Dance with Heating, Cooling and Insulation 3-4

DANCE WITH HEATING, COOLING & INSULATION

DANCE WITH HEATING, COOLING & INSULATION

Learning Description

In this lesson, help your students understand heating, cooling, and insulation by incorporating movement and dance composition.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 3-4
CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can explain thermal energy transfer through the concepts of heating, cooling, and insulation.
  • I can use movement qualities and energy to create choreography that appropriately demonstrates my assigned scenario.
  • I can accurately match choreography and science concepts.

Essential Questions

  • How can dance/movement help us understand and communicate how thermal energy can be transferred?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 3:

S3P1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the ways heat energy is transferred and measured.

  1. Ask questions to identify sources of heat energy. (Clarification statement: Examples could include sunlight, friction, and burning.)
  2. Plan and carry out an investigation to gather data using thermometers to produce tables and charts that illustrate the effect of sunlight on various objects. (Clarification statement: The use of both Fahrenheit and Celsius temperature scales is expected.)

Arts Standards

Grade 3:

ESD3.CR.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the choreographic process.

 

ESD3.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

 

ESD3.PR.1 Identify and demonstrate movement elements, skills, and terminology in dance

 

ESD3.RE.1 Demonstrate critical and creative thinking in dance.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4: 

4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

 

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

  • Heating - The movement of thermal energy from one place to another
  • Cooling - The removal of heat from an object Insulation a material that reduces or prevents the transmission of heat or sound or electricity
  • Insulation - Reduces the transfer of heat between objects or environments

Arts Vocabulary

  • Choreographer - A person who creates a dance
  • Level - One of the aspects of the movement element space; can be described as high, middle and low
  • Energy/Force - Force propels or initiates movement, or causes changes in movement of body position
  • Pathway - The designs traced on the floor as a dancer travels across space; the designs traced in the air as a dancer moves various body parts
  • Space - An element of movement involving direction, level, size, focus, and pathway
  • Movement phrase - A series of movements linked together to make a distinctive pattern
  • Non-locomotor - This refers to a movement that does not travel through space
  • Locomotor - This refers to a movement that travels through space
  • Steady beat - An unchanging, continuous pulse
  • Choreography - The art of composing dances and planning and arranging the movements, steps, and patterns of dancers
  • 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
  • Chart paper
  • Markers
  • Scenarios with heating, cooling and insulation

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin the lesson 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.).
    • Next, bring students’ awareness to the rhythm of the music by having them march in place to the beat with high knees, swinging their arms side to side.
    • Now, direct students to explore energy variations with different movement qualities such as sharp movements–quick, precise actions like punches or snaps, and smooth movements–slow, flowing actions like waves or circles with arms.
    • Finally, bring students’ attention to levels (high, middle, low) and directions (forward, backward, sideways) with movements such as stretching up high and moving on tiptoes, moving low to the ground and crawling forwards and backwards, and bouncing in place at a medium level.
    • Have students return to their seats.

 

Work Session

  • Begin with teacher-led discussion or review of science concepts of heating, cooling, and insulation.
  • Divide students into small groups. Provide each group with a piece of chart paper/poster paper and markers.
  • In their groups, students should divide their paper into two sections (or pre-divide students’ paper for them).
    • Students should label the sections Heating and Cooling.
    • In each section, students should explain what heating and cooling are and provide examples of ways heat can be transferred or removed.
    • Allow students to share with the whole class. Students can revise/add to their charts as needed.
  • Remind students of the movement qualities and energy variations that they explored from the warm-up.
    • Ask groups to discuss and list which types of movement qualities and energy would show heating and cooling.
      • For example, slow movements to quick movements might represent heating.
    • Facilitate a class discussion around student responses. Students should explain why certain movements and energy levels would communicate different concepts. Students can revise/add to their charts as needed.
  • Provide each group with a different scenario involving heating, cooling and insulation.
  • Ask students to interpret their scenarios through movement, focusing on energy types and movement qualities. Choreography should include a starting pose, three movements, and an ending pose.

