CLASSY CLASSIFYING OF ARTSY ANIMALS: VERTEBRATE DANCES 3,5

VERTEBRATE DANCES

CLASSY CLASSIFYING OF ARTSY ANIMALS VERTEBRATE DANCES

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will work collaboratively to choreograph and perform dances that will communicate characteristics of different vertebrate groups. Audience members will use their knowledge of vertebrate groups to determine which dances represented which vertebrate group and how their movements represented that group’s characteristics.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3,5
CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can use movement to represent the characteristics of a vertebrate group.
  • I can identify different animals using the five vertebrate group names (mammal, fish, bird, reptile, amphibian).
  • I can work collaboratively with a group to create a dance that communicates the characteristics of a vertebrate group using body shapes, locomotor and nonlocomotor movements, and levels.

Essential Questions

  • What are the characteristics of the different vertebrate groups?
  • How can movement be used to communicate defining characteristics of the different vertebrate groups?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 5:

S5L1 Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to group organisms using scientific classification procedures.
S5L1.a Develop a model that illustrates how animals are sorted into groups (vertebrate and invertebrate) and how vertebrates are sorted into groups (fish, amphibian, reprise, bird, and mammal) using data from multiple sources.

Arts Standards

Grade 5:

ESD5.CR. 1 Demonstrate an understanding of the choreographic process.
ESD5.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3:

3-LS2-1. Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
3-LS3-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have inherited traits that vary within a group of similar organisms.

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.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Vertebrate - An animal that has a backbone or spinal column, which is part of an internal skeleton that supports its body
  • Invertebrate - An animal that does not have a backbone or spinal column
  • Mammal - A warm-blooded vertebrate animal characterized by the presence of hair or fur, the ability to produce milk for its young through mammary glands, and (in most cases) giving live birth
  • Amphibian - A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that typically has a life cycle with both aquatic and terrestrial stages
  • Fish - A cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrate that lives in water and breathes through gills
  • Bird - A warm-blooded vertebrate animal characterized by feathers, beaks (instead of teeth), and the ability to lay eggs with hard shells
  • Reptile - A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that typically has scaly skin and lays eggs with leathery or hard shells
  • Insect - A small invertebrate animal that belongs to the class Insecta; Insects have three main body parts: the head, thorax, and abdomen
  • Classify - To organize or group objects, organisms, or phenomena based on shared characteristics or properties
  • Characteristics - The distinguishing features, traits, or properties of an object, organism, or phenomenon that help to identify or describe it
  • Organism - Any living thing, whether it's a plant, animal, fungus, bacterium, or microorganism, that exhibits the characteristics of life
  • Backbone - A flexible, column-like structure made up of individual bones called vertebrae
  • Warm-blooded - Refers to animals that can regulate and maintain a constant internal body temperature, regardless of the temperature of their surroundings
  • Cold-blooded - Refers to animals whose internal body temperature is largely determined by the temperature of their environment
  • Reproduce - The biological process by which living organisms produce offspring

Arts Vocabulary

  • Locomotor - A movement that travels through space
  • Non-locomotor - A movement that does not travel through space
  • Levels - One of the aspects of movement (there are three basic levels in dance: high, middle, and low)
  • Body shape - Refers to an interesting and interrelated arrangement of body parts of one dancer; the visual makeup or molding of the body parts of a singular dancer; the overall visible appearance of a group of dancers (they may be curved/angular, symmetrical/asymmetrical, positive/negative)
  • Choreography - The art of designing and arranging sequences of movements, steps, and gestures to create a dance piece


Materials


Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

*Prior to teaching this lesson, students should already have knowledge of each animal group’s characteristics/attributes.

  • Begin by explaining the difference between locomotor (moving from one place to another) and non-locomotor (moving in place) movements.
    • Provide students with a few examples:
      • Locomotor: Walking, hopping, skipping, sliding
      • Non-Locomotor: Bending, twisting, swaying, stretching
    • Play some upbeat music with a steady beat.
      • Call out a locomotor movement, and encourage students to move around the space using that movement.
        • Sample locomotor movements: Walk, skip, gallop, jump, slide, tiptoe, march
      • Every 10-20 seconds, pause the music and call out a non-locomotor movement (e.g., “bend” or “stretch”).
        • Sample non-locomotor movements: Bend, twist, sway, reach, shake, stretch, wave
      • Repeat, alternating between various locomotor and non-locomotor movements.
      • Next, add body shapes. Tell students that body shapes in dance are frozen shapes that they can make with their bodies. When the teacher says, “Freeze”, students should freeze in a body shape. When the teacher says, “Unfreeze” students will go back to locomotor and nonlocomotor movements.
      • Finally, introduce levels: High, middle, and low.
        • High level movements - fully standing
        • Middle level movements - somewhat crouching
        • Low level movements - low to the ground
        • When the teacher says middle level non-locomotor movements, the students should do a middle level nonlocomotor movement; when the teacher says low level shape, the students should make a frozen body shape at a low level, etc.
      • Gather the class together and briefly discuss what types of movements they enjoyed the most.
        • Ask questions such as the following to reinforce understanding:
          • “What was your favorite movement?”
          • “How can you tell when you’re doing a non-locomotor movement?”

