Dance Across Landforms K-1

DANCE ACROSS LANDFORMS

DANCE ACROSS LANDFORMS

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will become explorers encountering a variety of landforms. Students will create a fictional narrative about their journey and then create choreography to match the sequence generated in the story.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: K-1
CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE, SOCIAL STUDIES, ELA
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can describe and identify the different types of landforms.

  • I can use movement to represent the different types of landforms.

  • I can write narratives with a beginning, middle and end.

Essential Questions

  • How can we use movement to represent different types of landforms?

  • What are the similarities and differences between different types of landforms?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Kindergarten:

ELA

ELAGSEKW3 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and provide a reaction to what happened.

 

Grade 1:

ELA

ELAGSE1W3 Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure. 

 

Social Studies

SS1G3 Locate major topographical features of the earth’s surface. a. Locate all of the continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica, and Australia. b. Locate the major oceans: Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific, Southern, and Indian. c. Identify and describe landforms (mountains, deserts, valleys, and coasts).

Arts Standards

Kindergarten: 

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

 

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

 

ESDK.PR.1 Identify and demonstrate movement elements, skills, and terminology in dance

 

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

 

Grade 1:

ESD1.CR.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the choreographic process.

 

ESD1.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

 

ESD1.PR.1 Identify and demonstrate movement elements, skills, and terminology in dance

 

ESD1.RE.1 Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in dance.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Kindergarten:

ELA

WRITING - Meaning, Context, and Craft

Standard 3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

3.1 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to narrate a single event or several loosely linked events, to tell about the events in the order in which they occurred, and to provide a reaction to what happened.

 

Grade 1: 

ELA 

WRITING - Meaning, Context, and Craft

Standard 3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.

3.1 Explore multiple texts to write narratives that recount two or more sequenced events, include details, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure. 

 

Social Studies

1.G.4 Describe and compare various landforms within South Carolina through the use of primary and secondary sources.

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

  • Landforms - A specific geomorphic feature on the surface of the earth, ranging from large-scale features such as plains, plateaus, and mountains to minor features such as hills, valleys, and alluvial fans

  • Mountain - A natural elevation of the earth's surface rising more or less abruptly to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill, usually greater than 2000 feet

  • Valley - An elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains, especially one following the course of a stream

  • Desert - A region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all

  • Plateau - A land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons

  • Coast - The land next to the sea
  • Plain - An area of land not significantly higher than adjacent areas and with relatively minor differences in elevation, commonly less than 500 ft. (150 m), within the area

Arts Vocabulary

  • Sequence - Order of succession

  • Movement phrase - A series of movements linked together to make a distinctive pattern

  • Space - An element of movement involving direction, level, size, focus, and pathway

  • Level - One of the aspects of the movement element space; in dance, there are three basic levels: high, middle, and low

  • Choreography - The art of composing dances and planning and arranging the movements, steps, and patterns of dancers

  • Choreographer - A person who creates dances
  • Shape - This refers to an interesting and interrelated arrangement of body parts of one dance; the visual makeup or molding of the body parts of a single dancer; the overall visible appearance of a group of dancers

 

Materials

  • Sound source and music with a steady beat
  • Cards with landforms written on them
  • Anchor chart/poster paper
  • Markers

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin by engaging students in movement that introduces students to the Elements of Dance: Body, action, space, time and energy.
    • Have students arrange themselves in the classroom with enough personal space to move freely without touching a neighbor.
    • Turn on instrumental music with a steady beat.
    • First, have students bring awareness to their bodies by leading them through gentle stretches starting from the head and moving to the toes (e.g., head circles, shoulder shrugs, toe touches, etc.). Then, ask them to make different shapes with their bodies.
    • Bring students’ attention to levels (high, middle, low) with movements such as stretching up high and moving on tiptoes, crouching in a small ball close to the floor, and bouncing in place at a middle level.
    • Have students practice what they just learned by saying words such as “high level” and have students create a spontaneous high level movement.
    • Have students return to their seats or the carpet.