 

Closing Reflection

  • The students will perform their movement phrases for their classmates. Discuss appropriate audience participation and etiquette prior to performances.
  • Turn up the volume of the music and help students find the steady beat again by tapping their toe on the floor.
  • After each performance, ask the audience to identify what happened in the scenario and whether it showed heating, cooling, or insulation. Ask groups to identify which movements in the choreography support their reasoning.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’ participation in the activator; discussion of heating, cooling, and insulation; and group collaboration on brainstorming and creation of choreography.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can explain thermal energy transfer through the concepts of heating, cooling, and insulation.
  • Students can use movement qualities and energy to create choreography that appropriately demonstrates their assigned scenario.
  • Students can accurately match choreography and science concepts.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration: Challenge students to create their own scenario using an eight-count dance of either four two-count movements or eight one-count movements that shows both heating and cooling.

Remediation: 

  • Reduce the number of movements students are required to include in their choreography.
  • Scaffold the lesson by creating choreography as a group for one of the concepts together before assigning individual groups scenarios to choreograph.

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

Revised and copyright: July 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Modules

Dance with Vertebrates and Invertebrates 4-5

DANCE WITH VERTEBRATES AND INVERTEBRATES

DANCE WITH VERTEBRATES AND INVERTEBRATES

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will use movement and dance composition to aid in the understanding of vertebrates and invertebrates.

 

Learning Targets

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

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can create movements and choreography using the elements of dance/movement qualities that accurately demonstrate characteristics of animals, including whether they are vertebrates or invertebrates.
  • I can accurately classify animals according to their attributes, including whether they are vertebrates or invertebrates.

Essential Questions

  • How can dance/movement aid in differentiating between vertebrate and invertebrate animals?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 5:

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

 

ESD5.CN.3 Integrate dance into other areas of knowledge.

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4:

4-LS1-1. Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function together in a system to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

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

  • Vertebrates - An animal that has a backbone or spinal column
  • Invertebrates - An animal without a backbone or spinal column

Arts Vocabulary

  • Body - The physical instrument used by dancers to express movement, emotion, and artistry
  • Levels - The height of the movement, which can be low (close to the ground), middle (midway), or high (elevated)
  • Directions - The direction of movement, such as forward, backward, sideways, diagonal, up, and down
  • Pathways - The patterns made in space, like straight, curved, zigzag, or circular
  • Dynamics - The quality of movement, which can be smooth, sharp, sustained, percussive, swinging, or collapsing
  • Tempo - The speed of movement, which can be fast, moderate, or slow
  • Choreography - The art and practice of designing and arranging dance movements and sequences
  • Movement phrase - A sequence of movements that are connected and form a coherent unit of motion, much like a sentence in language

 

Materials

  • Sound source and music
  • List of animals, both vertebrates and invertebrates
  • Chart paper
  • Sticky notes
  • Markers
  • Pencils

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin the lesson by practicing a typical call and response with students. Continue the call and response adding body movements.
    • Incorporate some of the aspects of the elements of dance/movement qualities such as levels, pathways, direction, changes in tempo, dynamics, etc.

 

Work Session

  • Review vertebrates/invertebrates and their movements. Discuss examples and characteristics of vertebrates/invertebrates.
    • In groups, have students identify types of animals that would be in each category.
    • Have students assign adjectives that describe each type of animal. Students should write these on sticky notes and then place them on chart paper posted around the room with the animal’s name.
  • Discuss some of the elements of dance/movement qualities such as dynamics, tempo, levels, pathways, etc.
  • Select an animal to explore and create movement qualities/shapes for as a whole class.
    • Using the poster paper as reference, brainstorm how elements of dance/movement qualities, such as dynamics, tempo, levels, pathways, etc. can be used to express characteristics of the animal, including whether it is a vertebrate or invertebrate.
  • Assign each group a different animal.
  • Tell students that they will be assigned an animal and will choreograph a three-movement phrase with their groups to express characteristics of their animal.
    • Students should create shapes with their bodies that reflect whether the animal is a vertebrate or an invertebrate.
    • Students should use what they learned about the elements of dance/movement qualities in their choreography (dynamics, tempo, levels, etc.).

