Dance in the Elementary

Physical Education Curriculum

Learning
Creating
Collaborating
Housekeeping
• Please call 1-800-263-6317 in the event of any
technical difficulties
• For direct questions, please use the Question box on
the GoToWebinar control panel
• A recording of the presentation and your certificate
of 1.0 contact hour will be available next Tuesday
Dr. Theresa Purcell Cone
Dr. Stephen L. Cone
Department of Health and
Exercise Science
School of Biomedical Science
and Health Professions
Rowan University,
Glassboro, NJ 08028
conet@rowan.edu or
cone@rowan.edu
 Webinar Outcomes

• Learn the benefits students gain when they

participate in a dance lesson.

• View lessons and lesson ideas in social, cultural and

creative dance.

• View dance assessments

 What is Dance?

Dance for elementary level students is a way of

learning how movement is used to express and
communicate thoughts, feelings, and
understandings about themselves and their
world and share the joy of moving with others.
 Benefits
Students will:
• Increase psychomotor skills through learning and
creating dance movements.
• Develop cognitive skills such as sequence memory,
creative thinking, and analysis.
• Gain experience using movement to express an idea
or concept.
• Foster cooperative skills by dancing with others in
partners and groups.
 Dance Unit Approaches
Teach Social, Cultural, or Creative dance forms in one or
more units during the school year.

• All grades learn the same dance form during the school
year.

• A different dance form for each grade cluster during a

school year.

• All three forms taught each year to all grades.

 Social Dance
Students will:
• Learn traditional dances, variations and new
dances.
• Learn dances they can use in social events.
• Increase coordination, spatial awareness,
and fitness levels.
• Develop cooperation and acceptance of
others.
 Lesson Outline
• Discuss the benefits of social dance such as: make
new friends, exercise, have fun, learn new moves,
cooperate, express yourself.
• List dances in the lesson.
• Teacher provides direction and demonstrates or
uses a student to demonstrate.
• Add variations.
• Ask about preferences or review.
 Social Dance K-2
Traditional Dances
• Traditional: Hokey Pokey and Chicken Dance.
• Variations:
• Use small circles with students as leaders.
• Add locomotor movements traveling around
the space.
• Hokey Pokey - Transform into a fitness exercise or
call body parts in another language or use geometric
shapes.
• Chicken Dance – Replace with another animal
movements such as a rabbit or dinosaur.
 K-2 Social Dances Using Video

• Dances from Youtube. Show a Video using a LCD

and large screen and students can follow. Preview
all videos.
• The Learning Station. Get Funky, Body Boogie, Go
Bananas among others.
• Just Dance Kids. Videos
• Animal Exercises for Kids with Animals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26guG6wr5so
Hokey Pokey Conga Line Macarena

Affective Assessment - Human Graph

 Social Dance 3-5
Traditional line dances with Variations

• Macarena – Add fitness using curl up or push up position

• YMCA - Add fitness exercises on verses.
• Cupid Shuffle – students dancing next to or facing a
partner or in a random formation.
• Cotton Eye Joe – Vary formations use large circle, teach
on right and left side. Use two long lines facing each
other.
 Social Dance Grades 3-5
Traditional -Variation
• The Twist – Change levels, add arm movements.
• Cha Cha Slide – Create a new cha cha movement,
add a turn or a kick.
• Electric Slide – Use students as leaders in small
groups, use different music.
• Conga Line – Small groups move in their own
pathway and then groups connect to make a whole
class conga line.
 Social Dances 3-5
Contemporary

• The Wobble – Check out on YouTube

• The Wop - Check out on YouTube
• Youtube Videos - Just Dance Now - Happy - Pharrell
Williams
• Ask students to suggest a popular new dance.
 Social Grades 3-5
New Dance Ideas
• Students create their own line dance using three or more steps
they suggest (e.g., grapevine, side step, turn)
• Partner Dances - Mirror (stationary face each other using slow
nonlocomotor movements) Shadow Dances (traveling follow each
other using locomotor moves and still shapes).
• Space Jam – class or small group circle. Student in the center
performing an imaginary Ball Tricks while others copy.
• Friendship Circle Dance - go to
http://users.rowan.edu/~conet/rhythms/SocialDances/friendship-
circle.html
• Friendship Double Circle Mixer Dance
http://users.rowan.edu/~conet/rhythms/SocialDances/DoubleCircl
eMixer.html
 Assessment Ideas
• Are students willing to dance with others?
• Do students take leadership and/or follow others?
• Can students identify a dance step?
• Can students complete a repetition of the dance
sequence?
• Can students express preferences?
Name of Dancer __________________ Name of Observer ________________

