Tag Archives: Dance

Oct 28th – Self-reflection (Dance Lesson) Ashley Wong

This was my very first time teaching physical education, and I can honestly say I learned a lot just in the planning and execution of this one lesson. First, I learned there are so many details (particularly with dance) that you have to consider when prepping your lesson. For example, considering your student’s skills and prior knowledge. As a group, we wanted to come up with a dance lesson that was challenging and new, but still accessible. We also wanted to come up with a routine that was fun and engaging. It was difficult coming up with a dance routine we felt was both age-appropriate and fun. We also had to consider in what format were we going to introduce the routine, for example, if we’d teach it in parts, or as a whole with music. All these minor details had to be thought out and discussed.

Overall, I’m really happy with our lesson. I feel like we were able to create a lesson that encouraged a lot of class participation, group collaboration and fun! Something that we can definitely consider for next time is (as mentioned to us by Steve) is ensuring every student feels supported and included in their learning by giving them that one-on-one support if needed. For example, while I was demonstrating at the front of the class, we could have had Amy and Jennifer roaming through the students to see if anyone needed extra help in learning the dance moves. As an educator, it’s easy to forget that even though you’re teaching to a group, you’re teaching individuals who learn at different rates. When we check in with students to see their progress, some students may be too shy to admit that they are behind the class or just not understanding the material. It’s our job to notice this and take the time to help those students. That’s the same with teaching dance, knowing when to break in your lesson or take that initiative to help those students learn the dance moves and overall, feel included.

Sheena’s Movement Journal – Group Teach Reflection

Lesson: Individual and Dual Activities

What worked well in your lesson? What specifically did you contribute?

Our team was quite flexible with the activities that we chose: we were all willing to compromise a little bit. This made planning the lesson very easy. We worked together on all parts of the lesson plan and worked independently to plan our own sections. During the lesson, we supported each other by adjusting the music and giving cues for time. Overall, I think we worked well as a team. Regarding the actual lesson, everything basically went exactly as planned. Our class was really enthusiastic and I saw many people get really into the lesson.

What did you notice about your planning and teaching? How are they connected?

Considering adaptations of the lesson was quite valuable because we actually talked about them, and this helped others feel more comfortable with the activities.

What changes needed to be made and why?

We needed to create a worksheet last minute so that the students could record their heart rates. This was a really good revision because it kept students organized.

What did you notice about the learners’ response to your lesson in the classroom? How did they respond (affective, cognitive, physical)? How did that impact your teaching and flow of your lesson?

The class was quite keen and looked really happy to be dancing. They were also able to execute the movements in a coordinated way. These responses made me excited to teach. I also noticed that the movement was neither too complex nor too simple to follow. If I were to teach a similar lesson again with the same class, I would plan with that in mind. The part of the lesson that was most cognitively taxing was the calculation of their heart rates. Since they were all able to multiply, we did not have to spend much time on this. If I had done this with my practicum grade five class, they would not have been able to do this. In that case, we would take our pulse in class for fifteen seconds and then calculate our heart rate in math class.

What, if any, would you have done differently?

I would have incorporated more assessment into the lesson. For instance, between the songs, I could have asked the class how they were feeling. Additionally, it would be a good idea to record the lesson so that we could assess the students according to the rubric we created. I was so focused on remembering my choreography that I was not able to assess every student.

movement journal – week 8

The two group teaching teams from last class did very well. I like how the gymnastic team included Halloween theme into their activities, and I thought it was very neat. As well, I thought the four stations were broken down nicely, and giving the instructions while we were all at the middle instead of explaining it four times at each station was very smart. As for the summary and discussion, our discussion in terms of how to create a safe and inclusive environment was rich and helpful for the practicum. For the dance team, I liked the warm up activity where we had to act like eggs, chickens and dinosaurs. It was fun playing and watching other people, and I think they did a great job using the scaffolding technique. In addition, I loved how they not only taught us certain moves but also gave us the freedom to create dances close to the end of their lesson. All presenters from both groups were enthusiastic and have clear, loud voices! Good job girls, I loved it! 🙂

