Lesson Plan by LL

"Burning Trees"

Dance—4^th/5^th Combination Class

Small and Large Group Choreography

Background: Follow-up integration of concepts taught in regular class.

Materials: Scenario cards describing a type of fire situation, chart paper/white board/chalk board, dance element cards

Exploration: Chalk talk vocabulary session to build verbs and adjectives around fire triangle, types of area trees (ponderosa, juniper, aspen, spruce, lodge pole) and their characteristics, parts of a tree and their roles.

Freeze game:  Prompts from vocabulary generated used as movement cues.

Improvisation:  In small groups (3-4), draw from scenario cards and dance elements cards to dance the story of a forest fire

Creation: Expand on theme from improv session, using larger groups (6-8) and understanding of what makes a complete dance. (Beg., middle, end)

Presentation:  Students choose from music options and perform their group pieces.

Evaluation: Dancers who are observing are looking to see if: they can understand the scenario, if they can identify tree type, if they can spot bias or message.

Reflection: Quick write in journals about the process and how they integrated classroom knowledge.  List of questions or concerns about gaps in their understanding.