 

Work Session

  • Project photos of the six main types of landforms (mountains, valleys, plains, plateaus, coasts, and deserts).  
  • As a class, describe each of these landforms. 
    • First, have students describe their height in terms of high, middle and low.
    • Next, have students describe what shapes they see in the images. 
    • Finally, discuss how the landforms are similar and how they are different.
    • Add descriptions of each landform to an anchor chart to post in the room.
  • Show students a map of a region being studied and where the landforms are located. Ask students to imagine that they are going on a journey and that they will encounter these different landforms along the way. 
  • Divide students into small groups or partners. Assign each group several landforms from the region being studied.
  • In their groups, students will write a story with words and/or pictures depending on grade and ability level about their journey across the region and the landforms they encountered. 
    • Remind students that their setting will be the landforms they encounter, so they should use descriptive details to help the reader visualize the setting.
    • Remind students that their stories should have a beginning, middle, and end.
    • Remind students to use temporal language to assist with communicating sequence.
    • Circulate and conference with students throughout the writing process.
  • Tell students that they will create a movement phrase to represent their journey.
    • Demonstrate how to create a movement to represent a landform with a different type of physical feature such as a river. 
      • Brainstorm with students a movement they could use to represent a river. Ask them to consider if the river movement should be high, middle or low and what shape it should be.
      • Allow students to practice the movement as a class.
    • Allow students to begin choreographing their dances. 
      • Their dances should tell their story, so the movements in their dances should be in the same sequence as they are in their narratives. 
      • Students should create a unique movement or movement phrase for each landform. Students should then connect the movements to create a whole dance.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Students will perform their dances for their classmates. Discuss appropriate audience participation and etiquette prior to performances.
  • After each performance, the audience will determine which landforms the group represented and what from their dance indicated that.
  • Optional: Allow groups to share their narratives either before or after their performances.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’ participation in the activator, ability to describe and identify landforms, ability to collaborate with their classmates to choreograph a movement phrase that represents a journey through their assigned landforms, and conferencing with students during the writing process.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can describe and identify the different landforms.
  • Students can use movement to represent the different landforms.
  • Students can write narratives with a beginning, middle and end.
  • Students can use temporal language to communicate the sequence of events in their narratives (first grade).

 

Differentiation

Acceleration: 

  • Challenge students by asking them to structure their dances like the story. It should have a beginning pose/shape, movement phrases, transitions between movements, and an ending pose/shape.
  • Challenge students to create not only individual movements, but movements and shapes that they make together to create a formation (i.e., how could all dancers’ bodies be used to create one mountain?).

Remediation: Write a narrative as a class; then have groups choreograph their dances to represent the class narrative.

 

 

*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: Melissa Dittmar-Joy. Updated by Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright:  August 2024 @ ArtsNOW

Back to Modules

Guess What 2-3

GUESS WHAT

GUESS WHAT

Learning Description

Students will explore the life cycle of plants and animals by assuming the roles of various plants and animals in the cycle. Students will use tableau to dramatize their place in the life cycle. After the students share their tableaus, they will write a monologue from the point of view of their plant/animal.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 2-3
CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can use tableau to explore the life cycle of an animal or plant.
  • I can demonstrate the life cycle of animals or plants through tableau.

Essential Questions

  • How can tableau be used to explore the life cycle of an animal or plant?
  • How can I demonstrate the life cycle of animals or plants through tableau?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 2:

S2L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the life cycles of different living organisms

 

Arts Standards

Grade 2

TA2.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical work. a. Use imagination to create characters. b. Contribute and collaborate in planning a theatre experience.

TA2.CR.2 Develop scripts through theatrical techniques.

TA2.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.

 

 

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3

3-LS1-1. Develop and use models to describe how organisms change in predictable patterns during their unique and diverse life cycles.

 

Arts Standards

T.CR NL.1 I can identify basic story elements in simple stories, plays and scripts (e.g. plot, character, setting, theme, etc.).

T.CR NL.1.2 I can identify basic character qualities from a prompt.

