lesson plan “Teaching prepositions through song and dance” created by Hanna Poist
[email protected] , 2014
ARTS INTEGRATED LESSON PLAN
Teacher Name: Hanna Poist
TOPIC/LESSON TITLE: Teaching Prepositions through Dance and Song/Rap
UNIT OF STUDY: Grammar/music/dance/song/rap
CONTENT/GRADE FOCUS: 7th
TIME FRAME: 2 hours
FINE ARTS STANDARDS/OBJECTIVES ADDRESSED: Dance
Standard 1.0 Perceiving, Performing, and Responding: Aesthetic Education
Students will demonstrate the ability to perceive, perform, and respond to dance.
Indicator 1. Demonstrate knowledge of how elements of dance are used to communicate
meaning
http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/dance/standard1/grade7.html
Standard 3.0 Creative Expression and Production
Students will demonstrate the ability to create and perform dance.
Indicator 1. Develop the ability to improvise dance
Objectives
1. Improvise dance studies in response to a variety of sensory and motivational stimuli
2. Communicate literal and non-literal ideas using improvisation
3. Create dances individually and with a partner using the improvisational process
Indicator 2. Develop the ability to combine the elements, aesthetic principles, and
choreographic forms of dance to communicate meaning
Objectives
a. Combine and modify the elements of dance to convey ideas and concepts
http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/dance/standard3/grade7.html
CONTENT STANDARDS/OBJECTIVES ADDRESSED: Language Arts
lesson plan “Teaching prepositions through song and dance” created by Hanna Poist
[email protected] , 2014
Topic: grammar: prepositions
LESSON OBJECTIVES:
L1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
http://www.mdk12.org/share/frameworks/CCSC_Language_gr6-8.pdf
VOCABULARY/CONCEPT
Content vocabulary
Dance vocabulary
prepositions
body (non-locomotor and locomotor)
space (levels)
time
energy (speed and tempo)
MATERIALS & RESOURCES:
Assessment (Resource 1)
Copies of dance planning sheet for each group (Resource 2)
A copy of the preposition song for each student (Resource 3)
Poster with the lyrics of the preposition song
Posted definition of the preposition
Prepositions School house rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZEy0yiP8X
“Preposition Song” recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KB95CWp7u8
Glossary of dance moves http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_dance_moves
LESSON DEVELOPMENT/PROCEDURES:
Warm-up: What do you know or believe to be true about “prepositions?” Turn to your partner and talk about
it.
1. Show students the Schoolhouse Rock prepositions video
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZEy0yiP8X4 ). Before viewing the video clip, I share with
students that their viewing purpose is to formulate the definition of the preposition, using the
information in the video.
2. After viewing, I ask students for their definitions of prepositions.
3. I tell students that later we will use prepositions to work with prepositional phrases, so students will
need to learn first the words that are prepositions. I explain that prepositions are words that show
location, time, etc. There are ways to remembers most of the prepositions. One of the ways to do that
lesson plan “Teaching prepositions through song and dance” created by Hanna Poist [email protected] , 2014
is to put prepositions in a song and/or make a dance that portrays prepositions in action. Today,
students will listen to the “Preposition Song” to the tune of Yankee Doodle as a model of how someone
may use music and songs to memorize prepositions. Today students will work on memorizing
prepositions through their own choice of music and dance.
4. I introduce the elements of dance: locomotor (moving from a location), non-loccmotor (staying in one
place); high (moving and using arms), medium (using the trunk area), low (using feet or moves on the
leg and feet level); pace (fast, medium, and low); types of moves: walk, moonwalk, kick, free sin,
chasse, gallop, shuffle, rock.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_dance_moves
5. I model how to use the dance planning sheet to plan the dance based on the first stanza of the
preposition song.
6. Then I have students select a stanza of the preposition song, plan the dance, and fill out the sheet.
7. Each group practices and performs their dance for their stanza.
8. I pull students from each stanza group into one group (jigsaw style). The new group must be
combined with representatives who mastered different stanzas. They have to teach each other the
stanza they mastered and put together the three stanzas to create an original dance and perform it for
the class. Students may select music to accompany their dance. Students are expected to memorize
the entire preposition song as they rehearse their dance and to say or sing the lyrics as they perform
each move.
9. During the performance of the dance by various groups, students will be assessed based on the rubric
below.
Resource 1:
ASSESSMENT:
1. Each preposition is represented by a dance move (the choice of the move supports the
meaning of the preposition)_
2. Each preposition is orally represented as a dance move is performed_
3. Students used all the prepositions assigned in the dance/song_
4. The moves of the group members were coordinated_
5. There is evidence of cooperation among the group members_
____/5 points
Resource 2: Group Planning sheets
Group 1 Dance planning sheet
preposition
1st stanza
aboard
about
above
across
against
Describe the dance move that represents each preposition.
locomotor or non-locomotor
high/medium/low
fast/medium/slow
shape used
lesson plan “Teaching prepositions through song and dance” created by Hanna Poist [email protected] , 2014
along
around
amid
among
after
at
except
for
during
down
Group 2 Dance planning sheet
preposition
2nd stanza
behind
beneath
below
beside
between
before
beyond
by
in
from
off
on
over
of
until
unto
upon
Describe the dance move that represents each preposition.
locomotor or non-locomotor
high/medium/low
fast/medium/slow
shape used
Group 3 Dance planning sheet
preposition
3rd stanza
under
underneath
since
up
like
near
Describe the dance move that represents each preposition.
locomotor or non-locomotor
high/medium/low
fast/medium/slow
shape used
lesson plan “Teaching prepositions through song and dance” created by Hanna Poist [email protected] , 2014
past
throughout
through
with
within
without
instead
toward
inside
into
to
Resource 3:
Lyrics of the Preposition Song
aboard
about
above
across
against
along
around
amid
among
after
at
except
for
during
down
behind
beneath
below
beside
between
before
beyond
by
in
from
off
on
over
of
until
unto
upon
under
underneath
since
up
like
near
past
throughout
through
with
within
without
instead
toward
inside
into
to