October 28th – Gemma’s Movement Journal

Dance isn’t something that comes naturally to me. The only time I believe we’ve done dance in PE was during the month of December, in preparation for the Christmas Party where we would have a Ceilidh. Practicing involved having the boys line up on one side of the hall and the girls on the other, with each taking turns to select a partner. Possibly the most awkward thing ever when you’re in your pre-teens! So seeing dance in a different way was great fun. Everyone was moving and having a great time, and I felt like we’d achieved something by the end of the class. I thought the ladies did an excellent job leading, and I have to also give a shout out to Meghan for being such a ‘risk-taker’!

This week during practicum, we’ve been able to see how physical education is being implemented in the schools. Southpointe has 4 specialists who cover the K – 12 years. The first day when I walked into a PE class the students were sitting individually on their ipads reflecting on videos of their batting movements. I think it’s safe to say that physical education has definitely changed from when I went to school!

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I’ve been able to watch my class transition through skill building drills to mini-games, before participating in full class batting/fielding games. They even played Chuck the Chicken! Not only that but they have also been connecting to their next Unit of Inquiry (body systems). How did their muscular system/central nervous system/respiratory system help them achieve that movement?  How are they connected? Thus, the students already have some knowledge before they even get started! It’s great seeing everything that we’ve been discussing during our classes being implemented in the field.

Post-lesson Reflection Journal Week 8: Dance

I had so much fun co-teaching this class! We were all so pleased and thankful for everyone’s enthusiasm and participation. I feel like that was a huge contributor to the success of our lesson.

We tried to keep things interactive, accessible and fun while also hitting the appropriate physical education competencies, which I think we were able to accomplish pretty well. It was important for us to scaffold the moves so that everyone had the opportunity to build up to the full dance, and express themselves to the best of their ability. My part consisted of brainstorming lesson ideas with the group, co-writing the summary, suggesting the use of apps in assessment and dividing the group, in addition to teaching my portion of the lesson and leading my small group discussion.

Our group gelled well in terms of planning, and we agreed on most aspects of the process. As soon as we had addressed the competencies and figured out a main focus for our session, the details came fairly easily. We have relatively similar approaches to teaching, planning and what we would like our students to get out of the lesson.

I feel like the students responded positively overall. Everyone seemed engaged, and were able to grasp the choreography and challenge themselves to complete each activity to the best of their ability. The discussion ran smoothly, and the group had many good ideas and input about technology in the classroom.

Next time, I would look at tightening up some of the transitions, for instance sending smaller groups of students to collect props. I think we provided moves and options for a variety of skill levels, and scaffolded appropriately, but I might also have included some further options for students of all skill and comfort levels, such as an alternative to the dance off at the end.

Movement Journal on Dance and Gymnastics

I really enjoyed the gymnastics and dance this week, both groups did a fantastic job!

I was super impressed that the dance group incorporated technology into their group-teach. I had never associated physical education with digital literacy, so to see how it was used both through a headset when running an activity (made listening much easier) and when sorting us into groups through an iPad app, was very cool. I am not very tech savvy, so I think I will definitely start looking into some of the apps they shared with us on the hand-out and consider how I could better incorporate technology into lesson plans. I really liked the sorting app as it was much faster than counting out teams of 4.

I enjoyed the group discussion for gymnastics. Our group talked about liability and safety because gymnastics can be a riskier unit to run as there is more equipment and chance for injury. As a future teacher, I have to really consider the environment I am choosing for the lesson and how I want to best set up the activity so that it is inclusive and adaptable for all of the different students’ capabilities. Some examples include setting up the gym in a way that you can observe all of your students (using half a gym), and using padding on the floor around balance beams and equipment where there is a chance someone may fall.