Work Session

  • Post pictures of various animals from different classification groups around the classroom.
  • Have students stand with the image of the animal they would most like to be.
  • With the other students who chose the same image, have students write down characteristics of that animal such as what its external texture is like, is it warm-blooded or cold-blooded, etc, what habitat does it live in, is it born in an egg, etc.?
  • Let this discussion lead into a discussion about the different ways animals are classified: Invertebrates and vertebrates and vertebrate subgroups: mammal, fish, bird, amphibian, and reptile.
  • Tell students that they will be using dance to express the different types of vertebrates.
  • Divide students into small groups. Assign each group one type of vertebrate group.
  • In their groups, students will brainstorm body shapes and movements that will represent characteristics of their vertebrate group.
    • Students may need to do additional research on their vertebrate group to prepare for this step.
  • Once students have ideas for how to use movements and body shapes to represent their group, they will choose three to five movements and body shapes to include in their dance. Each movement should represent a different characteristic of their group.
    • For example, students who are representing amphibians might include movements to represent the aquatic and terrestrial stages, the egg, and being cold-blooded.
    • Provide the following requirements for student dances:
      • Must include locomotor and non-locomotor movements
      • Must include different levels
      • Must include frozen body shapes
      • Must represent at least three characteristics of that vertebrate group
      • Must include at least five movements and body shapes total

Students should plan and rehearse their dances.

Closing Reflection

  • Students will perform their dances for the class. Remind students of appropriate audience participation and etiquette prior to performances.
  • After each performance, ask the audience if they can determine which group was represented and to identify which movements represented which characteristics of that group.
  • Finish the lesson with a reflection for students. Ask students:
    • How did your movements communicate your animal group’s characteristics (use content specific and dance vocabulary in response–levels, body shape, locomotor/nonlocomotor)?
    • Is there anything you would do differently if you could choreograph your dance again?


Assessments

Formative

  • Student identification of characteristics of different vertebrate groups
  • Student planning for dance/choreography planning guide
  • Student activator to demonstrate understanding of locomotor/non-locomotor movements, levels, and body shapes

Summative

  • Student dances:
    • Include locomotor/non-locomotor movements, levels, and body shapes
    • Accurately represent at least three defining characteristics of their vertebrate group
    • Have at least five movements and body shapes total

Students can explain how their movements communicate their animal group’s characteristics using dance and content vocabulary.

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

Instead of representing one vertebrate group, students can create choreography to contrast two different vertebrate groups in one dance.

Remediation:

  • Provide plenty of visuals to support comprehension of vocabulary.
  • Provide a graphic organizer for students to record characteristics of each vertebrate group. Students can add drawings to help support understanding of each characteristic.

Credits

U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

Ideas contributed by: Katy Betts

*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.

Revised and copyright:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

 

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ECO-EXPRESSIONS: MONET MASTERPIECES 4-5

MONET MASTERPIECES

CAN YOU BALANCE?MONET MASTERPIECES

Learning Description

Students will analyze the Water Lilies series by Claude Monet inspired by his garden in Giverny, France. Students will then create their own paintings that depict the ecosystem. Students will be asked to visually represent the roles of consumers, producers, and decomposers, as well as their energy sources, through their artwork. Students will be asked to reflect on how they synthesized their knowledge of the ecosystem in their impressionistic paintings.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 4,5
CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can identify consumers, producers, decomposers and their energy sources.
  • I can apply impressionistic techniques while painting an ecosystem landscape.
  • I can analyze the relationships of the different roles in the ecosystem
  • I can interpret the various roles in the ecosystem by making body movement and voice choices.

Essential Questions

  • How can I demonstrate my understanding of the interworking of an ecosystem through visual arts?
  • What are consumers, producers, and decomposers, and what are their energy sources?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4:

S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
a.Develop a model to describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.
b.Develop simple models to illustrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.
c.Design a scenario to demonstrate the effect of a change on an ecosystem.
d. Use printed and digital data to develop a model illustrating and describing changes to the flow of energy in an ecosystem when plants or animals become scarce, extinct or overabundant.

Arts Standards

Grade 4:

VA4.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.
VA4.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of two-dimensional art.
VA4.RE.1 Use a variety of approaches for art criticism and to critique personal works of art and the artwork of others to enhance visual literacy.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 5:

5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.

