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.