Workshop 6: Telling stories- Aboriginal to Bushdance

Topic: Telling stories- Aboriginal dance
Context: Who- VELS level 2- Grade 1/2 When- Beginning of topic Where- Inside (dance room) What- Telling stories- Aboriginal dance Why- To learn how to dance according to difference cultures and communicate a story
Theme: ·         The elements that will be explore and manipulate are relationships, space and body ·         Body movements and physical skills such as jumping, stomping, sliding, moving of hand gestures, etc. ·         Using variation in body movements to tell a story representing different characters and ideas
Learning outcomes – the children will be able to…. Cognitive (Intellectual/artistic): Retell a story through dance Psychomotor (Thinking/Physical): Students must be aware of safety aspects of dancing with those around them, students must remember and practice roles, sequence and execution of the dance. Affective (Emotional/Social/Cultural): Student will explore the aboriginal story and show their interpretation of it as they create and dance with their groups
Assessment I will be observing and continuously attending to individual and groups of students assisting them. I will assess their cooperation, choreography and performance as I record it on video. Students at Level 2, make ‘choices about the expressive use of the dance elements of space, time and energy to communicate particular understandings. They use contrasting energy qualities when improvising dances and observe and talk about different body parts and positions, body shapes and actions, energy, levels, directions of movement, speed and rhythms. They identify ways their own and others’ dance works are made, presented and describe the dances and movements giving reasons for their preferences’ (VCAA, 2009).
WHAT - content	HOW – strategies and approaches
Warm up – Kinesthetic tune-up As they listen to Aboriginal music, get students to move around the space. Move as different Australian animals by calling out one at a time for students to become eg. Emu, dingo, kangaroo, etc. Demonstrate this and do this with them. Do stretches with them. Read the story, ‘The Rainbow serpent’ (found here: http://www.kullillaart.com.au/default.asp?PageID=71) and watch them the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCuuRRrfOXo Get students to think, pair, share about what they think happened in the story and what it is trying to tell us. Discuss as a class: the setting, characters, plot and meaning. Talk about how Aboriginal people tell stories through dance/movements without speaking.	Management of children in the space safely Teacher will be facing majority of the students at a time, walking around to all students in groups and individually. No props will be used and the lesson will be conducted in a clear space with any hazards removed. Make sure groups aren’t standing too close together Establishing rules and expectations of behaviour Teacher will state the signal to stop and listen at the beginning of the class Students will be told they are expected to behave sensibly and respectfully of each other and the teacher Consequences will be communicated and followed through eg. 3 warnings and time out Safe dance practice of physical skills? I will need to check student’s technique of movements in the dance as they act like animals Aesthetic Awareness How will you develop their movement/character response? Aboriginal music Exploring different ways we can move like animals together Reading the story and showing the video Feedback to children about their movement response References The rainbow serpent, 2008 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCuuRRrfOXo> Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority 2009, Background to VELS: The Arts Domain, State Government of Victoria <http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/arts/background.html>
Development  - Exploration Get the students to stand up and together, explore how you might act out the characters and actions they make in the story. Do this as a whole class together and go through the story. Get students into groups of 5 and get them to act out the story using body movements. Explain that they will need to decide how they will show what characters they are and what is happening. Explain the difference between a role play and a dance (acting vs. dancing).
Culminating Dance  - Perform the dance together as a whole class around the room with one group performing directly after the other.
Discussion – Memory integration -          Their physical skills? What movements did you make? How did you tell the story through your body? How did you show what was happening? Did you have to change how you moved in different parts of the story? How? Why? -          Their safety skills? What did we need to do to make sure we didn’t hurt ourselves or the people in your group? What parts of our bodies did we need to make sure we were using properly the most? Which movements in particular? -          Creative skills Why did you choose to move that way?
Closure Watch a video of a group of Aboriginal dancers performing the story of the rainbow serpent (if you can find one).