Arts Standards

Anchor Standard 1: I can use the elements and principles of art to create artwork.
Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art.
Anchor Standard 5: I can interpret and evaluate the meaning of an artwork

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Bacteria - Microorganisms that can make you sick, but also can help you digest food; found everywhere in nature
  • Carnivore - An animal that eats only other animals
  • Camouflage - Process of animals changing their colors, patterns, and shapes to disguise themselves from predators or prey
  • Community - All the organisms in an ecosystem
  • Consumer - An animal that gets its energy by eating plants or other animals
  • Decay - To break down into simpler materials
  • Decomposers - A living thing that breaks down the remains of dead organisms
  • Ecology - The study of how living and nonliving factors interact
  • Ecosystem - A system made up of an ecological community of living things interacting with their environment especially under natural conditions
  • Energy source - A source from which useful energy can be extracted or recovered either directly or by means of a conversion or transformation process (e.g. solid fuels, liquid fuels, solar energy, biomass, etc.)
  • Extinct - A species that is gone forever because all of its kind have died
  • Food chain/web - The path of energy in an ecosystem from plants to animals (from producers to consumers)
  • Habitat - The place where an animal or plant lives
  • Herbivore - An animal that eats plants
  • Hibernate - When animals go into a deep sleep
  • Interdependence - When living things in an ecosystem need each other to meet their needs
  • Microorganisms - Very small living things
  • Omnivore - An animal that eats both plants and animals
  • Organism - A living thing
  • Photosynthesis - Process through which plants make food
  • Plankton - Small organisms in water that are producers and give off oxygen
  • Producer - A living thing (such as a green plant) that makes its food from simple inorganic substances (such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen) and many of which are food sources for other organisms

Arts Vocabulary

  • Landscape - A type of art that shows a wide expanse of land and shows depth through a background, middle ground, and foreground
  • Background - The area of the artwork that appears furthest away and is smallest
  • Middle ground - The area of the artwork that appears in the middle of the picture plane between the background and middle ground
  • Foreground - The area of the artwork that appears closest and is largest
  • Color - An element of art with three properties: 1. Hue, or the name of the color (e.g. red, yellow, etc.); 2. Intensity, or the purity and strength of the color, such as brightness or dullness; and 3. Value, or the lightness or darkness of a color
  • Emphasis - In a composition, this refers to developing points of interest to pull the viewer's eye to important parts of the body of the work. A focal point is an example of showing emphasis.
  • Subject matter - Refers to the things that are represented in a work of art such as people, buildings, and trees
  • Texture - The surface quality, or "feel" of an object, such as roughness, smoothness, or softness. Actual texture can be felt while simulated textures are implied by the way the artist renders areas of the picture.
  • Impressionism - A painting style originating in France in the 1860s that depicts the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color


Materials


Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • The students will view the following video clip of Claude Monet painting in his flower garden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJE4QUNgaeg.
  • Share the following information with the class: “Water Lilies” is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet. The paintings depict Monet's flower garden at Giverny and were the main focus of Monet's artistic production during the last thirty years of his life.

Work Session

  • As a whole group, view “Claude Monet’s Garden” (4 minutes 3 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2KGkK2wcbk. In order to cut down on time, you could view the clip from the 1 minute 55 second mark till the 3 minute 6 second, as this part of the video focuses on the ponds and water lily plants.
  • Pause the video clip every once in a while to ask the class what types of ecosystems they see. Create a list of the producers, consumers, and decomposers that inhabit these gardens.
  • Once the list is complete, ask the students where the producers, consumers, and decomposers received their energy from. What is their energy source?
  • Project an image of the real water lilies in Giverny and Monet’s painted version.
    • Ask students what colors and textures they see.
    • Ask students how the painting is different from the photograph.
    • Discuss with the class the artistic methods Monet used in his paintings, such as big brush strokes, heavy use of oil based paint, etc.
    • This would be a good opportunity to collaborate with the visual arts teacher at your school.
  • Distribute mixed media paper and pencils.
  • Have students sketch out their own version of Monet’s water lilies on their paper.
    • They will include a water source, plants, as well as animals that may live in this type of habitat. In essence they will be creating an ecosystem with consumers, producers, and decomposers. The students must also include the energy sources as well in their painting.
    • Pass out water cups, paint brushes, and tempera paint pre-poured on paper plates.
    • Students will then use their tempera paint to paint in the style of Monet (broad brush strokes).
      • Alternative: Students can use oil pastels to create large “brush strokes” by making short, dashed lines with their oil pastels.
    • Students will write an “Artist Statement” paragraph about the piece they created. The statement should describe how the artist integrated science vocabulary and concepts into the painting.

Once the paintings have dried, host a “Gallery Walk” with the class. The students will take a tour of each painting. As they view the paintings they will discuss and identify the consumers, producers, and decomposers, as well as energy sources.

Closing Reflection

  • Facilitate a discussion around the following questions:
    • How did painting a Monet style painting help you better understand the roles/responsibilities of producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem?
    • Why is the energy source for producers, consumers, and decomposers an important part of an ecosystem?


Assessments

Formative

  • Class discussion, group discussions, and reflection questions
  • Anecdotal notes when observing students working in small groups

Summative

  • Monet style ecosystem painting (Monet Style Ecosystem Painting Rubric)
  • Students can accurately identify producers, consumers, and decomposers.
  • Students can properly order producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain/web.


Differentiation

Acceleration: 

After discussing the ecosystem shown in Monet’s “Water Lilies”, allow students to choose their own ecosystem to paint.

Remediation:

  • Provide students with a graphic organizer to identify the various parts of the ecosystem. Have students draw an image to represent each part.
  • Allow students to use alternative materials to paint in which they can achieve the same Impressionistic effect, such as oil pastels.