T.P NL.3 I can use body and voice to communicate character traits and emotions in a guided drama experience.

T.P NL.3.3 I can participate collaboratively in guided drama experiences.

 

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Life cycle - The sequential stages of the development and growth that an organism undergoes throughout its existence 
  • Sequence - A series of steps or events that follows a specific order
  • Mammal -  An animal that is warm-blooded, has hair or fur, and gives birth to live offspring 
  • Amphibian - A cold-blooded animal that can live both in and out of water. It usually starts as an egg in the water, hatches into a tadpole with a tail, and transforms into an adult with legs.
  • Insect - A class of invertebrate animals characterized by having a segmented body divided into three distinct regions: head, thorax, and abdomen 
  • Organisms - A living thing, such as a plant or animal
  • Plant - An organism that makes its own food using sunlight, a process called photosynthesis. It usually has roots, stems, and leaves.

Arts Vocabulary

  • Tableau - A form of visual representation and artistic expression where individuals or objects are carefully arranged and posed to convey a specific scene, narrative, or concept
  • Character - A fictional person or creature in a story that has their own personality, feelings, and actions
  • Monologue - An uninterrupted speech delivered by a single character. It is a dramatic form of expression where the character expresses their thoughts, emotions, or experiences to the audience.

 

Materials

    • Sticky notes
    • The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle or a similar book that identifies the stages of the life cycle of a plant or animal

     

     

    Instructional Design

    Opening/Activating Strategy

    • Read the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle or a similar book that demonstrates the stages of the life cycle of a plant or animal.
    • Ask students to identify the stages of the life cycle as you read the book. 
    • Ask students to think about what body positions and facial expressions they would use to represent different stages. Model what this would look like for the beginning of the life cycle. Ask students to take turns sharing their ideas throughout the reading of the book.

     

    Work Session

      • Show students an example of a tableau. Tell students that they will be creating a tableau in small groups that demonstrates the life cycle of a plant or animal.
      • Place students in small groups. Assign each group a life cycle of a plant or animal.
      • Working in their groups, students should create a tableau that represents the different stages of the life cycle of their assigned animal or plant.
      • Each member of the group should represent one stage so that all stages of the life cycle are represented. 
        • Explain that in the tableau, each student should create a character out of his or her assigned stage.
        • Encourage students to focus on the positioning of their body and their facial expression to demonstrate their stages.
      • Students will take turns presenting their tableaus without identifying their plant or animal to the audience. 
        • While each group is presenting, ask the students in the audience: 
          • Which animal or plant do they think their classmates are portraying?
          • How do the expressions and body language of the tableau support their conclusion? 
          • How did the animal or plant change from the beginning of the sequence to the end?
          • What happened between each stage?
          • What happens when the cycle gets to the end?

       

      Closing Reflection

      • Students should create a monologue taking on the point of view of their animal or plant in the stage of the cycle assigned to them. Allow students who wish to share, time to share.

      Assessments

      Formative

      Teacher will assess understanding through class discussion, group discussion, reflection questions, observation, class reflections/discussions, and tableaus.

       

       

      Summative

      CHECKLIST

      • Students can explain and identify a tableau.
      • Students can use their bodies and facial expressions to create a character that accurately represents the stage of their life cycle.
      • Students can correctly order themselves in the sequence of their life cycle.
      • Students can write a monologue from the point of view of their stage of the life cycle.

       

       

       

      Differentiation

       

      Acceleration:

      • Each student in the group will write the stage of their life cycle on a sticky note. They will then write a list of clues about their life cycle that when examined correctly should inform the reader about what life cycle is on the sticky note. 
      • The sticky note should be placed on the backs of students in a new group.
      • Students can ask the original group questions about their life cycle.
      • Once the students have an idea of which animal or plant and which stage in the life cycle, students should get in line where they think they will go in the life cycle.

      For example, the students with the life cycle of a butterfly should be in this order: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly. 

       

      Remediation: Pair students who represent the same stage of the same type of life cycle together to create a character that represents their stage of the life cycle.