I also liked that both groups focused on scaffolding and building up to the different movements in step by step processes that allowed us to practice and feel comfortable before moving on.

Ally’s Movement Journal – Oct. 28

You probably know by now that I’m not much of a dancer. Despite 8 years of classical ballet training I don’t have much of a sense of rhythm nor do my limbs seem to coordinate themselves particularly gracefully.

I’d really love to be a PE teacher, but one of the things that makes me apprehensive about following this dream is that I’d have to teach dance. I managed to get through PE dance lessons by hiding in the back, but that’s not an option when I’m the one teaching it!

Aiming to solve this problem, I went on a hunt and found this great resource about teaching dance in PE:

SPARK PE’s Tips for Teaching Dance in PE

I LOVE that the first thing they say is to start small. That’s manageable. I can do that. I even already know the Pata Pata (thanks Ms. DL & the grade 1s!)

I also love all the ways they integrate media and pop culture into their suggestions. I know that as a child I was always more excited to do something when there was a video or multimedia component to it; hopefully this is still the case for today’s kids.

This week’s dance lesson was a great example of how to “hand the heavy lifting” over to your students. While the teachers demonstrated the steps, they weren’t in front the whole time, which handed the responsibility over to us but also took them out of the spotlight, which is key for me if I were to teach dance. I loved the way the iPads were integrated into the lesson, and I think this would be awesome for a whole unit for students to see their progress from the first time they tried the dance to the end of the unit.

Thanks to this week’s teachers!

Week 2, Movement Journal

I must point out how much fun I had on Thursday doing the Flash Mob with all the Elementary TC’s. I was motivated by the instructor; she was so enthusiastic and encouraging, getting us to dance along with her, and to BE fun. I know at the begging I was very worried about other people looking at me and thinking I was dancing strange. But as it went on, I knew all of us were doing the same thing. We were all just letting loose, laughing and enjoying ourselves.

This inspired me to want to teach in a similar way as her, very motivating and encouraging. Being able to teach in a fun environment like we experience on Thursday was very beneficial. This type of environment allows people to learn easily, especially if they see the environment as being a safe and warm place. I was a little nervous thinking of myself trying to teach such a dance class when I am not a great dancer myself. But I remember seeing YouTube videos where they show the dance moves to popular songs. They show the movements, you just have to follow along on the screen with the music. These videos are only 3-4 minutes long, so they could be used as a brain break in the classroom, or you could bring this idea into the gym and have a full PE class of dancing along to these videos.

Get up and DANCE! YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOeebil3eKY

Ally’s Movement Journal – Sept. 16th

Steve, when you told us on Wednesday that we would have to do a flash mob dance in public, in front of everyone, I just about died. I did ballet as a child, but beyond what the Royal Academy of Dance  taught me, I can’t actually dance. I even told my elementary school PE teacher that it was “stupid” that we had to do dance and I shouldn’t have to do it, because I already knew I wasn’t going to grow up to be a dancer. So, long story short, flash mobs just really aren’t my thing. But! Dare I say that I actually enjoyed myself? The instructor was just so enthusiastic it was contagious! I have so much respect for people like her, who are able to get up in front of the crowd and just radiate excitement and positivity.

Before the whole flash mob exercise, I was wondering aloud to some classmates about why on earth we would have to do this and what it could possibly do for my teaching. But, having thought it through a bit, and thinking about how I felt before and after, I’ll concede that there was a good point and it is beneficial to my teaching practice.

We’ve heard from our profs about how teachers have to be actresses, to not let our fears, personal opinions, or baggage shine through. Our students can’t know that we hate algebra, or that we can’t dance, because then they will hate algebra or dance too. Teachers are role models first, conveyors of knowledge second. So for the time I’m with my students, I have to pretend that doing a silly dance routine with all my friends in front of a bunch of strangers, who I’ll probably never see again is my FAVOURITE THING EVER!!! And then I can not dance on my own time 🙂

Thanks, Steve, for this lesson in life and in teaching!