Additional Resources
  • The Magical Garden of Claude Monet by Laurence Anholt
  • Who Was Claude Monet? by Ann Waldron
  • Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Cristina Bjork
  • Monet Paints a Day by Julie Danneberg


    • Credits

    U.S. Department of Education- STEh3 + the Art of Integrated Learning

     

    *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.

    Revised and copyright:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

     

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    ECO-EXPRESSIONS: ECOSYSTEM TABLEAUX 4-5

    ECOSYSTEM TABLEAUX

    CAN YOU BALANCE? ECOSYSTEM TABLEAUX

    Learning Description

    Students will analyze the ecosystem by using tableaux to dramatize roles of various plants and animals in the food chain/web. Students will then write in-role as their plant/animal, arguing why they are important to the ecosystem. The class will use these writings in a role drama, where students will debate which plant or animal is most important to the ecosystem. Finally, the class will discuss the interdependence of each plant and animal in the ecosystem.

     

    Learning Targets

    GRADE BAND: 4,5
    CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & SCIENCE
    LESSON DOWNLOADS:

    Download PDF of this Lesson

    "I Can" Statements

    “I Can…”

    • I can identify consumers, producers, decomposers and their energy sources.
    • I can analyze the relationships of the different roles in the ecosystem.
    • I can dramatize the roles of consumers, producers, and decomposers.
    • I can interpret the various roles in the ecosystem by making body movement and voice choices.

    Essential Questions

    • How can I demonstrate my understanding of the interworking of an ecosystem through theatre techniques?
    • How can tableau and role drama be used to explore the food chain/web and its effect on the ecosystem?
    • What are the roles of consumers, producers, and decomposers in an ecosystem?

     

    Georgia Standards

    Curriculum Standards

    Grade 4:

    S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
    a.Develop a model to describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.
    b.Develop simple models to illustrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.
    c.Design a scenario to demonstrate the effect of a change on an ecosystem.
    d. Use printed and digital data to develop a model illustrating and describing changes to the flow of energy in an ecosystem when plants or animals become scarce, extinct or overabundant.

    Arts Standards

    Grade 4:

    TA5.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.

     

    South Carolina Standards

    Curriculum Standards

    Grade 5:

    5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.

    Arts Standards

    Anchor Standard 3: I can act in improvised scenes and written scripts.

     

    Key Vocabulary

    Content Vocabulary

    • Bacteria - Microorganisms that can make you sick, but also can help you digest food; found everywhere in nature
    • Carnivore - An animal that eats only other animals
    • Camouflage - Process of animals changing their colors, patterns, and shapes to disguise themselves from predators or prey
    • Community - All the organisms in an ecosystem
    • Consumer - An animal that gets its energy by eating plants or other animals
    • Decay - To break down into simpler materials
    • Decomposers - A living thing that breaks down the remains of dead organisms
    • Ecology - The study of how living and nonliving factors interact
    • Ecosystem - A system made up of an ecological community of living things interacting with their environment especially under natural conditions
    • Energy source - A source from which useful energy can be extracted or recovered either directly or by means of a conversion or transformation process (e.g. solid fuels, liquid fuels, solar energy, biomass, etc.)
    • Extinct - A species that is gone forever because all of its kind have died
    • Food chain/web - The path of energy in an ecosystem from plants to animals (from producers to consumers)
    • Habitat - The place where an animal or plant lives
    • Herbivore - An animal that eats plants
    • Hibernate - When animals go into a deep sleep
    • Interdependence - When living things in an ecosystem need each other to meet their needs
    • Microorganisms - Very small living things
    • Omnivore - An animal that eats both plants and animals
    • Organism - A living thing
    • Photosynthesis - Process through which plants make food
    • Plankton - Small organisms in water that are producers and give off oxygen
    • Producer - A living thing (such as a green plant) that makes its food from simple inorganic substances (such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen) and many of which are food sources for other organisms

    Arts Vocabulary

    • Concentration - Actors must concentrate in order to keep their mind on the stage and in the imagined circumstances. Actors must also concentrate on what the other actors are doing and how their character would react to them.
    • Gesture - An expressive movement of the body or limbs
    • Projection - Using a “big” actor voice so that you can be heard in the very back row of a space (classroom, auditorium, theatre)
    • Tableau - A frozen picture representing a scene or moment in a story that occurs during a theatrical performance. When creating a tableau in theatre, the following principles should be applied:
      • Create body levels (low, mid, high);
      • Use facial expressions to communicate thoughts and feelings;
      • Show relationships between the various characters in the setting; and
      • Make sure the audience can all see your face.
    • Narration - The act of telling a story
    • Storytelling - Conveying events in words and images, often by improvisation or embellishment
    • Statue - A still, frozen pose or posture assumed by an actor to convey a particular character, emotion, or situation without movement or speech; this technique is often used to create tableaux
    • Facial expression - Using your face to show emotion