       

       ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

      Resources/Other Sources

      *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: Author unknown. Updated by Ashley Bailey Katy Betts.

      Revised and copyright:  August 2024 @ ArtsNOW

       
      Back to Modules

      Living with Something Unusual

      Living With Something Unusual

      LIVING WITH SOMETHING UNUSUAL

      Learning Description

      Students will explore two stories about an unusual creature becoming part of a family, and then create and enact their own stories on the same theme.

       

      Learning Targets

      GRADE BAND: 2
      CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & ELA
      LESSON DOWNLOADS:

      Download PDF of this Lesson

      "I Can" Statements

      “I Can…”

      • I can identify similarities and differences in two stories on a similar theme.
      • I can use my body and voice to act out animal characters.
      • I can work with a group to create a new story based on a theme from picture books.

      Essential Questions

      • How do we compare two stories on a similar theme?
      • How do we create an original story based on a theme from picture books?

       

      Georgia Standards

      Curriculum Standards

      Grade 2:

      ELAGSE2RL6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.ELAGSE2RL7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.ELAGSE2RL9 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.ELAGSE2W3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.

      Arts Standards

      Grade 2:

      TAES2.2 Developing scripts through improvisation and other theatrical methods.

      TAES2.3 Acting by developing, communicating, and sustaining roles within a variety of situations and environments.

       

      South Carolina Standards

      Curriculum Standards

      Grade 2:

      2.Rl.5 Determine meaning and develop logical interpretations by making predictions, inferring, drawing conclusions, analyzing, synthesizing, providing evidence, and investigating multipleinterpretations.

      2.RL.8 Analyze characters, settings, events, and ideas as they develop and interact within a particular context.

      Arts Standards

      Grade 2:

      Anchor Standard 1: I can create scenes and write scripts using story elements and structure.

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

       

      Key Vocabulary

      Content Vocabulary

      Character - A person or animal in a story who takes part in the action.

      Setting - The time and place of a story (when and where).

      Plot - The series of related events that together form a story.

      Illustration - A drawing, painting, photograph, or other image that is created to depict a story, poem, or newspaper article.

      Theme - A central idea or topic in a story.

      Arts Vocabulary

      Act - To pretend to be or do something imaginary.

      Voice - An actor’s tool, which we shape and change to portray the way a character speaks or sounds.

      Body - An actor’s tool, which we shape and change to portray the way a character looks, walks, or moves.

       

      Materials

      Aaaarrgghh Spider!!! by Lydia Monks. and How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?, by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague; or two texts that have the same theme of living with an unusual animal character

      Paper

      Pencil

       

      Instructional Design

      Opening/Activating Strategy

      Character Movements:
      Have students shift their bodies to become the animals in the stories: First, a spider . . . walking, climbing, dancing, spinning a web, jumping; then, dinosaurs . . . different types (from the text) walking, flying, running, eating, digging, settling down to sleep.

       

      Work Session

      Process

      • Read two quick texts for the students that share the theme of living with an unusual animal character, such as Aaaarrgghh, Spider!!!, and How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?.
      • Discuss similarities and differences between the two texts. Identify the theme – living with an unusual animal.
      • Gather favorite scenes from the two stories and act them out all together, using the illustrations in the books as guides. Have students become the animals and/or the creatures (e.g., the spider washing herself, the mother shaking the spider webs out on the broom, the children swinging, the ankylosaurus yawning and dragging a blanket, the apatosaurus swinging his neck, the trachodont stomping and shouting). Spotlight the specific physical choices that individual students make to enact the characters.
      • Discuss the theme. Discuss what animals are kept as housepets, and brainstorm creatures that would be very unlikely to live with a family (possible ideas: elephant, whale, moose, wooly mammoth, vulture, unicorn, grizzly bear, walrus, etc.).
      • Divide the class into groups and instruct the students to come up with their own story based on an unusual animal living with humans, and how they overcome obstacles. Tell them that they should have the human characters in the family and one unusual animal house-pet character (if there is conflict, they can alternate acting out the different roles). They should decide on several activities that the family and animal engage in. (Possibly, assign the number of activities equal to the number of students in the group, so that each student has a chance to enact the animal role.)
      • Pair up groups and have them share with each other, or have each group share with the whole class.