 

Closing Reflection

  • Students will perform their dances for the class. Discuss audience etiquette with students prior to performances.
  • After each group performs, the audience should discuss how the shapes and movement qualities express the characteristics of the animal and whether it is a vertebrate or invertebrate.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of concepts by observing students’ discussions of animals and their characteristics in small groups, students’ use of the elements of dance/movement qualities to demonstrate characteristics of animals, and students’ contributions to group choreography.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can create movements and choreography using the elements of dance/movement qualities that accurately demonstrate the characteristics of their assigned animals.
  • Students can accurately classify animals according to their attributes.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration: 

  • Assign specific elements of dance/movement qualities that students must include in their choreography.
  • Require students to incorporate other aspects, such as habitats, into their choreography. This will require the students to create a longer movement phrase.

Remediation: 

  • To help with planning their choreography, provide a graphic organizer where students can write down the specific characteristics of their animal and the dance element/movement quality that they will use to show that characteristic next to it. For example, a snake slithers on the ground, so students may use levels and dynamics to show this.

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

Revised and copyright: June 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Modules

Dancing Cells 6-8

DANCING CELLS

DANCING CELLS

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will choreograph dances to represent the roles and characteristics of different parts of a cell.

 

Learning Targets

GRADE BAND: 6-8
CONTENT FOCUS: DANCE & SCIENCE
LESSON DOWNLOADS:

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  •  I can work collaboratively to choreograph a dance that uses the elements of dance and movement qualities to communicate characteristics of the parts of a cell.

  • I can define the role and characteristics of the parts of a cell.

Essential Questions

  • How can choreography be used to identify and describe the parts of a cell?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 7:

S7L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to describe how cell structures, cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems interact to maintain the basic needs of organisms. 

  1. Develop a model and construct an explanation of how cell structures (specifically the nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, cell wall, chloroplasts, lysosome, and mitochondria) contribute to the function of the cell as a system in obtaining nutrients in order to grow, reproduce, make needed materials, and process waste.

Arts Standards

Grade 7:

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

 

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

 

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

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 6:

6-LS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole and ways the parts of cells contribute to the function.

 

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

  • Cells - A microscopic structure containing nuclear and cytoplasmic material enclosed by a semipermeable membrane and, in plants, a cell wall; the basic structural unit of all organisms

 

  • Nucleus - Specialized, usually spherical mass of protoplasm encased in a double membrane, and found in most living eukaryotic cells, directing their growth, metabolism, and reproduction, and functioning in the transmission of genic characters 

 

  • Cytoplasm - The cell substance between the cell membrane and the nucleus, containing the cytosol, organelles, cytoskeleton, and various particles

  • Cell wall - The definite boundary or wall that is part of the outer structure of certain cells, as a plant cell 

 

  • Membrane - The thin, limiting covering of a cell or cell part

  • Chloroplast - A plastid containing chlorophyll

Arts Vocabulary

  • Body - The physical instrument used by dancers to express movement, emotion, and artistry

  • Levels - The height of the movement, which can be low (close to the ground), middle (midway), or high (elevated)

  • Directions - The direction of movement, such as forward, backward, sideways, diagonal, up, and down

  • Pathways - The patterns made in space, like straight, curved, zigzag, or circular

  • Dynamics - The quality of movement, which can be smooth, sharp, sustained, percussive, swinging, or collapsing

  • Tempo - The speed of movement, which can be fast, moderate, or slow

  • Choreography - The art and practice of designing and arranging dance movements and sequences
  • Movement phrase - A sequence of movements that are connected and form a coherent unit of motion, much like a sentence in language  

 

Materials

  • Sound source and music
  • Cards with cell parts written on them
  • Chart paper
  • Markers

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

  • Begin by playing the Vocabulary Circle Game with your class.  
    • Put the vocabulary words (cell parts) on the board and, as a group, discuss adjectives that describe each cell part.  
    • Next, have students practice creating a movement or body shape to demonstrate that part of the cell. This can become a guessing game with students.

