These dance activities are designed to increase student willingness to participate in dance and reduce their reluctance to dance. They are lead-up activities that can precede a dance unit, and can be used at the start of a new course.

Students will review in brief Native American history and elements of traditional Native American dance. Students will identify elements of traditional Native American culture and formal Modern/Contemporary dance aesthetics as they blend in Native Modern Dance, also referred to as Indigenous Contemporary Dance. This lesson is part two of a three-unit series designed to scaffold with each other. If the teacher wishes to provide the complete multi-unit lesson, please see lessons titled:Part 1: Learning about Native American Culture through DancePart 2: Primitivism and Identity in Early Modern Dance

Developing the skill to map a musical selection will aid in the choreography of that piece. There are a variety of ways to structure this map that will allow for time efficient and productive choreography. The instructional plan can be used in its entirety, or just the warm up or group music map and choreography.

Students will explore aspects of Native American history and identify essential elements of traditional Native American dance. Students will identify aesthetic and cultural elements of traditional Native American dance through readings and embodied learning.

Dancers will explore their environment seeking rhythms to inspire movement improvisation in this tap dancing lesson.

In this lesson, students will explore how two strong dancers create original choreography to express themselves and to share their cultural backgrounds. Students will compare and contrast two performances to determine how personality and culture can be reflected in movement.  They will create short movement phrases to express some aspect of their own personality strength.

In this lesson, Kindergarten students will begin to explore the art form of dance as a means of expression to communicate feelings and ideas similar to the way spoken and written language are used.  They will observe young children dancing and interpret the possible meanings of these performances.

Students will learn how to analyze dance using the basic elements of dance. Students will learn the importance of recognizing bias in critique, and practice reviewing a dance performance, live or recorded, by answering a series of questions and reframing their answers into sentences that critique the show.

This webinar and presentation is a previously recorded session, Digital Learning with eMediaVA presented by Lindsey Horner.Webinar Description: This webinar presents information about media and educational resources from WHRO Public Media for fine arts educators. Lyndsay Horner, Manager of eMediaVA will led the one-hour session in July 2020. The session includes how to access eMediaVA and how to find resources to support student learning in fine arts areas of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts.

This webinar will explore the digital resources of the Library of the Congress for fine arts instruction. Engagement with primary source images, objects and documents can spark critical thinking, deeper learning and interdisciplinary connections for students. Join Sherry Levitt and Cynthia Szwajkowski from Teaching with Primary Sources, Virginia (TPSVA) for a lively, interactive exploration of the Library's rich, digital collections for in-person and virtual instruction. As a demonstration, special guest Carolyn Bennett, former Library of Congress Teacher-in-Residence, will model an activity using WPA Posters.

Educational resources provided by Virginia's history and cultural museums offer educators the opportunity to form deep classroom connections to Virginia history and culture.

This webinar introduces ways to help students identify the elements of dance (body, energy, action, space, and time) and use them to explore and create. The presentation includes a discussion of how, from elementary through secondary grade levels, students can build dance skills and techniques by integrating elements of dance into their performances and by evaluating the use of dance elements.

Participants will learn how to use #GoOpenVA to locate arts-based lessons (many of which are also cross-curricular). All such lessons are openly-licensed so they can be adapted to your own students and purposes. Additionally, #GoOpenVA provides a community space for teachers to connect with each other in these challenging times, when everyone is learning how to approach teaching in new ways.

This workshop for all elementary educators will connect the VDOE Dance Arts Standards of Learning strands of Creative Process and Technique and Application as they relate to dance integration and dance-making. Teachers will learn tools for facilitating improvisation based on classroom content that guides students to generate movement possibilities and then make movement choices to set choreographic phrases. Clear, repeatable dance integration strategies for elementary educators will be highlighted. The workshop will include a template for students to reflect and respond to the work of their peers. Rooted in the Elements of Dance (body, action, space, time, and energy) the activities in this workshop are applicable to all dance styles. This session is for dance educators as well as general education teachers looking to begin or improve dance integration strategies.

This workshop for middle and high school educators will connect the VDOE Dance Arts Standard of Learning strands of Creative Process and Technique and Application as they relate to dance-making. Teachers will learn tools for facilitating improvisation based on various stimuli that guides students to generate movement possibilities and then make movement choices to set choreographic phrases. The workshop will include a template for students to reflect and respond to the work of their peers. Rooted in the Elements of Dance (body, action, space, time, and energy) the activities in this workshop are applicable to all dance styles.

This webinar and presentation is a previously recorded session, Resources from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.Webinar Description: Join VMFA educators to learn about the new opportunities, resources, and supportive measures developed by Museum staff members in response to the challenges faced by teachers, students, and parents for the 2020-2021 school year. Learn about the major exhibition Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Sunken Cities, and find out about fall opportunities for online Professional Development, distance and digital learning options, remote access to VMFA’s encyclopedic collection, and more.

Drawing on walls, banging on pots, dressing up, singing and dancing like everybody’s watching are ways we get ourselves out into the world. In this webinar, we’ll discuss creative thinking and joy in arts learning for students and teachers. We’ll laugh about best intentions, consider best practices in a new age, and celebrate transforming K-12 students into die-hard arts enthusiasts! Clayton Singleton is a Virginia artist, illustrator, author, and arts educator.

Lesson Demo: Kwame Shaka demonstrates one of his most popular lessons in this active/interactive workshop. We will explore the socio-historical roots and rhythmic movement of the Gumboot Dance, an art form created by forced laborers in the mines of South Africa in the 19th century.  Learn how tempo, rhythm, and pattern are used to create a percussive and socially impactful dance. Find the potential in using the power of collective movement to build community in your classroom.Talk Back: Hear Kwame Shaka speak about his 30+ year career as a performing artist and dance educator. Kwame Shaka will discuss his origins in dance, highlights of his career and challenges faced as a professional in showbusiness and education. Learn about his Triumph of Disruption pedagogy and its correlating progressions of success in the classroom. During the talk back, participants are encouraged to ask questions and to add comments to further discussion and bring forth new perspectives.

This resource demonstrates the 2020 Dance Arts Standards of Learning for grades 6-8 in a chart format that shows the progression of the standards.

This resource demonstrates the 2020 Dance Arts Standards of Learning for grades K-5 in a chart format that shows the progression of the standards.