E-Tools

Fifth Grade Dance

In the fifth grade, the students go to the National Zoo for Science and we continue to work on choreography in dance. The two websites I chose were Read the Words and National Geographic Kids: Dare to Explore. The fifth grade students will analyze the movement of an animal of their choice in order to create a movement phrase that represents that animal. They will first visit the National Geographic Kids site and click on Animals and Pets, then Creature Features. The students will scroll through the animals and choose one. Next, they will read the facts and view the photo of the animal. Then, watch the video. While reading the facts, they are to write down key words from which they can create movement. When they watch the video, they are to describe the movement that they see so that they can either replicate or draw ideas. Once they have gathered all of their information, the students will create a poem. In the poem, they cannot state the animal's name. They can only describe the animal's physical features, movement quality, and habitat.

When the students have completed their poem, then they will visit the website Read the Words. The students will type in their poem or download it to the site. They must choose an avatar and a reader of their choice. Once they are finished, they will download the poem to use once upon completion of their choreography.

The students are to create their movement phrase using their poem as inspiration. Students must utilize the elements of choreography: body, energy, space, and time. Once the dance is completed, the students will have time to rehearse the choreography with their recorded poem. Then they will present their finished product with their peers. The peers are to guess which animal their classmate chose.