Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Dimension Dances

For Teachers 4th
Use dance to help learners conceptualize line segments, rays, lines, and planes. They choreograph dances that show dimensional space. Dancers start by pondering space, point, and lines as the teacher draws them in the air. Each...
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Baila! Latin Dance in the Spanish Classroom

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
One, two, three. One, two, three. Invite your language learners to practice the steps for researching and presenting information. Each small group has the task of explaining one Latin dance in full detail.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Michael Jackson's “Beat It” Dance

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Looking for a line dance? Look no further. This dance is performed to Michael Jackson's "Beat It". It is comprised of four eight-counts. The moves consist of walking forward, swinging the hips, doing the grapevine, walking backwards, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Michael Jackson's "Beat It" Dance

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learn this 32-count line dance. There are four eight-counts that repeat throughout the song. The steps include walking forward, walking backward, pivots, grapevine, and some jumps. All in all this is a simple and quick dance to learn....
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

Harriet Tubman: Retelling History Through Dance and Drama

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Scholars listen to several pieces of music in preparation for a discussion about how instruments and lyrics convey emotions. With Harriet Tubman as the focus, small groups create an original song or dance. A reflection piece concludes...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Making Dances From Stories

For Teachers 4th
After reading a short story, learners will create dances that show homophones and verbs. Their dance sequences involve three verbs and transition movements in between each verb. Tip: Have the class dance out the sequence of events from...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Poems That Dance

For Teachers 5th
Combine the elements of dance with the actions in a poem. Learners review basic grammar, write an action-packed cinquain poem, and then choreograph a dance based on their cinquains. After the dances are done, they'll discuss the elements...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Dance Critic

For Teachers 5th
What do writing and dance have in common? They both have a six-trait rubric for assessment. Just like a good story, a good dance must have a hook, beginning, middle, end,  logical sequence, and a climax. Learners use a...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Comparing Cultural Dances

For Teachers 2nd
All cultures express similar thoughts, feelings, and ideas. But, often times those things are expressed differently. Learners compare and contrast traditional dances from two cultures. They watch videos of each performance, stop to...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Dance in Hawai`i

For Teachers 4th
Nearly every people group has some type of dance, and those dances usually reflect history and culture. Little researchers write an essay on the cultural significance of the Hawaiian hula dance. They research the role of the hula dancer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heritage: Line Dance is a Pattern!

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Line dancing is the repeating of a pattern of steps, done to music. Teach youngsters how to line dance and they won't feel so awkward when they grow up. Let them experiment with creating their own patterns and teaching their classmates....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dance Integration With Social Studies

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Have your class learn through movement. Learners study patriotic symbols through dance. They listen to spoken words and portray the story. They practice using space, and arm and leg movements to tell the story. What a creative way to...
App
Addicted2Salsa

Pocket Salsa

For Students 7th - 12th
Master the art of salsa dancing in the comfort of your own home (or classroom) with a high-quality and easy-to-follow series of videos. An instructor and his partner demonstrate all the basic steps, and a whole rhythm section gives...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

La Raspa, Mexican Hat Dance, and Cinco De Mayo Celebration

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Learn two dances that your class can perform at a Cinco De Mayo school celebration. This is really an outline and would be better used if there were plans for how to teach the dance steps. The idea is good to teach the cultural...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Swing your Partner: The Basics of Square Dancing

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
Young scholars perform square dancing steps. In this square dancing lesson, students view a video to learn the basic steps.  Young scholars discuss the history of the dance and perform with partners. 
Lesson Plan
National Dance Week Foundation

Modern Dance Project

For Teachers 5th - 8th
As part of a celebration of National Dance week, class members engage in a series of exercises that introduce them to the movements of modern dance.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chinese Dance

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Vibrant photos and interesting facts fill this ten-page PowerPoint on Chinese dance. This presentation covers the four types of Chinese dance, including: ceremonial, dramatic, martial, and agricultural. Tip: Try searching for a video of...
Lesson Plan
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2
Curated OER

Chinese Lion Dance

For Teachers Pre-K - 6th
Students celebrate the Chinese New Year and listen to the story behind the Chinese Lion Dance.  In this Chinese New Year instructional activity, students research the geography and culture of China.  Students create puppets,...
Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Machines

For Teachers 3rd
What do science and dance have in common? Simple machines, work, and force! First, children discuss machines, wheels, inclined planes, and wedges. They create inclined planes with their bodies and make up dances about wheels and wedges....
Handout
Novelinks

Wildwood Dancing: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis

For Students 9th - 12th
Considering including Juliet Marillier's young adult novel, Wildwood Dancing as part of your language arts curriculum? Check out an overview that examines some of the themes and issues presented by the novel. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Retell A Story Through Dance

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students tell stories through dance. In this ballet lesson, students learn pantomime dance skills and examine "The Nutcracker" ballet performances as they examine ballet as storytelling.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Grand Canyon Suite

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Take a trip to the Grand Canyon! Lesson one explores how Ferde Grofe painted a musical landscape of America when he wrote the Grand Canyon Suite. Learners then examine art that shows the Grand Canyon in lesson two. Finally, lesson three...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folk Dancing Fun

For Teachers 1st
First graders discuss different kinds of music they have heard. They listen to a short selection of folk music and discuss where they think it is from. Using a globe, the teacher shows students where the music is from. They spread out on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modern & Contemporary

For Teachers 9th - 12th
An informative study of the masters of modern and contemporary dance, including Ailey, Fokine, Balanchine, Baryshnikov, and Graham, this presentation offers high schoolers some key moments in the development of 20th century dance. Great...