Always Working Not

On It evident

Repeats Dance Steps in Correct Order

Stays on Beat with Music

Shows Clear Direction Changes

Uses Arms and Hands

Psychomotor Assessment – Electric Slide

 Cultural Dance
• Collaborate with classroom teachers for history or
cultural studies.
• Teach dances that represent the cultural diversity in
your school. Ask students and family members to
share dances.
• Choose dances that are developmentally appropriate
for students.
• Show authentic video of dance in the culture.
• Present information on the culture.
 Lesson Outline
• Introduce dance adding cultural information, show
pictures, videos, artifacts, word wall, clothing, and
music.
• Explain the meaning of the dance and how it relates
to the culture.
• Teach dance part whole through verbal instruction
and demonstration.
• Students perform the dance with and without verbal
cues.
 Ideas for K-2 Cultural Dance
• Shoemaker’s Dance (Germany) – coordination, theme
related to making shoes. Circle formation.
• Seven Jumps (Denmark) – balance, coordination,
listening skills. Use a random formation.
• La Raspa (Mexico) – coordination with a partner and
changing partners.
• Danish Dance of Greeting (Denmark) – coordination,
theme is meeting others. Circle formation
• Kinderpolka (Germany)– coordination dancing with a
partner. Circle formation.
 Ideas for 3-5 Cultural Dance
• Tanko Bushi (Japan) - coal mining gestures.
• Chinese Ribbon Dance (China) – uses streamers to
make patterned movements.
• Tinikling (Philippines) Uses sticks and jump/hop
patterns.
• Mayim (Israel) Foot coordination and aerobic.
• Troika (Russia) Groups of three and aerobic.
• Samoan Sasa (Samoa) Slapping dance, sitting.
• Haka (New Zealand) Hand and body rhythms.
African Dance Resources on Youtube

• Kennedy Center
– Five(ish) Minute Dance Lesson: African Dance: Lesson 1:
Dinhe
– Five(ish) Minute Dance Lesson: African Dance: Lesson 2:
Pelvic Isolation and Limb Throws

• Bele Kawe (African Caribbean)

– 004 IAFNA Bele Kawe Carriacou Island, Creole Afro
Caribbean P1010924
 Cultural Dance Assessment Ideas
• Teacher observes students ability to complete the
pattern of steps on the music beat.
• Students discuss how the dance movements
represent the cultural values or traditions.
• Peer Assessment. Students take turns as performers
and observers. Look for accuracy of steps and cultural
style.
• Self assessment describing preferences.
 Creative Dance
• Fosters creative and critical thinking skills through
movement exploration .
• Promotes understanding of how movement can be
used to express and communicate an idea.
• Increases a child’s movement fluency by learning
new ways to move.
• Develops cooperation through creating and
performing dance movements with others.
 Lesson Outline

• Introduce idea for the dance - teacher

• Warm-up – related to movements used in the
dance.
• Explore movements – time, space, energy
• Organize a dance sequence – 3 or 4 movements
• Perform dance – practice and refinement.
 Creative Dance for K-2
• Choose a topic such as animals, the seasons,
weather, or friendship.
• Explore the topic using locomotor and non locomotor
movements and shapes.
• Create a short sequence using the explored
movements. Add a story to support the sequence or
add music for tempo or mood.
• Young children can dance as individuals within the
whole class.
 K-2 Lesson
• Topic: Fall leaves.
• Objectives: Students will use locomotor and
nonlocomotor movements using slow and fast
tempos to represent the movements of falling leaves.
• Assessment: Psychomotor assessment -Teacher
observation of students ability to control their
movements while moving slowly and quickly.
• Tool: Checklist noting if student can move slowly and
if student can move quickly without falling or
bumping into another child.
 Falling Leaves
• Introduction: Show pictures of leaves, or real leaves,
or use book Fall Leaves Fall (Halpern, 2000). Ask if
students have noticed the leaves falling and have
them show with their hands the pathway and speed
of the falling leaves.