 

Work Session

  • Next, divide students into small groups. Assign each group a part of the cell.
  • On chart paper, students should define the role of their part of the cell and use adjectives to describe its characteristics and overall shape.
  • Tell students that they will be using movement to demonstrate their part of the cell.
  • Turn on music that has a steady beat.
  • Introduce dance elements and movement qualities by practicing a typical call and response with students. Continue the call and response adding body movements.
    • Incorporate some of the aspects of the elements of dance/movement qualities such as levels, pathways, direction, changes in tempo, dynamics, etc. (e.g., shake your hands at a high level quickly; now shake them at a low level slowly).
    • Debrief the different movements with students asking them how movement can represent meaning.
  • Now, tell students to create a short movement phrase to represent their part of the cell. 
    • Remind students to use their adjectives as a guide. 
    • Students should use two or three dance elements and movement qualities such as body shape and dynamics intentionally in their choreography. 
    • Students should be able to explain how they used the elements to communicate characteristics of their part of the cell.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Students will perform their dances for the class. Discuss audience etiquette with students prior to performances. 
  • After each group performs, the audience should identify which cell part they see in the dance sequence and what cell (plant or animal) it belongs to.
  • Groups should then explain how they used dance elements and movements qualities to show their part of the cell.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding by observing students’ responses during the activating strategy, ability to identify the role and characteristics of their part of the cell in small groups, contributions to choreography in small groups, and discussion after each performance.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can choreograph a movement phrase that uses the elements of dance and movement qualities to communicate characteristics of their part of the cell.
  • Students can define the role and characteristics of their assigned part of a cell.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration: 

  • In their groups, students should create a dance in which each student represents a different part of the cell.
  • Students should write about their dance and explain how the elements they used expressed different characteristics of the cell.

Remediation: 

  • Work together as a whole class to choreograph a movement phrase for one part of the cell before having students do this in small groups.
  • To help with planning their choreography, provide a graphic organizer where students can write down the specific characteristics of their part of the cell and the dance element/movement quality that they will use to show that characteristic next to it. 

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

Revised and copyright: June 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Modules

Dancing Machines 4-5

DANCING MACHINES

DANCING MACHINES

Learning Description

Explore a variety of basic techniques in dance and identify how these strategies can be integrated into the science curriculum. This activity allows students to explore simple machines through movement and create imaginative new machines through choreographic sequences and collaboration.

 

Learning Targets

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

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can use movements to represent simple machines.
  • I can create machines with a purpose using two or more simple machines.
  • I can use movement to demonstrate my understanding of machines.
  • I can explain the role energy plays in machines.

Essential Questions

  • How can movement be used to better understand simple machines?

 

Georgia Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4:

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

  1. 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:

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

 

ESD4.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.

 

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

 

South Carolina Standards

Curriculum Standards

Grade 4: 

4-PS3-1. Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.

4-PS3-3. Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.

4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.

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

  • Spiral - A plane curve generated by a point rotating around a fixed point; a helix
  • Counterbalance - To act against with an equal weight or force
  • Force - Strength; power; energy; intensity
  • Energy - The capacity to do work or produce change
  • Kinetic Energy - The energy of a body or a system with respect to the motion of the body or particles in the system
  • Potential Energy - The energy that an object possesses due to its position, state, or configuration

Arts Vocabulary

  • Body - The physical instrument used by dancers to express movement, emotion, and artistry
  • Levels - The height of the movement, which can be low (close to the ground), middle (midway), or high (elevated)
  • Directions - The direction of movement, such as forward, backward, sideways, diagonal, up, and down
  • Pathways - The patterns made in space, like straight, curved, zigzag, or circular
  • Dynamics - The quality of movement, which can be smooth, sharp, sustained, percussive, swinging, or collapsing
  • Tempo - The speed of movement, which can be fast, moderate, or slow
  • Choreography - The art and practice of designing and arranging dance movements and sequences
  • Movement phrase - A sequence of movements that are connected and form a coherent unit of motion, much like a sentence in language
  • Locomotor - Movement that travels through space
  • Non-locomotor - Movement that does not travel through space

 

Materials

  • Sound source and music

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

Classroom Tips: Clear desks to have an open space and be tolerant of noise and excitement, but set limits. 

