Going into this week I knew that I needed to create a lively lesson plan-one that would inspire the students to pay attention and keep constantly engaged! I became extremely nervous the day before, but as I practiced on my ever-willing husband I felt a sense of excitement fill my body.
The day-of I got more and more excited as the morning went on.
Now let's get the actual lesson...
We started out with rules and procedures (which I'm learning makes the biggest difference) and I think the whole time they were just fascinated with my sweet drum I got from Jana Shumway.
This lesson was simply an introduction to dance. I wanted to convince the students that dance is pretty much the coolest thing they will ever experience. To do that, we discussed and then danced the benefits of physical activity-taken from the core curriculum of 3rd grade physical education.
Health
Enjoyment
Challenging
Self-Expression
Social Interaction
For health we showed our guns and then jumped
For enjoyment we skipped in the pathway of a smiley face
For a challenge we did handstands while saying "safety first" on our way up.
For self-expression I had all the students pick a word that described them and then make a frozen shape that resembles that word
For social interaction the students go in groups of three and did hand waving movements, each at a different level (low, medium, high).
And the kids were amazing! I think there were about 27 students and only 2 of them didn't fully participate. Other than that, every student was participating 100%! The students were so creative with their shapes (showing their descriptive words smart, fast, or awesome!) and their forms of hand waving movements at different levels (some side-by-side, some in a straight line in front of each other).
That's what got me so excited-the kids! They were so excited about the new movements. They were so eager to show me their handstands. They were so willing to try something new and to dance to the beat of my drum!
Spring Creek Elementary is where dreams come true, meaning that I finally felt like a real teacher :) The students really enjoyed what they were learning-i mean they were LEARNING! And that's what matters the most to me.
Emily, I felt your excitement and love for your students and dance as I read this post. I am certain your students loved your positive energy and joyful spirit. The first dance lesson in a classroom is challenging because this is the lesson where students decide how "cool" dance is. Reading your lesson plan, I am sure the students will be looking forward to their next class with you. Beautiful job!
ReplyDeleteWay to go Emily!
ReplyDeleteI too felt your energy and enthusiasm as I read about your experience. You now get to build upon your great start. I am excited to observe you share your passion and love for dance with your students.
I love how fun your lesson was and how it taught the kids the benefits of moving while dancing. I think this is a great first lesson to ease them into dancing and moving in ways they haven't before. Great job!
ReplyDelete