• Warm-up: Skipping around the space, stretching

using levels, moving different body parts with slow
and fast tempos.
 Falling Leaves Dance Development
Exploration

• Making Still Leaf Shapes – wide, long, pointed,

straight, curled, twisted
• Leaf shapes traveling using locomotor movements
slow and fast - Skip, gallop, slide, run.
• Leaf shapes turning slow and fast
• Leaf shape locomotor combination – Skip, Skip,
Skip, and Jump. Or Run, Jump, and Turn.
 Culmination Dance Story
• Using a story adds meaning to the movements and
helps students remember the sequence.
• Leaves of many different shapes are hanging on the
trees. (students make a still leaf shape).
• A light wind begins to blow the leaves. (leaf shapes
move slowly, small movements side to side).
• The wind becomes stronger. (leaf shapes increase
tempo and use bigger movements side to side and
forward and backward.)
 Culmination Dance continued

• The wind blows the leaves off the trees and they fly
around the yard. (Students in their leaf shape use
locomotor movements to travel in the space using
running, jumping, galloping, and skipping.)
• The wind stops and the leaves slowly turn as they fall
to the ground. (Students in their leaf shapes, slowly
turn, and slowly lower to the floor.)
 Falling Leaves Dance Assessment
Use observation during the culminating dance and record on a checklist, paper
or iPad

X = Student moves with control, does not fall down

0 = Student falls down

Name Slow leaf on tree Traveling leaf Turn and fall leaf
Julie x x 0
Jack 0 0 0
Carmen x x x
Rashid x 0 x

Psychomotor Assessment
Name __________________________________________

Circle a face that shows how you felt about creating each part of the dance.
1. How did you feel about creating leaf 4. How did you feel about creating a
shapes? falling leaf movement?

     
2. How did you feel about creating 5. How do you feel about your ability
small movements in personal to create your own dance
space? movements?

     
3. How did you feel about Affective Assessment –
creating big movements that Falling Leaves Dance
traveled in space?

  
 Creative Dance Topics for Gr. 3-5
• Seasons or Weather (Summer fun, snowfall)
• Sports Pics and Movements (football or variety)
• Machines (computer, car wash, blender)
• Science topics (water cycle, molecules)
• Math concepts (fractions, place value)
• Everyday actions (school bus ride, dressing)
• Health topics (My plate, bike safety, washing hands)
• Children’s Literature (picture books, poems)
 3-5 Lesson
• Topic: Sports Pictures
• Objectives:
– Students will be able to accurately reproduce the shapes in
the pictures.
– Students will collaborate with others to select three
pictures, create and perform a dance sequence in unison
demonstrating smooth transitions between the movements
and fast and slow tempos.
 Sport Pictures Part 1
Move and Freeze - Cones with attached
pictures are spread around the space.
 Sport Pictures Part 1
• When the music is on,
the students use
locomotor movements
to move between
cones.
• When the music stops,
students look at the
nearest picture and
freeze in that shape.
• Repeat move and
freeze - 8-10 times.
 Sport Pictures Part 2
Individual Dance –
Student selects 3 pictures and label them 1, 2, 3
• Start the dance frozen in the shape of picture 1 for 8 counts
• Next, travel to picture 2 using a locomotor movement for 16
counts.
• Slowly freeze into picture 2 for 8 counts.
• Travel to picture 3 using a locomotor movement 16 counts
• End at picture 3, by turning in the shape and freeze.
 Sport Pictures Part 3
Small group dance
• Three pictures are selected by the group.
• They decide an order for the pictures.
• Freeze in the shapes and decide how many counts to freeze.

• Then connect the shapes with

a locomotor movement
• Use fast and slow tempos in
the dance.
• Practice in unison and
perform for another group.
 Sport Picture Dance
Student Affective Self Assessment
Yes No

We selected three sport pictures

We chose a picture order

We were exact in our shapes

We danced in unison

We used fast and slow tempos

 Resources
• Cone, T. & Cone, S. (2012) Teaching Children Dance,
3rd ed. Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.
• Kaufmann, K.& Dehline. (2014) Dance Integration:
26 Dance Lesson Plans for Science and
Mathematics, Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.
• Scheff, H. Sprague, M. & McGreevy-Nichols (2010)
Exploring Dance Forms and Styles. Champaign IL:
Human Kinetics
 Resources
• Cone, T. & Cone, S. (2005). Assessing Dance in
Elementary Physical Education. Reston, VA: NASPE.
(http://users.rowan.edu/~cone/curriculum/Assessing-
Dance-in-Elem-PE.pdf)
• Cone, S. & Cone, T. Assessing Dance in Physical
Education. Strategies. July/August 2011.
(http://users.rowan.edu/~cone/curriculum/Assessing-
Dance-in-PE.pdf)