Reflection #7 Creative Dance Wk #2

My understanding of using dance in the classroom used to mean that you had to be a dancer to use it effectively. I now have learned that there all all different levels of dancers and dancing. It's mainly about coordination, which can only be learned through practice, which is practiced very effectively through the rhythm provided in dance. I've heard many times in my life that those who grow up taking dance classes are better at any athletics than those who have not been involved in dance. A lot of ballerinas are incredible soccer players, and there are other examples similar to that. So my understanding of dance has changed because I now know that you don't have to be a 'dancer' to teach using dancing activities and exercises, and the purpose of dance goes beyond just moving bodily limbs and appendages in semi-coordinated fashion. Rather, practicing dancing techniques can help students in other areas like athletics and academics. Some activities I really enjoyed from the presentations shared were the following: Acting as a seed blooming into a flower with the care from sunlight and rain, running away from a bully in the book while avoiding obstacles all along the way, telling the story of Cinderella while the other part of the class acts it out with fluid dancing motions, stretching exercises, and more that all involved drama, dance, warming up, and getting familiar with dance elements and getting us comfortable in our own skin. I plan to teach my students the required standards, objectives, indicators, and subject-content written in the core curriculum. I plan on teaching social studies, which can often be a bore(it was for me at least), with role-play, dance, primary source music, and other methods to help the students have experiences while learning. After all, learning is a process, not a product. I can prepare to teach using these hands on, discovery, experimental, bodily-kinesthetic approaches by jotting down ideas from text books, starting a children's literature library of my own, and sharing ideas among my classmates.