       

      Closing Reflection

      • Review the theme of the stories, and what a ‘theme’ is.
      • Reflect on how students used their voices and bodies to become their characters.

       

      Assessments

      Formative

      • Observe students enacting animals in the opening activity and the group scenes.
      • Listen to students discussing similarities and differences between the two stories.

       

      Summative

      • Observe how well students’ scenes clearly follow the theme of the source texts – with an unusual animal pet and a series of actions or activities.
      • Observe how students work together to enact their scenes.

       

      Differentiation

      Acceleration:

      • Have students write out their scenes in a playwriting format.
      • Have the groups develop a narrative in which the characters face and resolve a specific problem related to the unusual animal.

      Remediation:

      • Rather than having students work independently in groups, brainstorm and collectively enact several ideas in sequence as an entire class.
      • Guide students specifically in making choices for vocal and physical expression in creating characters together (instruct and model what to do with arms, legs, upper body, faces, etc.)

       

      Additional Resources

      Other possible texts: Clifford the Big Red Dog, by Norman Ray Bridwell; Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, by Bernard Waber; Charlotte and the Rock, by Stephen W. Martin; Sparky, by Jenny Offill, Illustrated by Chris Appelhans (sloth); and My Tiny Pet, by Jessie Hartland (tardigrade/water bear).

      *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: Carolynn Stoddard and updated by Barry Stewart Mann

      Revised and copyright: August 2022 @ ArtsNOW

      Back to Modules

      Mona Mesa What is Your Opinion 2-3

      MONA MESA: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?

      MONA MESA: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?

      Learning Description

      Students will look at the painting, the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo DaVinci and talk about what they see, think and wonder. Students will identify visual clues to help them form an opinion about what they think the painting is about, and will write an opinion paragraph on the Mona Lisa using evidence to support their opinions. Students will then take what they learned about portraiture and create their own Mona MEsa self portrait!

       

      Learning Targets

      GRADE BAND: 2-3
      CONTENT FOCUS: VISUAL ARTS, ELA
      LESSON DOWNLOADS:

      Download PDF of this Lesson

      "I Can" Statements

      “I Can…”

      • I can describe what a portrait is.
      • I can create a self-portrait inspired by the Mona Lisa.
      • I can write an opinion paragraph using evidence to support my reasoning.

      Essential Questions

      • How can I describe a piece of art by forming opinions?
      • How can I use visual evidence to support my opinion?
      • How can art stimulate my imagination and help me understand the process of portraiture?

       

      Georgia Standards

      Curriculum Standards

      Grade 2: 

      ELAGSE2W1: Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g., because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

       

      ELAGSE2SL1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 2 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

       

      Grade 3: 

      ELAGSE3W1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

       

      ELAGSE3SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

       

      Arts Standards

      Grade 2: 

      VA2.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

      VA2.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes. 

      VA2.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, and processes of two-dimensional art.

      VA2.RE.1 Discuss personal works of art and the artwork of others to enhance visual literacy.

       

      Grade 3: 

      VA3.CR.1 Engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas by using subject matter and symbols to communicate meaning.

      VA3.CR.2 Create works of art based on selected themes. 

      VA3.CR.3 Understand and apply media, techniques, processes, and concepts of two dimensional art. 

      VA3.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 2: 

      WRITING - Meaning, Context, and Craft 

      Standard 1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

      1.1 Explore print and multimedia sources to write opinion pieces that introduce the topic, state an opinion and supply reasons that support the opinion, use transitional words to connect opinions and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

       

      COMMUNICATION - Meaning and Context

      Standard 1: Interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, communicate meaning, and develop logical interpretations through collaborative conversations; build upon the ideas of others to clearly express one’s own views while respecting diverse perspectives.

