Kindergarten - Movement Composition

Central Idea:

• Different sounds and music move people in different ways

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Learner Outcomes:

• Active Living:

  • Explore creative movements in response to different stimuli​

• Identity:

  • Identify themselves in relation to others (e.g.: family, peers, school, class, ethnicity, gender, etc.)​

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Acknowledgements:

• Andy Vasily

• Jarrod Robinson

Lesson 1: Pre-Assessment:

• I started this unit with a simple task:

  • Move in any way you want but please be safe.

• I then played a track that has an easy beat to move to:

  • Moby – Flower

  • Kindergarten - Movement Composition - Pre-Assessment

• After the 5-minute track, I gathered the students around and discussed the Central Idea. This lesson was dedicated to seeing if they can move relatively accurately in response to different kinds of movement, so I played a variety – classical, rock, club, pop, tango, etc. Every so often you need to stop and ensure the kids remember the safety rules and also to touch on the Central Idea a little further.

• Enjoy the video of the students moving creatively.

  • Kindergarten - Movement Composition - Moving Creatively​

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Lesson 2: Provocation:

• To get the students a bit more excited about the unit, I showed them a video of some incredible dance moves. I gave them a choice of following the routine or just watching. They moved like robots for most of the day afterwards, much to the dismay of their homeroom teacher.

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Student Robots

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Professional Robots

• We broke down the elements of what constitutes a great movement sequence

  • Timing

  • Balance

  • Patterns

• So we got stuck into timing. Arranging the students into lines we practiced our timing, first by using a metronome.

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Timing Practice

• We finished the class with a Just Dance video, which is always great fun.

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Lesson 3:

• We now start the lesson with one song where they can move creatively (yet safely). Referring to the Core Planning Document, the Active Living strand states:

  • Explore creative movements in response to different stimuli

• This does not necessarily mean just sound or music but for this unit we just looking at those 2 elements.

• This lesson was dedicated to refining their timing. We progressed to moving according to music with Moby – Flower as the soundtrack.

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Timing Practice Moby Flower

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Lesson 4:

• After a quick review of the past lessons, Central Idea and our creative warm-up etc., I introduced patterns to the kids. We looked at different features around the room, or the clothes the kids were wearing and even drawing on the board to get the kids to understand what patterns are. I then showed them the Chicken Dance. They needed to find the patterns in the movement. Check the video of them below:

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Chicken Dance Introduction

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Lesson 5: Introducing the Formative:

• We combined our timing and patterns today by just playing the Chicken Dance song with no visual aid. The students struggled a bit on this but some managed to pull it off.

• It was this lesson where I introduced them to their Formative assessment.

  • With a partner, create your own Chicken Dance.

• Enjoy the short video below of the students creating their own Chicken Dance.

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Creating own Chicken Dance

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Lesson 6:

• Showtime! The students had half of the lesson to create, practice and refine their movement. Find one of the pairs performing their routine.

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Formative Assessment

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Lesson 7:

• Looked at Balance for this lesson. After a review of the essentials of the unit – Central Idea, timing, patterns etc., we watched a gymnastics floor routine on YouTube. I asked the students why it was great to watch.

• Using Balance Cards projected on a screen, the students practiced several balances individually. Find some samples below:

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Sample Individual Balances

• After the students felt competent, we combined timing with balances. Students needed to hold each balance for 8 counts then move to their next balance.

• I then laid out all of the individual balances on the screen, the students could choose 4 balances and create a pattern with timing – without them knowing, they were creating their own movement sequence.

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Lesson 8:

• Sticking to Balances, we followed the same format of yesterday, however the balances are now partner-based. Find some samples below:

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Sample Partner Balances

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Lesson 9: Introducing the Summative Assessment:

• As an example of integration, the previous year’s Movement Composition unit was at the same time as the homeroom unit on ‘stories’. The PE team established that for the students’ summative assessment they were to recreate a story of their choosing using movements. The students had 2 lessons to choose their story, practice, refine and perform in front of the class.

Lesson 10: Practice

Lesson 11: Summative Assessment:

• Unfortunately, I felt as if I rushed the last part of the unit. Either the assessment was a bit difficult for the students or I did not prepare them enough. One group chose to replicate ‘The Three Little Pigs’ in movement. See the video below.

  • Kindergarten – Movement Composition – Summative Assessment

• I felt as if the opportunity for integration was great and the PE team and Homeroom could both benefit from it but the execution was not clearly thought out. Definitely something that needs to be reflected upon.

• What are your thoughts? How could you improve on this unit? Feel free to share your ideas here.