Lesson Focus: The Arts Learning Area / Strand: Dance Year Level: 3-4 Duration: 4 Hours

Overview:
This activity will introduce students into Dance.
Working with their original music composition and drums, students choreograph, perform and respond from their Visual Arts Activity. They will record their
progress along the way using ICT.
To be successful in this activity, students will be expected to watch recordings, participate in whole class activities and work together in small groups. This
activity should take approximately 3 hours.
This resource asks students to listen and watch a recording of African Body Percussion demonstrating rhythm clapping. they will be able to identify different
dance. The Year 3 HASS unit of Exploring places near and far will be incorporated into the activities.

Prior knowledge of learners - (Students know the Elements of Music Art and Design)
 By the end of Year 2, students describe the effect of the elements in dance they make, perform and view and where and why people dance.
 Students use the elements of dance to make and perform dance sequences that demonstrate fundamental movement skills to represent ideas. Students
demonstrate safe practice (ACARA, 2016).
Achievement Standard
 By the end of Year 4, students describe and discuss similarities and differences between dances they make, perform and view. They discuss how they and
others organise the elements of dance in dances depending on the purpose (ACARA, 2016).
 Students structure movements into dance sequences and use the elements of dance and choreographic devices to represent a story or mood. They
collaborate to make dances and perform with control, accuracy, projection and focus (ACARA, 2016).
Lesson objective/s
 Extend their awareness of the body as they incorporate actions using different body parts, body zones and bases.
 Explore and experiment with directions, time, dynamics and relationships using groupings, objects and props.
 Extend their fundamental movement skills by adding and combining more complex movements.
 Use technical skills including accuracy and awareness of body alignment.
 Explore meaning and interpretation, elements and forms including shapes and sequences of dances as they make and respond to dance.
 Use expressive skills including projection and focus when performing dance for themselves and others.
Key questions for Years 3 and 4
 How can we use our bodies and movement with music to create and communicate?

Links to Curriculum (identify relevant Strands and Content Descriptors)

 Improvise and structure movement ideas for dance sequences using the elements of dance and choreographic devices (ACADAM005).
 Practise technical skills safely in fundamental movements (ACADAM006).
 Perform dances using expressive skills to communicate ideas, including telling cultural or community stories (ACADAM007).
 Identify how the elements of dance and production elements express ideas in dance they make, perform and experience as audience, including exploration
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance (ACADAR008).
Cross-Curriculum Focus and Links:
 HASS: Year 3 - Exploring places near and far
 The location of Australia’s neighbouring countries and the diverse characteristics
of their places (ACHASSK067)
 The similarities and differences between places in terms of their type of
settlement, demographic characteristics and the lives of the people who live
there, and people’s perceptions of these places (ACHASSK069)
Mathematics Year 3: Numeracy. Estimating and calculating with whole
numbers.
 Understand and use numbers in context
 Recognise and use patterns and relationships.
Describe, continue, and create number patterns resulting from performing addition or
subtraction (ACMNA060)

General Capabilities
Literacy Numeracy

 Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing  Recognising and using patterns and relationships
 Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating  Using fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios and rates
 Text knowledge  Using spatial reasoning
 Grammar knowledge
 Word knowledge
 Visual knowledge
Evidence of learning:
Declarative Knowledge - Students will know: Procedural Knowledge - Students will be able to:

 Understand how ideas are expressed in dance.  Students can identify how ideas are expressed in dance.
 Explore how dance is used to represent stories.  Choreograph a student-devised dance.
 Develop understanding of practices.  Perform a student-devised dance.
Resources
 YouTube Video - SPAC Break: South African Gumboot - https://youtu.be/K-b4oV8Bg9Q
 YouTube Video - The Great African Take Away: Body Percussion - https://youtu.be/Bj9JINeD9qw
 Picture Booklet – The Story of South African Gumboot Dancing
 Composition Worksheet
 16 Beat Rhythmic Ostinatos
 Brainstorming Choreographic Ideas
 Choreograph Guide
 Final Dance Sequence Table
 Feedback Questions
 African Djembe Drum
 IPad

Differentiation strategies
 Students with lower abilities will be grouped with more confident students.
Lesson Stimulus:
Introduction  Explain to the students that the miners in South Africa danced using Body Percussion and that these sounds and rhythms were used as
 Introducing the a way to communicate with each other in the mines. This type of dancing was called Gumboot dancing because they wore Gumboots
topic that they used to create intricate rhythms and percussions.
 Engagement of  Give each student a picture booklet called The Story of South African Gumboot Dancing. They can follow in it as they watch the
the learners YouTube Video - SPAC Break: South African Gumboot - https://youtu.be/K-b4oV8Bg9Q.


Key Questions:
 Context as artist and audience: What does music tell us about the past, people, and places?
 Knowledge as artist and audience: How are rhythm/pitch/expression used to communicate ideas in music?
 Evaluations and judgments as artist and audience: How does music make you feel and why?

Lesson Body Activity 1: Group (Selecting the Composition)

 Delivering the
content through  Students will learn how to use body percussion by watching and participating. YouTube video “The Great African Take Away: Body
specific Percussion”.
strategies  Body percussion is a very inclusive art form because everyone can participate despite their culture, ability, age or language.

Activity 2: Group
 Form groups of three to four students.
 Students previously recorded their group Rhythmic Ostinatos on an IPAD. They will use the pre-recording together with their
Composition Worksheet and original combined 16 beat composition to choreograph the dance.
 Hand out worksheet “Brainstorming Choreographic Ideas” and the “Choreograph Guide” .
 Students will use these worksheets to brainstorm ideas of different elements of dance, movements, and choreographic devices (drums)
to represent their dance.
 Students will discuss in their group who will be playing the drums and who will be dancing.
 As a group, create movement sequences using the selected aspects of dance.

Lesson Activity 3: Group

Conclusion  Students will use the Brainstorming Choreographic Ideas and Choreograph Guide worksheets to put their dance together.
 Concluding  Using transitions, each student’s section will be connected to the other student to create one whole dance.
activities  Use the Final Dance Sequence Table to draw the final dance.
 Summarizing
the lesson Activity4: Group
 Students will refine and rehears their dance.
 They will participate in class discussions where they will receive peer and teacher feedback on their choreography.
 They will be reminded to give helpful support.
 After the class and teacher feedback, the students sill make changes to their choreography in order to improve the dance.
The Story of South African Gumboot Dancing
Composition Worksheet
African Djembe Drum