Art Form: Dance

Supplies Needed

-All Are Welcome book

Vocabulary

Body Shape - refers to an interesting and interrelated arrangement of body parts of one dancer

Level - one of the aspects of movement (there are three basic levels in dance: high, middle, and low)

Movement - change of place, position, or posture

Pattern - something that repeats in a predictable way

Rondo - a form where a sequence of contrasting moves or sounds occur with a return to the first movement or sound (ABACADA)

Central Message - the big idea or lesson of the story

Instructions

1. After reading All Are Welcome Here, discuss the main repeating phrase in the story - the line, “All are welcome here!”. What is the central message of the story? You will be creating choreography in a rondo pattern, and the movement that you create to represent this line or central message will become your dance move “A”.

2. A rondo follows the pattern A B A C A D. Begin by creating your dance move A by thinking to yourself “What movement can I do to show that all are welcome here?” (Ex: Arms moving outward from body slowly and open palms).

3. Then, read through the book once more and for each rhyming section, create one summary movement that will become dance moves B, C, D, and so on.

4. Lastly, perform your rondo dance.

Extensions

Play music while performing the dance and experiment with how different music may cause you to change your dance’s tempo, rhythm, or duration.

Art Form: Dance

Supplies Needed

-Math Curse book
-Music with a steady and clear beat (optional)
-Pencil and paper

Vocabulary

8-count  - The way dancers count music in sets of eight beats (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8)

Locomotor movement - a movement that travels through space (walking, skipping)

Non-locomotor movement - a movement that does not travel through space (twisting, bending)

Level - one of the aspects of movement (there are three basic levels in dance: high, middle, and low)

Tempo - refers to the pace or speed of movement

Irony - a situation which brings the exact opposite of what one would expect, often resulting in humor or amusement

Character - a person in a story or play, or an animal or object that has human qualities

Central message - the main point or lesson of the story

Instructions

1. Read Math Curse. Notice how the main character sees everything, even the day, as a problem to solve. How does the character react to the problems faced during the day? What happens in the beginning of the story? How did the character change during the story? How does the story end? What is the central message of the story?

2. Dancers count in eights (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). Today, you will create a dance with four different movements. The dance will be 16 counts long expressing the character's feelings from the beginning of the story, through the middle, until the end.

3. What were the feelings of the character at the beginning of the story? Create a movement to demonstrate those feelings. During the story, did his emotions change? Create two new movements to demonstrate the change of feelings in the middle of the story. How did the character feel at the end of the story? Create a fourth movement to show how the character felt at the end of the story.

4. Your dance should include at least:
a. Three different levels (high, medium, low)
b. One locomotor movement
c. One non-locomotor movement
d. One fast movement and one slow movement

5. Plan and build your sequence carefully so you can fit all of these "dance variables" into your 16 counts. Practice counting out loud in eights as you perform your dance.

Extensions

Challenge yourself to create a 32-count sequence in a new order. Can you keep all the same movement elements (levels, tempo, locomotor/non-locomotor), but change when they
happen in the sequence? You could add more movements to demonstrate what happened in the story

Art Form: Dance

Supplies Needed

-A Chair for My Mother book
-Paper
-Pencil or pen

Vocabulary

Sequence - a series of movements performed in a specific order

Problem/Solution - the challenge a character faces and how they solve it

Level - one of the aspects of movement (there are three basic levels in dance: high, middle, and low)

Locomotor Movement - a movement that travels through space (walking, skipping)

Non-locomotor Movement - a movement that does not travel through space (bending, swinging arms)

Summarize - To briefly tell the most important parts of a story in your own words.

Instructions

1. Read A Chair for My Mother. As you read, think about the story’s structure: What happens at the beginning? What happens in the middle? How does the story end?

2. Write three short sentences, one for each part of the story, to summarize:
a.What happened at the beginning?
b.What happened in the middle?
c.What happened at the end?

3. Then, create a three-step movement sequence to match each part of your summary. For each movement, choose a level that matches the feeling or event.

4. Be sure you have locomotor and non-locomotor movements in your sequence. Practice your sequence in order to retell the story with both your words and your body.

Extensions

Add an opening and closing pose to your movement sequence to show how one character felt at the start and how they felt at the end.

Reflect: How did the movement change from beginning to end, just like the character?

Art Form: Dance

Supplies Needed

-All Are Welcome book

Vocabulary

Sequence - a series of movements performed in
a specific order

Gesture - an expressive movement of the body or limbs

Rhyme - words that end with the same sound (Ex: play/day or here/near)

Character - a person in a story or play, or
an animal or object that has human qualities

Central Message - the big idea or lesson of the
story

Instructions

1. Read the book All Are Welcome. As you read, notice the repeating line: “All are welcome here!” Think about what this line means. Is that the central message of the book? Why or why not? How can you show someone they are welcome through words and movement?

2. Now it’s your turn! Create your own one-line welcoming message, and try to make it rhyme! (Ex: “Come and play, stay all day!”)

3. Once you’ve created your welcoming line, create one to three
movements to go with it. Think about gestures or movements that show kindness, safety, or belonging.

4. Practice saying your line out loud as you perform your movement sequence.

5. Perform your dance sequence for a family member. Ask the family member to create their own dance sequence.

Extensions

Add music and explore how your movement changes with different tempos or moods of the chosen music.

Create a dance sequence that demonstrates what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the story.

Art Form: Dance

Supplies Needed

-Thank You, Omu book
-Index cards or small slips of
paper and a pencil

Vocabulary

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

Sequence - the order of events in a story or dance

Movement Sequence - a series of movements
performed in a specific order

Accumulation - a choreographic structure where
movements are added one at a time and repeated in sequence (Ex: A, A+B, A+B+C…)

Gesture - an expressive movement of the body or limbs

Characters - a person in a story or play, or an
animal or object that has human qualities

Instructions

1. Read Thank You, Omu. As you read, notice how more and more people come to Omu’s door. Today, you’ll be creating a movement sequence that uses accumulation. Bonus: What else is building up or accumulating in this story
besides people? What does the accumulation help to show us?

2. Read the book a second time. While reading, create a movement to represent each character in the order that they appear at Omu’s door.

3. Start with one gesture or movement for the first person. Then, each time a new character appears, add a new movement to your sequence using accumulation. (Ex. When the first character appears, perform one movement. When the second appears, perform the first movement and a new second movement.)

4. Repeat your sequence each time, adding one new movement to the end—just like the story builds.

5. Once you’ve reached the end of Thank you, Omu, perform your movement sequence with accumulation: A, AB, ABC, ABCD, and so on.

Extensions

Choose one movement to represent Omu’s kindness. Try repeating at the beginning and end of your accumulation sequence.

How does it feel to layer that one gesture into your movement sequence? How does it help to better tell the story of Thank you, Omu?