 

  • Have students form a circle.
  • Demonstrate the Name Game by stating your name while making a movement or gesture to accompany your name.
  • The circle then collectively repeats your name and gesture. Continue with the next person stating his/her name and making a gesture. The circle repeats the new person's name and gesture. Then, starting with the person of origin, repeat all the names and gestures shared to that point. Continue until everyone in the circle is included.

 

Work Session

  • Tell students that using movement and dance, the class will create “machines” where each part is dependent on another for its movement.
  • Next, introduce dance elements and movement qualities by practicing a typical call and response with students. Continue the call and response adding body movements.
    • Incorporate some of the aspects of the elements of dance/movement qualities such as levels, pathways, direction, changes in tempo, dynamics, etc. (e.g., shake your hands at a high level quickly, shake them at a low level slowly; twist at a high level, twist at a low level, etc.).
    • Debrief the different movements with students asking them how movement can represent meaning.
  • Break students into six groups. Assign each group one of the simple machines (lever, pulley, wedge, inclined plane, wheel and axle, and screw). Have each group develop a movement to demonstrate the machine.
  • Allow groups to teach the whole class the movement so that every group is using the same movements for each simple machine.
  • Discuss energy with students.
    • Ask students how changing the speed of the simple machine’s movement relates to the energy of the machine.
    • Ask students to consider what would happen if two dancers performing their simple machines collided? What would happen to the energy?
  • Tell students that in their groups, they will create a new machine combining at least two of the simple machines using the movements they just learned. Students will generate a name and job for their machine.
    • Students should first sketch out their machine.
    • Students will then create a short movement phrase, “The Dance Machine”, to represent how their machine works.
    • Students should use elements of dance and movement qualities in their choreography.
  • Students will perform their dances for the class. Discuss audience etiquette with students prior to performances.
    • Audience members will identify which simple machines were used to create the new machine during the groups’ dance performances.
    • After performances, students should explain the purpose of their machine.

 

Closing Reflection

Debrief the lesson by discussing how the concept of energy was used in each machine and how potential energy was converted into kinetic energy in their machines.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding by observing students’ participation with group members to create a movement to represent the function of a simple machine, discussion of the role of energy, and ability to design and represent a new machine through movement.

 

Summative

  • Students can use movements to represent simple machines.
  • Students can create machines with a purpose using two or more simple machines.
  • Students can use movement to demonstrate their machines.
  • Students can explain the role energy plays in machines.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration: 

  • Provide certain movement qualities and elements of dance that students must include in their choreography.
  • Students should create choreography that demonstrates interruptions to energy, such as a bolder in front of a wheel.
  • Have students create a drawing of their machine and explain in written form how it functions using simple machines. Students should explain the role of energy.

Remediation: Rather than have each group develop their own machine, develop a machine together as a class. Each group can then decide how they want to show the machine through movement.

 

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

Revised and copyright: June 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

Back to Modules

Ecosystems in Action 4-5

ECOSYSTEMS IN ACTION

ECOSYSTEMS IN ACTION

Learning Description

In this lesson, students will explore animals and plants that inhabit ecosystems by using movement to deepen the retention of vocabulary. After reviewing the ecosystem players, students will play a call and response game by responding with their bodies, sound and movement to become the elements. This will be taken a step deeper when students bring their visuals to life and explain which role they play in the flow of energy of an ecosystem. The lesson culminates with Food Chain/Web Action where groups of students bring their own food chain/web to life for their classmates.

 

Learning Targets

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

Download PDF of this Lesson

"I Can" Statements

“I Can…”

  • I can accurately identify producers, consumers, and decomposers.
  • I can properly order producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain/web.
  • I can use my voice and body to enact a producer, consumer, or decomposer when performing.

Essential Questions

  • How can theatre techniques help us gain a deeper understanding of ecosystems?
  • How does interdependence play a role 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.

Arts Standards

Grade 4:

TA4.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical work.