    Materials

    Optional: Showme app and VoiceThread app

    Instructional Design

    Opening/Activating Strategy

    • Show students an example image of a tableau. Explain that “tableau” means “frozen picture”.
      • Ask students to make observations about the facial expressions and body positions of the actors.
    • Tell students that they will begin by creating statues with their bodies. Tell students that statues are still, frozen poses or postures.
      • Have students stand up and create the following statues:
        • 102 year old elderly person crossing the street
        • Baseball player focusing on hitting the ball
        • A chef that dropped a pizza
      • Next, tell students that they will now combine statues to create a tableau, a frozen picture representing a scene or moment in a story.
        • Discuss how creating a strong tableau requires:
          • A clear body level (low, mid, high)
          • Facial expressions
          • Clear relationships between the various characters in a story/scene
          • Making sure the audience can see our faces when we perform
        • Show students the example image of a tableau Ask them where they see these elements.
        • Tell students that in tableaux, the actors sometimes represent things from the setting–they are not always people or animals. Sometimes two or more actors will combine their bodies to create one thing, like a tree or a tent.
        • Put students in groups of three to five students. Have students create tableaux of the following.
        • A family portrait
        • A teacher and students in class
        • A castle (using just their bodies)

    Work Session

    Creating tableaux:

    • Review key terminology and concepts that are critical to understanding the food chain/web (producers, consumers, herbivores, carnivores, etc.).
    • Place students in small groups (these can be the same groups from the activator).
    • Give each group four index cards with different animals/plants that are in a food chain/web. Direct the groups to create a tableau that dramatizes the food chain/web with each student taking on the role of the animal/plant listed on the index card.
      • Remind students that a strong tableau requires:
        • A clear body level (low, mid, high)
        • Facial expressions
        • Clear relationships between the various characters in a story/scene
        • Making sure the audience can see faces
      • Each small group will share their tableau with the class.
      • The teacher will take a picture of each tableau.
      • The teacher will choose one of the following:
        • Teacher will demonstrate how to use the Showme app on the iPad, an excellent tool to teach what the tableau illustrates and can document the presentation.
        • Using Showme, the teacher will demonstrate how to circle, highlight and label tableau parts in a photo.
        • Students will participate by labeling their own tableau photos, concentrating on answering the following questions: Which animal or plant was a Producer? Consumer? Decomposer? How did you know this?

    OR,

    • The teacher will print the photos for the students to annotate the following day.
    • Students will participate by labeling their own tableau photos, concentrating on answering the following questions: Which animal or plant was a Producer? Consumer? Decomposer? How did you know this?

    Writing in role:

    • Students will then write in first person as their character in their food chain/web. They will make an argument for why they are most important to the ecosystem.
    • Optional: Students can use VoiceThread to record their writing in the character role they have taken on. They can upload pictures and/or drawings to illustrate their written work.

    Character Panel:

    • Students are asked to become “experts” on their ecosystems before participating in the Character Panel.
    • The teacher will instruct students on how to conduct research on their devices and create a presentation. Using a presentation platform like Prezi or PowerPoint, students can create an engaging presentation on their ecosystem (habitat research, what animals fall into the categories of producers, consumers and decomposers, etc.).
    • Suggested sites for research include:
    • Students in each group are then placed on a Character Panel in role as their characters and the remaining students role-play as reporters who ask the panel questions. Together students step into roles and create a Role Drama that analyzes why each animal is critical to the food chain/web and the ecosystem at large.
    • Students will debate why their plant/animal is important and defend it with facts from their research.
    • The reporters are charged with the responsibility to determine which character is most important. The objective is to spark a class discussion that deeply analyzes the food chain/web’s interdependence on one another.

    Optional: Teacher can demonstrate on iPad how to use VoiceThread app, which allows students to upload, share and discuss documents, presentations, images, audio files and video. In this app, students have the opportunity to comment on other students’ voice threads.

    Closing Reflection

    • Discuss the following questions with students:
      • How did engaging in the arts using tableau support and build upon your understanding of ecosystems?
      • Why is the energy source for producers, consumers, and decomposers an important part of an ecosystem?
    • Students will complete the following 3-2-1 ticket out the door:
      • What are three things you learned about the topic today?
      • What are two arts vocabulary words you used to show what you know?
      • What is one question you still have?


    Assessments

    Formative

    • Class discussion, group discussions, and reflection questions
    • Anecdotal notes when observing students working in small groups
    • 3-2-1 Ticket out the door

    Summative

    • Student writing written in-role
    • Students can accurately identify producers, consumers, and decomposers.
    • Students can properly order producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain/web.
    • Students can demonstrate their understanding of food chains/webs through tableaux and role drama.


    Differentiation

    Acceleration: 

    • Have students write a scene with dialogue between the different parts of the ecosystem. If time permits, students can then perform their scenes.

    Remediation:

    • Provide a graphic organizer to support students with writing in role.
    • Provide an example of writing in role to support students.
    • Provide visuals of vocabulary words.


    Credits

    U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

     

    *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.

