Arts Infusion Initiative unit plan 2013-2014 Organization: Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre Program Site

Start Date: 16 November 2013--End Date: 22 March, 2014

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  Students will garner communication skills both from a bi-lingual sense and through the use of new dance vocabulary. They will also learn collaboration, teambuilding, competitive, positive interaction and peer mentorship as they learn and teach program components with and through each others’ interactions. (Goal 2A.4b, 2C.4b)
  
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  Student will enhance their creative and analytical thinking, and their problem-solving skills. (Goal 1C.4b).
  
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  Decision making, leadership and mentorship will be founded and enhanced through this program. (Goal 1A.4a).
  
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  Students will benefit from understanding the importance of and the use of positive attitudes. (Goal 1A.4b).
  

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  Students will understand the foundation of dance, initially through jazz and ballet based instruction and eventually to include Latin dance, African Dance, Swing Dance and Hip-Hop.
  
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  Students will develop a sense of their creative ideas and will be able to express these ideas through dance and or literacy forms.
  
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  Students will be able to constructively and collaboratively learn to create, disseminate and chose different dance styles to express their ideas.
  
  
  

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  Apply kinesthetic awareness in development of movement skills and dance techniques.
  
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  Demonstrate partner skills of copying, leading, following and mirroring.
  
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  Create a warm-up routine and discuss how it prepares the body and mind.
  
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  Demonstrate the ability to work alone and cooperatively
  
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  Identify and explore different forms of dance.
  
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  Analyze more than one element of a dance composition.                  
  
  
  

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  Use dance vocabulary to describe the movement elements observed in a dance.
  
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  Analyze more than one element in a composition.
  
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  Demonstrate appropriate behaviors while watching, creating, and performing.
  
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  Describe similarities and differences in dance movements from various cultures and forms.
  

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  Discuss interpretations of and reactions to a dance.
  
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  Create movements to express ideas, feelings, or stories.
  
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  Evaluate dance in multiple ways.
  

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  Create dance compositions using ideas and concepts from other content areas (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies).
  
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  Create a dance composition that utilizes various arts areas (Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts).
  
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  Identify and explore various dance-related professions, such as those of costumer, lighting designer, set designer, stage manager, and conductor.
  

1. 
   How far can students with little to no dance background and language barriers progress as artists within a 24 week unit?
   
2. 
   What is the best method(s) to assess the impact of the arts for a beginning student within areas such as self-awareness, confidence, social interaction, collaboration and mentorship?
   

Focus is on good health habits and emotional response, i.e. self-esteem and teamwork and will help students:

-Identify the body as a tool of dance.

-Identify and apply rules and safety procedures during physical activity.

-Engage in sustained physical activity that causes increased heart rate, muscle strength and range of motion.

-Develop a basic dance vocabulary.

- Identify, describe, analyze, interpret and make judgment about the basic elements and principles of dance.

-Identify the elements of personal and shared space.

The program is cumulative so it is highly suggested that each student attend every class.

Pre–Assessment Strategy:

Students will be assessed for prior knowledge of dance individually through the interview process, through initial group Q&A and further through a concept map exercise and self-assessment probe questions to establish their level of knowledge in the arts and in other areas of the program curriculum.

Also, as an instructional goal note, student previous knowledge testing for the previous 2010-2011 school year at Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy High School indicated the need to revise the program to basic dance skills for the first five weeks of the program. Students in that last program did not have adequate understanding of basic dance steps to all for program delivery as initially intended in the original curriculum and unit plan. This year will also concentrate on language skills as these students tend not to have full English literacy command. Instructors will take extra time to assure that students completely understand the instructions given them. This year there will be more student demonstration integrated into the program to assure that materials presented are fully understood.

Weeks 1-4

1. 
   Full period devoted to dance class and the components. (I.e. pre-stretch, warm-up, floor stretch and center work.) Instructed on proper warm-up techniques.
   
2. 
   Students are oriented and prepared to participate in the program. They will be instructed on what to wear, safety, components of a dance class and what will be expected of them in regards to participation. An emphasis is placed on the importance of good attendance as a means for success in the course and the importance of responsibly notifying the instructors of any anticipated absence.
   
3. 
   Students understand that proper nutrition and hydration is essential to optimun performance whether it be for dance or for any activity they do in their lives. To have students discover and understand key tool to avoid injury, again , for any activity they do.
   