TA4.CR.2 Develop scripts through theatrical techniques.

TA4.PR.1 Act by communicating and sustaining roles in formal and informal environments.

 

Grade 5

TA5.CR.1 Organize, design, and refine theatrical work.

TA5.CR.2 Develop scripts through theatrical techniques.

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 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.

Anchor Standard 8: I can relate theatre to other content areas, arts disciplines, and careers.

 

Key Vocabulary

Content Vocabulary

  • Bacteria - Microorganisms that can make you sick, but also can help you digest food; this is found everywhere in nature.
  • Carnivore - An animal that eats only other animals
  • Community - All the organisms is 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
  • 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 on plants
  • Interdependence - Living things in an ecosystem need each other to meet their needs
  • Microorganisms - Very small living things
  • Niche - The role of an organism in an environment
  • 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

Arts Vocabulary

  • Theater - Dramatic literature or its performance; drama
  • Character - A person, an animal or other figure assuming human qualities, in a story
  • 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
  • Ensemble - All the parts of a thing taken together, so that each part is considered

 

Materials

  • Handout words: (one word per page) bear, mushroom, cactus, wolf, sea turtle, shark, plankton, bacteria, fish, fungi, giraffe, tree, bush, worm, grasshopper, caterpillar, mouse, crow, panther, snake, pigeon, dog, squirrel, cat, rose bush, grass
  • Visuals – GROUP #1 (one image per page) sun, plant, grasshopper, lizard, eagle, mushroom
  • Visuals – GROUP #2 (one image per page) sun, plankton, fish, jellyfish, sea turtle, shark, bacteria

 

Instructional Design

Opening/Activating Strategy

Classroom set-up will be key for this lesson! Set up chairs and tables in a circular format, to maximize students’ engagement and ability to see their peers during the activity and performance.

 

  • Start with a general physical warm-up to get the students' bodies ready. Use exercises such as:
    • Stretching: Stretch all major muscle groups.
    • Shaking Out Limbs: Shake out arms, legs, and the whole body to release tension.
    • Energy Passes: Stand in a circle and pass a clap or a simple motion around to build group focus and energy.
  • Explain that students will explore different characters by changing their walk and physicality. Encourage them to think about how their character’s age, status, mood, and personality influence their movement.
    • Begin with simple prompts to get students thinking about different ways to walk. Call out various types of characters and ask students to walk around the space embodying those characters. Examples include:
      • An elderly person with a cane
      • A proud soldier
      • A sneaky thief
      • A graceful dancer
  • Have students return to their seats.

 

Work Session

ORGANISMS/ECOLOGY/ECOSYSTEMS INTRODUCTION 

  • Ask students, “When I say the word ‘organism’ what comes to your mind?”.
    • Tell students that an organism is a living thing.
    • Ask students for examples of organisms.
    • Tell students that all organisms need energy and matter to live and grow.
    • Ecology is the study of how living and nonliving factors interact. Ecologists study these factors by investigating ecosystems.
  • Ask students,”When I say the word ‘Ecosystem’ what comes to your mind?”
    • Tell students that an ecosystem is made up of living and nonliving things in the environment (animals, plants, soil and water).
    • Things living in an ecosystem depend on one another for basic needs such as food, shelter and protection.
  • INTERDEPENDENCE: The living things found in an ecosystem are interdependent because living things depend on each other to meet their needs.
    • Many animals depend on plants for food, but organisms also depend on each other for other things, too. For example, plants can be a source of shelter for animals. In turn, animals can provide protection for plants.
  • NICHE - RELATIONSHIPS IN AN ECOSYSTEM: Ask students, “Does everyone at your school do the same thing? Do they have the same duties or jobs? What do the students do? What does the principal do? What do the cafeteria staff, custodians, teachers, etc. do?”
    • Tell students that just like in a school or office or community, an ecosystem is filled with things that each have specific jobs to do.
    • All of the organisms within an ecosystem have different roles. These roles are called niches.
    • Organisms can have more than one niche and knowing the niches of an organism can help to explain why they act and interact the way they do.
    • To determine an organism's niche, you need to identify: What it eats, where it lives, and how it interacts with the other organisms in the same ecosystem.
    • Niches include:
      • Producers produce food energy for themselves and others. They get energy from the sun and make food through photosynthesis. Most producers are plants (trees, grasses, shrubs). Some producers are non-plants (algae, some bacteria).
      • Consumers consume the food made by the producers. They get energy from eating other organisms. Some examples include insects, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
      • Herbivores eat producers (plant eating niche).
        • Forest – deer, rabbits
        • Savannah – zebras, elephants
      • Carnivores eat other consumers (meat eating niche).
        • Marine – sharks, walruses
      • Omnivores eat both producers and consumers.
        • Forest – bear, raccoon
      • Decomposers are living things that break down the remains of dead organisms. They eat dead things and turn them back into dirt or soil.  Decomposers turn dead material into good fertilized soil.
        • Examples: Mushrooms, bugs, worms