    Revised and copyright:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

     

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    ECO-EXPRESSIONS: ECOSYSTEM ROLES IN MOTION 4-5

    ECOSYSTEM ROLES IN MOTION

    CAN YOU BALANCE?ECOSYSTEM ROLES IN MOTION

    Learning Description

    In this lesson, students will investigate the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem. They will begin by participating in the "Shape, Move, Wonder" thinking activity. Working in groups, students will analyze an informational text about one of the roles, highlighting key facts. Using this information, they will create a movement sequence. The lesson will conclude with an exit ticket to check for understanding.

     

    Learning Targets

    GRADE BAND: 4,5
    CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE & SCIENCE
    LESSON DOWNLOADS:

    Download PDF of this Lesson

    "I Can" Statements

    “I Can…”

    • I can examine a text to explain the roles within an ecosystem and create a movement sequence to represent those roles.
    • I can identify consumers, producers, decomposers and their energy sources.
    • I can analyze the relationships of the different roles in the ecosystem.

    Essential Questions

    • How do the different roles in an ecosystem interact to maintain balance?
    • How can movement be used to represent the roles, relationships, and functions of different organisms within an ecosystem?

     

    Georgia Standards

    Curriculum Standards

    Grade 4:

    S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.

    a.Develop a model to describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.

    b.Develop simple models to illustrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.

    c.Design a scenario to demonstrate the effect of a change on an ecosystem.

    d. Use printed and digital data to develop a model illustrating and describing changes to the flow of energy in an ecosystem when plants or animals become scarce, extinct or overabundant.

    Arts Standards

    Grade 4:

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

    ESD4.RE.1 Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in dance.

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

     

    South Carolina Standards

    Curriculum Standards

    Grade 5:

    5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.

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

     

    Key Vocabulary

    Content Vocabulary

    • Bacteria - Microorganisms that can make you sick, but also can help you digest food; found everywhere in nature
    • Carnivore - An animal that eats only other animals
    • Camouflage - Process of animals changing their colors, patterns, and shapes to disguise themselves from predators or prey
    • Community - All the organisms in an ecosystem
    • Consumer - An animal that gets its energy by eating plants or other animals
    • Decay - To break down into simpler materials
    • Decomposers - A living thing that breaks down the remains of dead organisms
    • Ecology - The study of how living and nonliving factors interact
    • Ecosystem - A system made up of an ecological community of living things interacting with their environment especially under natural conditions
    • Energy source - A source from which useful energy can be extracted or recovered either directly or by means of a conversion or transformation process (e.g. solid fuels, liquid fuels, solar energy, biomass, etc.)
    • Extinct - A species that is gone forever because all of its kind have died
    • Food chain/web - The path of energy in an ecosystem from plants to animals (from producers to consumers)
    • Habitat - The place where an animal or plant lives
    • Herbivore - An animal that eats plants
    • Hibernate - When animals go into a deep sleep
    • Interdependence - When living things in an ecosystem need each other to meet their needs
    • Microorganisms - Very small living things
    • Omnivore - An animal that eats both plants and animals
    • Organism - A living thing
    • Photosynthesis - Process through which plants make food
    • Plankton - Small organisms in water that are producers and give off oxygen
    • Producer - A living thing (such as a green plant) that makes its food from simple inorganic substances (such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen) and many of which are food sources for other organisms
    • Informational Text - A type of writing that gives facts and details about a topic.

    Arts Vocabulary

    • Movement sequence - A series of movements; a short dance
    • Levels - One of the aspects of movement (there are three basic levels in dance: high, middle, and low)
    • Body shape - Refers to an interesting and interrelated arrangement of body parts of one dancer; the visual makeup or molding of the body parts of a singular dancer; the overall visible appearance of a group of dancers (they may be curved/angular, symmetrical/asymmetrical, positive/negative)
    • Locomotor movement - A movement that travels through space (e.g. walk, jump, hop, roll, gallop, skip, crawl & more)
    • Non-locomotor movement - A movement that does not travel through space
    • Movement qualities - Types of energy used to perform a movement (sustained, percussive, swinging, suspended, and vibratory)

    Materials

    • Images from various types of ecosystems
    • Informational text on the role of producer, consumer, and decomposer (one to two paragraphs on each role is ideal)
    • Graphic organizer for students to record one role in the ecosystem and key details about the role

    Instructional Design

    Opening/Activating Strategy

    Shape, Move, Wonder

    • Display one of the ecosystem images.
    • Allow time for students to look at the image.
    • Shape: Instruct students to create a body shape of something they see in the image.
      • Countdown from five and have students freeze in their body shape by the time the teacher reaches one.
    • Move: Instruct students to create a non-locomotor movement of something they think is happening in the image.
    • Wonder: Have students verbally share their wonderings about the image.
    • Repeat with the other images.