       

      Grade 3

      WRITING - Meaning, Context, and Craft 

      Standard 1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

      1.1 Write opinion pieces that: a. introduce the topic or text, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that includes reasons; c. organize supporting reasons logically; d. use transitional words or phrases to connect opinions and reasons; and g. provide a concluding statement or section.

       

      COMMUNICATION - Meaning and Context

      Standard 1: Interact with others to explore ideas and concepts, communicate meaning, and develop logical interpretations through collaborative conversations; build upon the ideas of others to clearly express one’s own views while respecting diverse perspectives.

       

       

      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

      • Topic sentence - The sentence of a paragraph that states the subject of the paragraph
      • Closure - The summary ending of a paragraph
      • Opinion - The creator’s point of view on a topic
      • Evidence/reason - Information from the source to support a claim

      Arts Vocabulary

      • Portrait - A depiction of a person
      • Self-Portrait - A depiction of the artist, by the artist
      • Proportion - Relative size and scale of the various elements in the portrait. How one thing relates to another thing in terms of size
      • Background - The part of a picture or scene that appears to be farthest away from the viewer, usually nearest the horizon
      • Foreground - The area of a picture or field of vision, often at the bottom, that appears to be closest to the viewer
      • Shape - Shape is one of the seven Elements of Art and is a flat enclosed area that has two dimensions, length and width. Artists use both geometric and organic shapes.
      • Horizon line - An implied line that separates the earth and the sky

           

          Materials

            • 8.5” x 11” tracing paper (1 per student)
            • Digital Mona Lisa painting to project on board
            • Digital image of a pre-Renaissance portrait (profile)–see “Additional Resources” 
            • Copy of Mona Lisa painting for each student
            • Pencil with eraser
            • Sharpie or other black marker 
            • White drawing paper
            • Multicultural crayons, markers, or colored pencils
            • Regular colors of crayons, markers, or colored pencils.

             

             

            Instructional Design

            Opening/Activating Strategy

            • Project the Mona Lisa and a landscape painting. 
            • Ask students to explain the difference between what they see in each of the paintings. 
              • Students should notice that the subject/topic of the painting in the Mona Lisa is the figure and the subject of the painting in the landscape is the scenery. 
              • Explain that the Mona Lisa is an example of artwork called a portrait because the subject of the painting is a person. Teacher will explain that when an artist makes an artwork of themselves, it is called a “self-portrait”.
            • Engage students in the See, Think, Wonder Artful Thinking Routine. 
              • First, with a partner, students will identify what they see in the painting. Emphasize that they should make objective observations about the image (i.e. physical features, colors, textures, etc.). 
              • Next, ask students to identify what they think about the image. Emphasize that students should be creating inferences using visual evidence from the painting. 
              • Finally, ask students what they wonder about the image. 
              • Facilitate a class-wide discussion around students’ observations, inferences, and questions.

             

            Work Session

              • Explain that the artwork students are looking at is an example of a landscape painting. Landscape paintings show a wide expanse of land–usually a countryside–and show depth through a background, middle ground, and foreground. 
              • Show students the diagram of a landscape. Explain that the background is what is farthest away from the viewer, the foreground is directly in front of the viewer, and the middle ground everything in the middle. 
              • Ask students to try to identify the background, middle ground, and foreground in Landscape from Saint Remy by Vincent Van Gogh.
              • Explain to students that texture in art is how something feels or looks like it feels. Ask students to identify textures in the landscape painting.
              • Tell students that they will be creating their own landscape artwork based off of an informational text. Provide each student with a copy of the informational text that connects to a region students are studying in Social Studies (if applicable). 
              • With partners, have students annotate the text as they read, looking for details that describe how the region looks such as landforms, colors, etc. 
              • Facilitate a discussion with students around what details they might include in the background, what details they might include in the middle ground, and what details they might include in the foreground. 
              • Instruct students to locate and research an additional informational text on the same region. 
                • Students should use their knowledge of research practices to identify a reliable source. Students should annotate the text as they did previously. 
                • Students will synthesize the details that they found in the two sources to create their landscape artwork. 
              • Introduce students to the term Collagraph Printmaking. 
                • Printmaking is a process by which the artist creates an image that has texture and transfers that image repeatedly onto another surface like paper. 
                • Tell students that the printing press is an early example of printmaking. 
              • Explain the process of creating their artwork. 
                • Students should glue the landforms down to a piece of cardstock or cardboard starting with the background and moving to the foreground. 
                • Students should use overlapping as they glue each layer down.
                • Students will draw a rough draft of their landscape on blank paper using evidence from both texts. Students’ rough drafts should have a background, middle ground, and foreground.
                • Out of cardstock, students will cut out landforms like mountains and physical features like forests that they included in their rough draft. 
                • Once they have created their landscapes, students will create a rubbing by placing a piece of computer paper over their landscape. Using a crayon or oil pastel, they will rub across the surface to pick up the texture of the landscape.
              • Students can then add in details and additional texture using colored pencil, crayon, or oil pastel.