 

USING MOVEMENT IN VOCABULARY

  • Give each term a movement when you say the word while you review details about each.
  • Vocabulary Movements:
    • Producers:
      • “Pro” – hands cupped together/left over right
      • “du” - hands cupped together/right over left
      • “cers” – twirls fists in front of body and then point fingers away from body
    • Consumers:
      • “Con” – right hand – thumb and fingers like eating food to mouth
      • “sum” – left hand – thumb and fingers like eating food to mouth
      • “ers” – point both thumbs to chest
    • Herbivores:
      • “Herb” – right hand pull “leaf off of a tree”
      • “i” – left hand pull “leaf off a tree”
      • “vores” – bring hands to mouth to “eat”
    • Carnivores:
      • “Carn” – right hand claw towards air
      • “i” – left hand grab right wrist
      • “vores” – right hand comes to mouth like eating a big turkey wing
    • Omnivores:
      • “Om” – right hand pull “leaf off of a tree”
      • “ni” - left hand claws out
      • “vores” – left and right hand–thumb and fingers like eating food to mouth
    • Decomposers:
      • “De”-- right fist hits top of left fist
      • “com” – left first hits top of right fist
      • “posers” – fingers wiggle like an insect

 

ECOSYSTEM CALL & RESPONSE

  • Call out the name of an animal or plant and ask the students to respond with the name and movement that applies to it (i.e., producer, consumer or decomposer).
  • If it’s a consumer then take the answer a step further and ask them to respond with the name and movement that applies to their type (herbivore, carnivore, predator, omnivore).
    • Cherry tree (producer)
    • Mushroom (decomposer)
    • Bear (consumer/omnivore)
    • Shark (consumer/carnivore)
    • Bush/shrub (producer)
    • Rabbit (consumer/herbivore)
    • Human (consumer/omnivore)
    • Tulip (producer)
    • Panther (consumer/carnivore)
    • Giraffe (consumer/herbivore)
    • Worm (decomposer)
    • Mushroom (decomposer)

 

WHAT’S THE ROLE?

  • Hand each student a visual that lists a name of a producer, consumer or decomposer on it.
    • Ask them to sit like their visual and make a sound that it would make (imagine what that sound would be if it doesn’t actually make a sound–such as a plant).
    • Have students act out their visuals and ask the others to guess if it’s a consumer, producer or decomposer.
    • Handout words: bear, mushroom, cactus, wolf, sea turtle, shark, plankton, bacteria, fish, fungi, giraffe, tree, bush, worm, grasshopper, caterpillar, mouse, crow, panther, snake, pigeon, dog, squirrel, cat, rose bush, grass.