4. 
   Students will observe and learn about different styles of dance including ballet, jazz, modern, and tap. Focus will be on the historical beginnings of dance, famous choreographers and the development of other styles of dance such as the development of hip-hop from jazz (With Free Street).
   

Weeks 5-6

1. 
   Students are reoriented with program components due to a time lapse from their winter break. They will be reinstructed on what to wear, safety, components of a dance class and what will be expected of them in regards to participation.
   
2. 
   Students will continue to observe and learn about different styles of dance including ballet, jazz, modern, and tap. Focus will be on the historical beginnings of dance, famous choreographers and the development of other styles of dance such as the development of hip-hop from jazz (With Free Street).
   
3. 
   Along with progression with basic warm-ups and dance classes, students will understand the difference between locomotor and non-locomotor movement, how the body moves and use of space.
   
4. 
   Collaborative classes will continue with Free Street on Wednesdays.
   
5. 
   Assessments will be used to assure that students have retained information to date and to expand their physical strength and knowledge in those areas addressed. Assessments will be performance based, by instructor observation, self and peer assessments and overview of student journals.
   

Weeks 7-10

1. 
   Students will begin to understand the fundamental basis of choreography from ideas through storylines that they write.
   
2. 
   Students will learn to work together to teach each other their individual works and will collaborate to create their own performance.
   
3. 
   Students will learn basic movement observation skills and vocabulary from Laban Movement Analysis, this to provide a knowledge base to offer constructive criticism to their peers’ choreography
   
4. 
   Students will further strengthen group bonding and will understand that collaborations are based on team -work and team building.
   
5. 
   First 10-weeks summative assessments. For this last day of the first half of the residency, the dance instructors assess the students' daily efforts, gauge problem solving skills and individual contributions to the group. Student evaluation will be done by dance instructor and teacher at this end of course.
   
6. 
   Students and their families will also attend the Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre Concert at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts in February.
   

Weeks 11-14

1. 
   Choreography basics, movement and music.
   
2. 
   Basic understanding of the body mechanics of alignment, strength, flexibility as relative to dance.
   

Weeks 15-18

1. 
   Students will explore and understand other areas of professional dance such as stage management, costume development, etc.
   
2. 
   Field trip to either the Vittum Theatre or the Ruth Page Center to teach students about how a theater works. (This component could be available to students from other Arts-Infusion partner organizations.
   

Weeks 19-21

1. 
   This section will be dedicated to the design, development and primary rehearsals for the end of program performance work.
   

Weeks 22-25

1. 
   Overall summative assessments. For this last day of the residency, a CPS teacher and the dance instructors will assess the students' daily efforts, gauge problem solving skills and individual contributions to the group.
   
2. 
   Final week (anticipated to be the week of May 17) will be rehearsals and performance as part of an in-school assembly. The finalized date for this is dependent upon the date determined for an assembly at LVHS.
   
3. 
   Final performance as a component of an in-school assembly.
   
4. 
   Awards, Certificates and Culmination
   

Students will also be able to express their learning experience through our journaling process after each session. Students’ progress will be measured through distributing three surveys throughout the program. Through showcasing what they have learned we will be able to assess and determine the outcome of the students’ knowledge. As a continuation of the assessments we will incorporate media, using pictures and video

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  Enable students with special needs to approach the curriculum effectively and efficiently, and
  
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  Promote collaboration and teamwork within the program community to provide assistance for those students with special needs.
  

Instructors are flexible in planning and presenting the course curriculum to address the needs of students with special needs. Through a consultative process with the student and with the support of the CRDT staff instructors will determine the most appropriate manner to provide accommodations for all students who participate.

For special needs students that are learning disabled the program content will be lessened and their assessment will be adapted based on their skill level. For example, more assistance may be needed to memorize vocabulary and to master the combinations. An important consideration is that dance instructors are all highly qualified and will be able to, for instance, assess if there is too much stimulus for a student to learn a particular movements and could teach this component without music or in a completely quiet classroom. Components of the class are very easy to adapt and can be broken down to very simple terms.

Dance transcends language and is universal, many of the terms are in French so almost everyone will be at the same language disadvantage. Peer guidance and bi-lingual dance instructors along with in-school support will help assure that all students who are not special need participate at the same level.

 
Student Reflections:

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  Being able to dance for me is being able to decrease the anger, fear and the hurt that has built up inside me.
  
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  Somehow as we were doing the dance I kind of forgot of everything and just had fun dancing with my classmates.