               

              Closing Reflection

              • In small groups, students will present their portraits to their groups. In their presentation, they will share the background images they drew as well as their attention to detail in creating their self-portrait.

              Assessments

              Formative

              Teachers will assess student understanding by observing students’ responses in class and small group discussion and students’ ability to explain what a portrait is and what their portrait shows.

               

               

              Summative

              CHECKLIST

              • Students can create a self-portrait inspired by the Mona Lisa.
              • Students can write an opinion paragraph on the Mona Lisa explaining what they think the painting is about, why they think that (cite evidence). Students should include a topic sentence, body sentences with specific evidence, and closure.

               

               

               

              Differentiation

              Acceleration: Students will write an artist statement about their Mona MEsa portrait (see additional resources below).

               

              Remediation: 

              • Instead of writing a traditional opinion paragraph, students will be provided with a graphic organizer with sentence starters to help them write an opinion paragraph (see in additional resources below).
              • Provide students with a Mona Lisa outline of the head with the face removed to use as a template for their Mona MEsa portraits.

               

               ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

              *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 and updated by: Debi West; updated by Katy Betts

              Revised and copyright:  May 2024 @ ArtsNOW

               

               
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              Pantomime Summary

              Pantomime Summary

              Pantomime Summary

              Learning Description

              Students will learn how to summarize a story using the “Somebody Wanted But So Then” strategy. Next, students will create a pantomime to express the key events from the summary. The pantomimes will be performed to summarize the fiction story through movement. Students will analyze how the pantomime contributed to the presentation of the story and character development.

               

              Learning Targets

              GRADE BAND: 2
              CONTENT FOCUS: THEATRE & ELA
              LESSON DOWNLOADS:

              Download PDF of this Lesson

              "I Can" Statements

              “I Can…”

              • I can use the “somebody wanted but so then” strategy to summarize a story.
              • I can retell a story through pantomime.

              Essential Questions

              • How can we use pantomime to tell a story and enhance its presentation?
              • How can pantomime be used to summarize the key events in a fiction story?

               

              Georgia Standards

              Curriculum Standards

              Grade 2:

              ELACC2RL1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

              ELACC2RL5 Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.

              Arts Standards

              Grade 2:

              TAES2.3 Acting by developing, communicating, and sustaining roles within a variety of situations and environments.

              TAES2.7 Integrating various art forms, other content areas, and life experiences to create theatre.

               

              South Carolina Standards

              Curriculum Standards

              Grade 2:

              RL.2.6.1 Use information gained from illustrations and words in a print or multimedia text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

              RL.2.7.1 Retell the sequence of major events using key details; determine the theme in a text heard or read.

              Arts Standards

              Grade 1:

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

               

              Key Vocabulary

              Content Vocabulary

              Plot - The sequence of events that happen in a story.Summarize - To reduce something to its basic elements; to tell a story in its simplest, briefest form.Problem - A difficult situation that arises in a story.Solution - The way that a problem in a story is solved.

