Dance - 5th Grade

Utah State Office of Education
Elementary Fine Arts Core Curriculum

Introduction

The Core Curriculum for Elementary Fine Arts is written to communicate what students are expected to know and be able to do in dance, music, theater, and visual arts. The intended result is to effect in students: (a) the development of affective, cognitive, and psychomotor skills in the arts, (b) the joy of self-expression and aesthetic awareness, (c) a personal connection with community heritage and varied cultures, and (d) the achievement of Life Skills. The Core espouses no specific methodologies but supports the experiential development of primary arts skills as the natural vehicle for discovering the attendant history, culture, aesthetics, critiquing, and other relevant connections to the student's world in and out of school.

The Core centers on discovering the joy, richness, and depth of the arts through active involvement with the art form. It is designed to strengthen and advance the kinetic, pragmatic, playful, curious, creative, sensitive, and imaginative nature of elementary students through self-expression, heightened perception, and development of skills indigenous to dance, music, theater, and visual arts. To deepen understanding of the traditions and cultures of various peoples and communities, recommended music, art, literature, and folk arts are coordinated with the topics in the Social Studies Elementary Core Curriculum.

Implications for Implementation

The Core Curriculum for dance, music, theater, and visual arts provides the basis of professionalism and accountability for teachers, and defines the expectations and achievement standards for students. Curriculum standards create strength, unity, and heightened concern for the achievement of essential learning objectives. Each student and teacher must view these standards as both essential and desirable. Students have the prime responsibility for their own artistic achievement. The success of these curriculum standards will only be accomplished by the broad-based acceptance of classroom teachers, students, administrators, parents, artists, and dance, drama, music, and visual arts specialists from kindergarten through college throughout the state of Utah.

Teachers are the guides who provide direction for learning by continuing their personal professional development and collegial collaborations and by offering students engaging and positive opportunities for skill development, high caliber models of artwork, authentic and accurate sources of information, relevant connections to the student's world, and guidance in formative self-assessment. The role of administrators is to provide the necessary leadership, instructional time, qualified personnel, facilities, professional development, technological support, materials, and administrative support for achieving the Fine Arts Core Curriculum.

Parents are encouraged to supplement classroom learning through encouraging the study and appreciation of art, music, dance, and theater as a family, listening and being informed of school activities and requirements, and personal involvement in school and community activities as appropriate. Professional artists can provide models of career opportunities, expertise, local relevancy, and opportunities for teachers and students to collaborate in the professional setting.

Organization, Sequence, Format

The Elementary Fine Arts Core Curriculum appears in alphabetical order: Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts. The curriculum for each is organized into four standards, with accompanying objectives and assessment indicators. A statement of student work clarifies the parameters of each standard. The objectives articulate specific goals to be accomplished by the student. The assessment indicators are tools designed to measure achievement of the objective through relevant performance tasks. Examples of instructional strategies and literature have been thoughtfully included in many instances.

All standards are printed in boldface type. Boldface type words found elsewhere in the document signal the reader that a definition may be found in the glossary. All assessment indicators are set apart with a bullet, and all strategy examples are underlined. Correlations to other elementary core documents have been footnoted to identify possibilities for integrated instruction.

The numbering system works as follows: The kindergarten numbers for dance begin with 1400, music with 1500, theater with 1300, and visual arts with 1000. The last two numbers of the four digits change according to grade level; e.g., first grade dance being 1410, second grade music being 1520.

The number of the standard is the underlined figure appearing after the hyphen. The specific number of each objective appears as the last two underlined digits in the series of four numbers which indicate the standard and the objective; e.g., 0102 means the second objective of the first standard, 0401 means the first objective of the fourth standard.

Elementary Dance Core Curriculum

Mission Statement

Children love to move. Children need to move. They learn through engagement of the whole self. They take in information through multi-sensory processes that are directly addressed and fostered through dance. The power of dance education inherently promotes within students lifelong learning, complex learning, effective communicating, compassion, aesthetic awareness, collaboration skills, responsible citizenship, and career readiness. The purpose of the Utah Dance Core Curriculum is to describe dance standards, objectives, and assessment indicators for students K-12 through creative movement. This curriculum first focuses on student learning through movement that develops bodily skill and kinesthetic awareness. Second, it outlines movement activities that develop understanding of the dance elements of time, space, and energy. Third, activities which emphasize the creative process and development of artistic insight and expressive skill are set forth. Fourth, it describes strategies to help the learner discover how dance fits into one's own life, the lives of others, and reveals the historical and cultural perspectives that connect humanity.

Philosophy

Dance is a universal language, an expressive and vibrant art with the capacity to unify the physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the human being. Dance is one of the most direct means to understand and value the world in which we live. It is a record of human expression and has been a part of the life of every culture throughout the span of human existence. Dance has the power to both conserve and expand culture. It preserves tradition and encourages exploration and invention. Dance enhances the quality of life for performer, creator, and audience member alike. Every human being has the right to move in ways that are individual, expressive, and enlightening.

Overview

This curriculum is written to aid the teacher and student to facilitate the learning of dance as an art form. Four standards are included: moving, investigating, creating, and contextualizing. Three or possibly all four standards may be addressed in every movement lesson. In dance, the emphasis must always be on actively engaging the child through participation. A 30-minute class might be as follows: a five-minute warm-up, five minutes for locomotor movements, 15 minutes for problem solving through exploring and creating, and five minutes for showing solutions and discussion. In a 30- minute lesson such as this, please note that over 25 minutes is spent moving, while less than five minutes is in discussion. Critiquing, discussing, and evaluating is important for processing; however, at the elementary level, two to three minutes is ample.