    Work Session

    • Place students in small groups of three to four.
    • Give each group an informational text paragraph on one of the ecosystem roles (producer, consumer, or decomposer).
    • Review group work requirements and expectations.
    • In their groups, students will complete and create the following:
      • Students will examine the text.
        • Read the assigned paragraph on their ecosystem role.
        • Identify the role and three important details about that particular role.
      • Students will create a movement sequence.
        • Based on their informational text and identified role, students will create a movement sequence that includes:
          • A movement that expresses each important detail of the ecosystem's role (three movements)
          • At least two non-locomotor movements
          • At least one locomotor movement
          • At least two levels (high, middle, low)
          • One movement quality (sustained, percussive, swinging, suspended, and vibratory)
        • After work time, allow all groups to have a “dress rehearsal”. (All groups will perform at the same time during the dress rehearsal.)
        • Prior to performances, review audience etiquette: Still, silent, and supportive.
        • Invite groups to share their sequence with the whole class.
          • If time is limited, try to have at least one group for each role (producer, consumer, and decomposer).
          • After each group shares, invite the class to guess which role is expressed identifying which movement(s) led them to that conclusion.

    Closing Reflection

    • Have students complete the following exit ticket:
      • Have students describe the role of a producer, consumer, and decomposer in an ecosystem.
      • Students should then explain how the movements in their sequence demonstrated the role.

    Assessments

    Formative

    • “Shape, Move, Wonder”: Pre-assess student knowledge of ecosystems through responses
    • Individual group check-ins during group work time
    • Exit Ticket

    Summative

    • Checklist for movement sequence:
      • Students have identified three details from the assigned text that explain the role of their part of the ecosystem.
      • The movement sequence expresses the three important details that fit the ecosystem role.
      • The sequence includes at least one non-locomotor movement.
      • The movement sequence includes at least one locomotor movement.
      • The movement sequence includes two levels (low, middle, high).
      • The movement sequence includes one movement quality.

    DIFFERENTIATION 

    Acceleration: 

    • Students explain their movement choices and assigned roles after their performances.
    • Students choose instrumental music that fits the mood of their movement sequence.
    • Students record their movement sequence and add music or narration.

    Remediation:

    • Reduce the number of important details students are required to find.
    • Read each text together as a class and identify important details together.
    • Reduce the requirements for the movement sequence.

    CREDITS

    U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

    Ideas contributed by: Christopher Crabb

    *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.

    Revised and copyright:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

     

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    CAN YOU BALANCE? GOLDBERG’S NOT-SO-SIMPLE-MACHINE 3-4

    GOLDBERG’S NOT-SO-SIMPLE-MACHINE

    CAN YOU BALANCE?GOLDBERG’S NOT-SO-SIMPLE-MACHINE

    Learning Description

    In this project, students will engage in the engineering design process to create a Not-So-Simple-Machine demonstrating force and motion! Students will create a drawing of a Rube Goldberg Not-So-Simple-Machine and create a kinetic sculpture, or working model, of that machine. In this project, students will demonstrate how simple machines can be combined in a complicated way to perform a simple task.

     

    Learning Targets

    GRADE BAND: 3,4
    CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS & SCIENCE
    LESSON DOWNLOADS:

    Download PDF of this Lesson

    "I Can" Statements

    “I Can…”

    • I can demonstrate how a simple machine works.
    • I can revise and refine my plans as I experiment with my creation.
    • I can create a working model from a sketch.
    • I can represent a three-dimensional model by a two-dimensional drawing.

    Essential Questions

    • How do balanced and unbalanced forces relate to simple machines?
    • How can simple machines combine to affect the balance of forces?
    • How can simple machines combine to affect motion?
    • How can simple machines make a task easier/harder?
    • How do we sometimes make things more complicated than they need to be?

     

    Georgia Standards

    Curriculum Standards

    Grade 4:

    S4P3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the relationship between balanced and unbalanced forces.

    a. Plan and carry out an investigation on the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on an object and communicate the results. b. Construct an argument to support the claim that gravitational force affects the motion of an object. c. Ask questions to identify and explain the uses of simple machines (lever, pulley, wedge, inclined plane, wheel and axle, and screw) and how forces are changed when simple machines are used to complete tasks.

    Arts Standards

    Grade 4:

    VA4.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes.

    VA4.CR.4 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of three-dimensional art.

     

    South Carolina Standards

    Curriculum Standards

    Grade 3:

    3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

    Arts Standards

    Anchor Standard 2: I can use different materials, techniques, and processes to make art. 

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

     

    Key Vocabulary

    Content Vocabulary

    • Force - Any interaction that, when applied to an object, can cause it to change its motion or shape
    • Balanced forces - Two or more forces acting on an object in such a way that they cancel each other out, resulting in no change in the object's motion
    • Unbalanced forces - Two or more forces acting on an object are not equal in size or are not opposite in direction, causing the object to accelerate (change its speed or direction)
    • Gravitational force - The force of attraction that pulls objects toward each other due to their mass
    • Motion - The change in the position of an object over time
    • Mass - A measure of the amount of matter in an object or substance
    • Simple machines - Basic mechanical devices that make work easier by altering the direction or magnitude of a force; the building blocks for more complex machines
    • Rube Goldberg - An American cartoonist, engineer, and inventor best known for creating elaborate, humorous illustrations of complex machines designed to perform simple tasks in overly complicated ways
    • Inclined plane - A flat surface that is tilted at an angle
    • Lever - A simple machine consisting of a rigid bar or beam that pivots around a fixed point called the fulcrum
    • Wedge - A simple machine that consists of a triangular-shaped object, often with a sharp edge, which is used to split, cut, or lift objects
    • Pulley - A simple machine consisting of a wheel with a groove around its edge, through which a rope, chain, or belt can pass
    • Screw - A type of simple machine that consists of an inclined plane wrapped around a central shaft or core
    • Wheel and axle - A simple machine that consists of two circular objects—a larger wheel and a smaller axle—that are connected and rotate together

