A colorful banner titled "Creativity Task Cards" in the center with a "Thank You, Omu!" book cover on the left. A large white number 5 inside a yellow circle is on the right, indicating the grade level—fifth grade.

Art Form: Dance

 

Supplies Needed

Thank You, Omu! book

Pencil or pen

Paper

Vocabulary

Choreography - The steps or movements in a dance

Theme - Big idea or message in a story or dance

Movement - How you use your body to do a dance or
action

Form - The way that a story or dance is put together or
structured

Inspiration - Something that you experience that gives
you an idea to create something

Energy - The power, excitement, or emotion that is put
into movement (high energy = quick or fast movements;
low energy = slow movements)

 

Instructions

1. Read the book and discuss or think about the theme of the story.

2. Write a paragraph or reflection about a time that you gave to others or received something from someone. Include:

  • Details about the experience, including a beginning, middle and end.
  • How the experience made you and/or others feel.

3. Using the paragraph as inspiration, create a dance phrase of 4-6 movements.

  • Include one to two movements for the beginning, one to two movements for the middle, and one to two movements for the end.
  • Think about the energy needed for each movement to reflect what happened and/or the feelings it evoked. For example, if the emotion was excitement, you might show a lot of energy in a movement by moving quickly.

4. Share your dance phrase with an audience. Discuss your movement choices
and how they were inspired by your experience.

 

Extensions

Add a song that fits the emotions of your choreography to your dance.

Add narration (your paragraph) to your dance.

 

Cover of the book "The Smallest Spot of a Dot" by Linsey Davis and Michael Tyler, illustrated by Lucy Fleming. It features diverse children playing with colorful dots on a white background, reminiscent of notes in a joyful piece of music. The subtitle reads, "The Little Ways We're Different, The Big Ways We're The Same.
Download the complete Creativity Task Card Here

About

The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.

In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.

This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.