Elementary Dance Standards

Standard 1: Moving

The student identifies and demonstrates knowledge of the body as the instrument of dance by exploring movement skills. This includes the practice of safety for self and others and regular participation in body strengthening, flexibility, and endurance activities through stationary and locomotor movement.

Standard 2: Investigating

The student identifies and demonstrates the dance elements of time, space, and energy. This involves the student in exploration of the elements and enables the student to recognize how these elements are used by performers and choreographers.

Standard 3: Creating

The student understands and demonstrates choreographic principles and processes in the art form of dance. These principles and processes include solving a problem through a sequence of exploring, integrating, synthesizing, making choices, and organizing a final expression through movement.

Standard 4: Contextualizing

The student understands and demonstrates dance in relation to its historical, cultural, and personal origins. This contributes to an appreciation of personal, physical, and emotional uniqueness. It also helps the student to understand the language of dance in daily life.

Glossary

Alignment: The concept of skeletal relationships; i.e., posture. Refers to the relationship of the skeleton to the line of gravity.

Asymmetrical: A design, space, time, or energy that is not the same on both sides.

Axial Movement: Any movement that is anchored to one spot by a body part using only the available space in any direction without losing the initial body contact. Movement is organized around the axis of the body rather than designed for travel from one location to another.

Choreography: The art of making a dance, or the design of a dance.

Composition: The art and craft that organizes all the elements and factors of dance into a visual product to be perceived by an audience.

Contrast: A diversity of adjacent parts in color, emotion, tone, and style.

Dynamics: Degrees of loudness and softness which give variety and meaning to music and dance. Forte (f) indicates loud; piano (p) indicates soft. Also used as the flow of energy applied to a single movement, a series, or a total dance piece. Considered shadings in the amount or intensity of energy in movement, giving movement its expression. Also referred to as the interaction of forces of movement and motion that produce contrast.

Energy: The amount of force with which a movement is performed or the qualities of movement.

Bound: A strong energy force that is directed against the air, an object, or another person.

Collapsing: To suddenly lose force and energy. A movement that is characterized by a relaxed release into gravity, resulting in a folding or curling of the body downward.

Explode: A form of percussive energy; every part of the body is propelled into space in an instant of time.

Percussive: A movement quality that begins with a strong sharp impetus, extends energy in spurts, small or large explosions, stops suddenly at any point and then may start again.

Suspend: A movement that results when the initial force is expended for an instant, and a momentary stillness in space is achieved.

Sustained: A movement quality that is characterized by a constant, even flow of energy resulting in movement that is ongoing and smooth.

Swinging: A movement quality that is characterized by a reaction to the force of gravity. A body part is relaxed and drops along a curved path until the momentum of the drop carries it up on the other side of the curve where it suspends before returning its downward path.

Vibratory: A movement quality that results when the extreme of tension is applied to the vibrating part which responds with a series of fluttering, quivering movements.

Focus: The intensity and direction of movement as it is projected spatially; also, the use of the eyes and body to direct the focus in space.

Form: A component of all the arts. Form is the structure or plan on which a piece of art is based, giving it both design and unity rather than chaos.

Freeze: A command to cease all movement at once and to remain immobile in the shape the body presented when the signal word was given.

Improvisation: Movement which is created spontaneously, ranging from free form to highly structured environments but always with an element of chance. Provides the dancer the opportunity to bring together elements quickly and requires focus and concentration. Improvisation is instant and simultaneous choreography and performance.

Level: The space where movement occurs in relation to elevation; this may vary from low to high within the possible range of human elevation.

Locomotor Movements: Steps to get from one place to another.

Gallop: A combination of a step-leap with a long-short rhythm.

Hop: An elevation movement executed by taking off and landing on the same foot.

Jump: An elevation movement executed by taking off and landing on both feet.

Leap: An extended run; both feet are in the air at the same time.

Run: A transfer of weight from one foot to another with increased tempo and a moment when both feet are off the floor at the same time.

Skip: A combination step-hop with a long-short rhythm.

Slide: A combination of step-leap or "cut-run" in a long-short rhythm. The body moves in a lateral position through space, with a moment of elevation, heels touching in the air.

Walk: A transfer of weight from one foot to another in a smooth and even rhythm. One foot remains in contact with the floor.

Mirroring: Imitation of a leader with hands, arms, or other body parts in a slow sustained manner with very little locomotor action to reflect the movement of the leader as a "mirror" does. Usually done in partners.

Modern Dance: An artistic expression which revolutionized concert dance. It began around the beginning of the 20th century with Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, and other daring performers who rejected ballet. It was based on self-expression and a return to movement which was natural to the body. Modern dance choreographers are free to develop an individual movement vocabulary that suits their needs.

Personal/Group Space: Group space is the ability of the individuals to fill the space evenly while maintaining own personal space when moving. Personal space refers to the space which immediately surrounds the body in stillness and motion.

Phrase: A natural grouping of movements which give a temporary feeling of completion.

Positive/Negative Space: The positive areas in a composition are definite forms and shapes; negative areas are the unoccupied or empty spaces.

Space: An element of dance, relating to the area through which one moves. Space is a dancer's canvas.

Theme: A clear movement sequence that can be used as a basic structure for different variations.

Time: An element of dance, relating to the rhythmic aspects of dance as well as the duration and tempo of a movement.

Variety: The quality or state of having different forms or types, something differing from others of the same general kind.