DANCING THE BILL OF RIGHTS

DANCING THE BILL OF RIGHTS

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will demonstrate their understanding of the Bill of Rights by choreographing a movement phrase to represent each amendment using the elements of dance.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 4-5
CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE & SOCIAL STUDIES
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"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can choreograph a movement phrase using the elements of dance to represent the Bill of Rights.

  • I can explain my assigned amendment from the Bill of Rights.

Essential Questions

  • How can movement represent an idea?

  • What is the Bill of Rights?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4

SS4CG3 Describe the structure of government and the Bill of Rights. 

  1. Identify and explain the rights in the Bill of Rights, describe how the Bill of Rights places limits on the powers of government, and explain the reasons for its inclusion in the Constitution in 1791.

Arts Standards

Grade 4

ESD4.CR.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the choreographic process.

 

ESD4.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

 

ESD4.CN.3 Integrate dance into other areas of knowledge.

 

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4

Standard 2: Demonstrate an understanding of the identity of a new nation, including the state of South Carolina between 1730-1800.

4.2.CC Explain the continuities and changes in natural rights as seen from the French and Indian War to the creation of the Bill of Rights.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use movement exploration to discover and create artistic ideas and works.

 

Anchor Standard 2: I can choreograph a dance.

 

Anchor Standard 3: I can perform movements using the dance elements.

Anchor Standard 7: I can relate dance to other arts disciplines, content areas, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Bill of Rights - The first ten amendments of the US Constitution; the purpose is to protect the rights of citizens

  • Amendment - A formal change to a legal document, statute, or constitution

Arts Vocabulary

  • Body - The physical instrument used by dancers to express movement, emotion, and artistry

  • Locomotor Movements - Movements that travel through space, such as walking, running, hopping, skipping, leaping, sliding, and galloping

  • Non-locomotor Movements - Movements that occur without traveling, such as bending, stretching, pushing, pulling, twisting, turning, and shaking

  • Levels - The height of the movement, which can be low (close to the ground), middle (midway), or high (elevated)

  • Directions - The direction of movement, such as forward, backward, sideways, diagonal, up, and down

  • Pathways - The patterns made in space, like straight, curved, zigzag, or circular

  • Dynamics - The quality of movement, which can be smooth, sharp, sustained, percussive, swinging, or collapsing

  • Tempo - The speed of movement, which can be fast, moderate, or slow

  • Choreography - The art and practice of designing and arranging dance movements and sequences

  • Movement phrase - A sequence of movements that are connected and form a coherent unit of motion, much like a sentence in language

 

Materials

  • Copy of the Bill of Rights

  • Smart board

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin the lesson by practicing a typical call and response with students. Continue the call and response adding body movements.
    • Incorporate some of the aspects of the elements of dance such as levels, pathways, direction, locomotor/non-locomotor movements, changes in tempo, etc.

 

Work Session

  • Tell students that they will be using movement and dance to express ideas. 
    • Have students practice using their whole bodies based on a specific task, such as, to write their names in the air with finger, then elbow, then foot, then nose, then top of your head, then hip.
    • Begin to make the directions more abstract (i.e. make your body a leaf, and move like a leaf holding on to a branch in the wind, etc). Remind students that they should use their whole bodies.
    • Add in the aspects of the elements of dance such as levels, pathways, direction, locomotor/non-locomotor movements, changes in tempo, etc.
  • Tell students that dancers use their bodies to communicate ideas. Today, they will be using dance to represent the Bill of Rights.
    • Review the Bill of Rights; display each amendment on the board.
    • Arrange students into small groups. 
    • Each group will be responsible for choreographing a two to three movement phrase to represent their assigned amendment. 
      • Remind students to use their bodies and movement to represent ideas (like the leaf blowing in the wind), not to act or pantomime.
      • Remind students of some of the aspects of the elements of dance (types of movements, levels, tempo, dynamics, etc.). Tell students to select at least one that they will use intentionally in their movement phrases. 
  • After a designated time, have each group come up and present their choreography to the class.
    • Facilitate a discussion around how the dancers’ movements represented their assigned amendment. Ask students where they saw the elements of dance in each movement phrase and how that element of dance helped to communicate meaning.
  • Finally, have the entire class perform their choreography consecutively as a complete dance. This will allow all of them to sequence the movements and collectively perform one dance of the entire Bill of Rights.

 

Closing Reflection

  • In their groups, students should discuss which movements they chose and how those movements represented their assigned amendment. 
  • Facilitate a class discussion around the process of choreographing a dance that communicated a specific idea.
    • Ask students what they thought they did well and what they would do differently if they were to do it again.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding by observing students’ review of the Bill of Rights, contributions to small group choreography and ability to create movements to represent ideas using the elements of dance.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can choreograph a movement phrase using the elements of dance to represent their assigned amendment.
  • Students can explain how their movements represent the meaning of their assigned amendment.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Accelerated: 

  • Challenge students to move to the steady beat of the music.
  • Students can complete a written reflection around which movements they chose and how those movements represented their assigned amendment.

Remedial: 

  • Students can create one movement instead of a two to three movement phrase to represent their amendment.
  • Choreograph the first amendment as a whole class to scaffold the process.

 

 

*This integrated lesson provides differentiated ideas and activities for educators that are aligned to a sampling of standards. Standards referenced at the time of publishing may differ based on each state’s adoption of new standards.

Ideas contributed by: Andrew Sbarra

Revised and copyright:  May 2024 @ ArtsNOW

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