Lesson plan title/sequence:

Year level: 6/7 x3 classes Date: 21.05, 22.05, 29.05, 30.05

Number of children: 28 Duration: 60 mins

Area of learning: The Arts - Dance

Topic: Aboriginal Dreamtime Dance

ACARA Outcomes/Concept Descriptor:

 Content Descriptor: Perform dance using expressive skills to communicate a choreographer’s ideas,
including performing dances of cultural groups in the community (ACADAM011)
Elaboration/s:
 Developing expressive skills of focus, clarity of the movement, confidence and facial
expression/character to present dance ideas in performance for an intended audience.
 Applying the elements of dance in dance contexts to communicate ideas to audience, for example, stop
and start/percussive arm and upper body movements to express basketball actions in a game, or
rhythmic and accented movement to express the passage of time or the actions of a clock.
 Content Descriptor: Explain how the elements of dance and production elements communicate
meaning by comparing dances from different social, cultural and historical contexts, including Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander dance (ACADAR012)
Elaboration/s:
 Discussing the purpose of movements, elements of dance, production elements, and use of
projection and focus, and how these affect the mood of audience and the relationship between
dancers and the audience.
 Identifying and discussing meanings and significance intended by the choreographer’s use of
movement, space and energy, referring to their knowledge of the context in which the dance was
created, for example, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander dance.
 Discussing social and cultural influences to recognise the role of dance and dancers in societies,
cultures, environments and times, for example, conventions of a Kecak dance from Bali, or the
protocols for performing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance, including when it is not able
to be viewed.

Specific Learning Outcomes:

What do I want the children to know and understand?
Children will be able to:
 They describe characteristics of artworks from different social, historical and cultural contexts that
influence their art making.
 Students structure elements and processes of arts subjects to make artworks that communicate
meaning.
 They work collaboratively to share artworks for audiences, demonstrating skills and techniques.
 Explain how the elements of dance, choreographic devices and production elements communicate
meaning in dances they make, perform and view.

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Structure/Timing Process Resources
What time will I What will I do? What will the children do? What skills and strategies will we use? What materials will be used?
allocate to each part What behaviour management strategies will I use?
of the lesson?
Introduction  Introduce to student’s that we will be looking at how Indigenous  Bangarra Moth YouTube Clip:
Australians communicate their beliefs, historical events, culture and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvkUBfIq50I
dreaming stories through dance.  The Kangaroo Dance YouTube Clip:
 Explain to students that we will be watching a clip from the Bangarra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b-vI3Nf50g
Dance Theatre (Elaborate on who the company are) called the Moth
which represents the spiritual transformation of the moth’s lifecycle-
Key Question: look for different movements or gestures that could
represent the moth or different stages of its life.
 Ask for feedback.
 Show student’s the clip of The Kangaroo Dance.
Key Question/s:
 What were some movements that depicted the traits of a kangaroo?
 From watching both clips, what can dance bring to an audience?
 How does dance tell a story?
 Just like adjectives in a novel or picture book, dance uses mime and
gesture to symbolise a scene or story that the choreographer and
dancers are trying to display.

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Learning  Ask students to stand in a circle.  PowerPoint Slide with Kaurna Acknowledgment.
Experience/Activity  Explain that we are going to look at the Kaurna Acknowledgement, and  Dream Time story task sheet.
create a piece together that symbolises the story behind the  Indigenous music track
acknowledgement. (remind students that no answer is a wrong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdZQytU_nS0
answer).
 Explain that over the next couple of weeks, we are going to work in
small groups to choreograph a mime and gesture dance that
represents an Aboriginal Dreaming Story to a short piece of music.
 Students in each group will be given a dream time story along with
instructions to choreograph their piece.

Conclusion  Gather students back into the circle sitting with their group to explain
How will I finish the to the other groups what their Dream Time story is.
lesson?  Homework: students will research the significance of their dreamtime
Will I get students to story and the importance of it to Aboriginal culture and history.
present/share their
new learning /skills
work and how? Will I
get students to
reflect on their
learning and how?

Evaluation of lesson

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plan:
I will complete this
section if I do the
lesson in my
placement

What would you

improve for next
time:

I will complete this

section if I do the
lesson in my
placement