    Arts Vocabulary

    • Assemblage - An artistic process in which a three-dimensional artistic composition is made from putting together found objects
    • Kinetic sculpture - Three-dimensional art that is designed to move
    • Craftsmanship - Skill in producing expertly finished products
    • Sketch - A rough drawing, often made to help make a more finished product
    • Variety - The differences in a work, achieved by using different shapes, textures, colors and values
    • Two-dimensional art - Art depicted on a flat surface
    • Three-dimensional art - Art that has height, width, and depth

    Materials

    • Goldberg’s Not-So-Simple-Machine Rubric
    • Mousetrap game by Hasbro (or a video of the game being played)
    • Notecards with simple machines written on them
    • Copy paper (1-2 sheets for each student for sketches)
    • Drawing paper (9"x12")
    • Paper storage boxes
    • Safety goggles
    • Materials for constructing matches, such as:
      • Dominoes
      • Marbles
      • Ping-pong balls
      • Trains tracks
      • Cars tracks
      • LEGOs
      • Wooden blocks (e.g. Jenga)
      • String
      • K'nex pieces
      • Mini-pulleys
      • Masking tape
      • Rubber bands
      • Glue
      • Paper towel rolls
      • Cardstock

    Instructional Design

    Opening/Activating Strategy

    • Divide students into small groups.
    • Human Simple Machines: Each group will choose a card with the name/picture of a simple machine. The group will act out the simple machine for the class to identify.
    • Encourage students to think about how they can creatively use their body to work together and become the various parts of a simple machine

    Have the Mousetrap Game set up and choose a group of students to demonstrate to the class how it runs. Explain to students that they will be using their creativity to design an unnecessarily complicated machine to do a simple job. Alternative: Show a video of the game being played.

    Work Session

    • Tell students that they will be designing a machine inspired by Rube Goldberg. It will be a complicated machine to complete a simple task.

    Part I - Planning:

    • Students will work in small groups to:
      • Research Rube Goldberg machines.
      • Brainstorm ideas for possible purposes of a machine they will create.
      • Brainstorm uses for materials provided.
      • Experiment with various materials.
      • Decide on a goal for the machine.
    • Show students a list of the materials that are available to them.
    • Individually, students will sketch an initial design with pencil on copy paper. Tell students that they should include six or more individual steps, using four or more simple machines.
    • Remind students that they should use as much variety as they can and try to include a "Wow!" factor.
    • Students should compare their designs and choose which to build or combine ideas into one final idea.
    • Students should label their sketch with the materials that they will use.

    Part 2 - Creating:

    • Students should work in their small groups to create their machines.
    • Students should create one piece of the machine at a time and combine components as the test whether they work.
      • Teacher tip: If creating takes more than one class period, at the end of class, take photos of the machines created in each group and disassemble enough to store. Machines can be stored in storage boxes.
    • After the machines are finished, students should test run the machine three to four times for evaluation.
    • Finally, students will sketch their final machine and label the simple machines that they used.

    Classroom Tips:

    Divide students into groups of three to four. Students who are having difficulty might start with the last step and work backwards. One student in each group should take pictures of building progress at the end of each class period before the machine is disassembled and stored. Each group should have a labeled box for storing partial products.

    Closing Reflection

    • After completing their machines, have students reflect on the following questions:
      • How did you choose the job you wanted your machine to do?
      • What would have been the simplest way to do the job without the machine?
      • Why was it important to plan before trying to build the machine?
      • How did your drawing change from your first sketch to the final copy?
      • What would have made the process simpler?

    Assessments

    Formative

    • Teacher will observe the students experimenting to determine whether they understand how simple machines work.
    • Teacher will question students on the functions of their simple machines.
    • Teacher will observe cooperation and participation.
    • Teacher will periodically assign each group a different simple machine to act out for a neighboring group to identify.

    Summative

    DIFFERENTIATION 

    Acceleration: 

    • Students can document the process through video.
    • Students can create a cartoon of their machine in the spirit of Rube Goldberg.

    Remediation:

    • Preview the key vocabulary with pictures listed beside each word on an anchor chart, word wall, or flashcards. The teacher and students will define words together. This may be done in small groups the day before the unit begins.
    • Group students heterogeneously and assist the group to help find appropriate contributions for each step of the project based on individual strengths.
    • Allow students to proofread their responses by dictating their reflections in OneNote (OneNote > Learning Tools Add-in > Dictate).

    ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

    CREDITS

    U.S. Department of Education- STEM + the Art of Integrated Learning

    Ideas contributed by: Mark Thompson, Edited by Jessica Espinoza, Dr. Carla Cohen

    *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.

    Revised and copyright:  June 2025 @ ArtsNOW

     

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