between the students in their descriptions of the dance.
Talking about the meaning of the visual text of the dancer’s movements helps students to
improve their text participant skills. Making notes on the dance piece they watched and
describing the specific body movements they saw is helping students in their skills as text
users. To compare and discuss the differences that have come up between students’
descriptions is helping students to analyse their different choices and points of view. This is
helping students to improve as text analysts. (Santoro, 2004)
Reflections
I have prepared the activities specifically to teach on my next rounds. I will be working with
the year eight dance students who I taught for two weeks on my previous rounds. Some girls
have previous dance experience from community dance classes in ballet, tap dance or hip
hop, but most of them have never danced before.
The students have studied dance for only one term and are about to start their second term.
They have only just started to learn about dance literacy skills. I chose to plan the
approaches for this group because they need a lot of guidance in their learning. I think they
will be challenged by the tasks, but by using the four practices model, I believe the students
will be effectively supported in their learning. I am looking forward to teach the class and
find out how the students respond to it.
References
Dumbleton, M. & Lountain, K. 1999 Addressing literacy in the arts: a middle years resource,
Curriculum Corporation, Carlton South, Vic.
Ludwig, C. 2000 ‘Literacy in the learning areas: a proposition’, Literacy Learning: The Middle
Years, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 37-53
Luke, A. & Freebody, P. (1999) ‘A map of possible practices: further notes on the four
resources model’, Practically Primary, vol. 4, no. 2, pp, 5-8
Santoro, N. 2004 ‘Using the four resources model across the curriculum’, in A. Healey & E.
Honan (eds), Text next: new resources for literacy learning, Primary English Teaching
Association, Newtown, NSW, pp. 51-67
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) 2006 Dance: Victorian Certificate of
Education Study Design, VCAA, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) 2008 Victorian Essential Learning
Standards: Discipline-based Learning Strand - The Arts, retrieved 1 September 2009,
<http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/downloads/vels_standards/velsrevisedarts.pdf>
Appendices
Appendix I
Journal entree year eight dance student.
Appendix II
Research grid year eight dance student.
Appendix III
VCE Dance – Activity to assist students to plan for character solo.
Appendix IV
VCE Dance – Student example planning for character solo.