 

FOOD CHAIN/WEB REVIEW 

  • Ask students to think about all the things their bodies do every day–-read, think, and talk. Your heart beats inside you. You play with your friends.
  • Tell students that it takes energy to make these things happen. Energy powers everything that living things do. Every living thing needs energy in order to live.
  • Every time animals do something (run, jump) they use energy to do so. Animals get energy from the food they eat, and all living things get energy from food. Plants use sunlight, water and nutrients to get energy (in a process called photosynthesis).
  • Energy is necessary for living beings to grow. A food chain/web shows how each living thing gets food, and how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature.
    • Food chains/webs begin with plant-life and end with animal-life.
    • Some animals eat plants, some animals eat other animals. Energy is passed from one organism to another when organisms eat plants or other living things. We call this flow of energy a food chain/web.
    • A food chain/web is a way of organizing living things by what they eat.
    • Show students a food chain/web example – grass/grasshopper/mouse/snake.
      • The grass is at the bottom of the food chain because it is the producer.
      • The grasshopper is the first-level consumer because it eats the grass.
      • The mouse is the second-level consumer because it eats the grasshopper.
      • Finally, the snake is the top-level consumer, because it is at the top of the food chain.
    • The food chain/web shows who's eating whom. The arrows in a food chain/web show the flow of energy. The arrows are drawn from the food source to the consumer. Arrows can be always replaced with the words, “is eaten by”. For example, in our food chain/web example, you could say, “The grass is eaten by the grasshopper.”

 

BIGGER FOOD CHAINS

  • Here's another food chain, with a few more animals.
    • It starts with acorns, which are eaten by mice. The mice are eaten by snakes, and then finally the snakes are eaten by hawks.
    • At each link in the chain, energy is being transferred from one animal to another. There can be even more links to any food chain.
      • If you add another animal, it may go: Grass to grasshopper to mouse to snake to hawk.
      • There is actually even more to this chain. After a hawk dies, fungi (like mushrooms) and other decomposers break down the dead hawk, and turn the remains of the hawk into nutrients, which are released into the soil.
      • The nutrients (plus sun and water) then cause the grass to grow. It's a full circle of life and energy!

 

FULL CIRCLE OF LIFE AND ENERGY 

  • Food chains/webs make a full circle, and energy is passed from plant to animal to animal to decomposer and back to plant!
  • There can be many links in food chains but not TOO many.
    • If there are too many links, then the animal at the end would not get enough energy.

 

FOOD CHAINS IN ACTION

  • Group students and hand out visuals (ideally–group #1 – 6 students, group #2 – 7 students).
  • Give each group their visuals. Each student should have one visual.
    • Ask students to look at their picture and use their bodies to become what is represented in their visual. Ask them to add a sound.
    • Ask students: “Using a voice different from your own, tell me what you are in your food chain (producer, consumer or decomposer)”.
    • Then have them show their pictures to the others in their group.
    • Ask them to write down the following on their visuals or on a scratch paper: What is your ecosystem? (ocean, forest, etc.). What sounds do you hear in your ecosystem? What things do you see in your ecosystem?
      • What other animals?
      • What other plants?
    • Students should share their responses with their group mates.
    • Next, ask students to put themselves in the proper order of their food chain/web.
    • Students should use their bodies and voices to portray their plant/animal and introduce themselves in the order of the food chain/web.
    • Allow time for students to practice before presenting to the class.

 

Closing Reflection

  • Students will present their living food chain/web for the class. Discuss appropriate audience participation and etiquette prior to performances.
  • Debrief after each group to determine whether the group arranged themselves correctly.

 

Assessments

Formative

Teachers will assess students’ understanding of the content throughout the lesson by observing students’ participation in the activator, discussion of ecosystems and food chains/webs, participation in using movement to demonstrate the parts of a food chain/web, and collaboration with their groups to show food chains/webs in action.

 

Summative

CHECKLIST

  • Students can accurately identify producers, consumers, and decomposers.
  • Students can properly order producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain/web.
  • Students can use their voices and bodies to enact a producer, consumer, or decomposer when performing.

 

DIFFERENTIATION 

Acceleration: Have students write a script that uses dialogue between their animal/plant in the ecosystem and another one in the same ecosystem.

Remediation: 

  • Provide a food chain/web template for students to complete for their ecosystem prior to organizing themselves in the correct order for their performances.
  • Scaffold the lesson by modeling with students how to complete the Food Chain in Action activity with an example ecosystem.

*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: Susie Spear Purcell. Updated by Katy Betts.

Revised and copyright: June 2024 @ ArtsNOW

 

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