              Arts Vocabulary

              Pantomime - Pretending to hold, touch, or use something you are not really holding, touching, or using; in the theatrical tradition, acting without words.

               

              Materials

              “Somebody Wanted But So Then” Graphic Organizer (included below, or a similar document)

               

              Instructional Design

              Opening/Activating Strategy

              Pantomime

              • Begin in silence, doing a simple pantomime activity, e.g., sweeping the floor, eating an apple, eating an ice cream cone, playing basketball, fishing, etc. Allow the students to guess the activity.
              • Debrief with the students – what made the activity clear? What were the parts of the activity? How did the hands, body position, facial expression, and other elements convey the activity?
              • Lead the students through the same pantomime, step by step. (Carefully define the steps: for example, 1. See the broom. 2. Put hands on the broom. 3. Lift the broom. 4. See the dirt on the ground, including a facial expression of mild disgust. 5. Sweep the dirt in rhythmic strokes toward a central spot. 6. Put the broom back. 7. Pick up a dust broom and dustpan. 8. Sweep the dirt into the dustpan. 9. Empty the dustpan into the garbage.)
              • Define pantomime.

               

              Work Session

              Process

              • Teach students how to identify key events in the story using the “Somebody Wanted But So Then” strategy:
                Somebody - Who is the main character?
                Wanted - What does the main character want?
                But - What is the problem?
                So - How does the character solve the problem?
                Then - How does the story end?
                For example, with “Jack and the Beanstalk”:
                Somebody - Who is the main character? Jack
                Wanted - What does the main character want? He wants to help his mother get the money they need.
                But - What is the problem? Jack takes the giant’s goose, so the giant chases Jack.
                So - How does the character solve the problem? He escapes the giant.
                Then - How does the story end? Jack and his mother have all the golden eggs the goose lays.
              • Choose a sample story with which the students are familiar. Write a 5-point summary of the story in the graphic organizer
              • Create a pantomime sequence, with the help of the students, to summarize the story through movement.
              • Have groups of students practice performing the pantomime and explain how the movements are used to enhance the retelling.
              • Divide the students into groups of 3-5.
              • Assign another familiar story, or stories, to groups of students.
              • Students complete their own graphic organizer using pictures and words.
              • Student groups present their pantomime sequences to the class. Allow the class to guess the story or allow the groups to articulate each step of the pantomime summary.

               

              Closing Reflection

              Ask students:

              • How did we use our bodies, hands, and faces to convey parts of stories through pantomime?
              • How did you know what others were doing in their pantomimes?
              • How did the pantomime summaries contribute to the presentation of the story and character development?
              • What are the benefits and challenges of summarizing stories in this way? (e.g., It’s fun; you get to work with a team; you get to act things out; you have to leave parts out; some parts of stories are hard to pantomime.)

               

              Assessments

              Formative

              • Students are able to describe the elements and steps in a pantomime in detail.
              • Students work together productively to create their pantomime summaries.

               

              Summative

              • Graphic organizers, completed by the students, effectively summarize their stories.
              • Students effectively, clearly, and carefully pantomime the activities in their summaries.

               

              Differentiation

              Acceleration:Have students work first in groups, and then have them choose a favorite story to use individually to create a pantomime summary.

              Encourage students to focus on emotional expression, so the pantomimes convey how the characters feel about what they are doing.

              Remediation: Lead the class in several pantomime summaries as a full group, rather than having students work in small groups.

              Limit the number of steps in a given pantomime activity.

              Additional Resources

              https://artsnowlearning.org/project/ndi-pantomime/ - An 8-minute video tutorial about pantomime and using pantomime in the classroom.

              https://www.kennedy-center.org/video/education/theater/tap-mime-and-pantomime-with-keith-berger-and-sharon-diskin/ - A 10-minute video performance and tutorial focusing on classical mime techniques and routines.

              *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: Whitney Jones Snuggs and updated by Barry Stewart Mann

              Revised and copyright: March 2023 @ ArtsNOW

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