This creative movement lesson is a great lesson for students to explore star shapes and constellations through body movement.
Learning Objectives/Goals
Students will be able to create independent star shapes and demonstrate body control: small-dim-soft, medium-bright-middle level, brightest-biggest-expansive Students will create group constellation shape(s) with 1-3 partners, inspired by an idea or image. Students will be able to loco-mote through space demonstrating an understanding of different qualities inspired by being in outer space - softly, rigidly, like an astronaut, like an asteroid, etc. Students will understand how to travel in a circle around a fixed object, reflecting the change of constellations in the sky around the Earth.
Materials Needed
Speaker for music Visual aid to show the breadth of the stars in the sky and how constellations are connected, and how a constellation is an abstract connection of stars. Expandable breathing ball or any other prop to represent a star. Any twinkly instruments - triangle, xylophone. Or a teaching drum.
Introduction
Ask the students what they know about stars. Goals of highlighting that stars have varying brightness and size. Ask students what they know about constellations. The connection of starts to make an image Focus students on how we are star-explorers/astronauts for this lesson and that we will create different star shapes with our body, by ourselves and with partners.
Warm-Up
Space/Star-themed Brain Dance Breath - 3x big breathes before putting on astronaut helmet Tactile - putting on the padding of our astronaut suit all over the body Core-Distal - dimming and brightening the light inside of us like stars (reaching out into a big X and then into a ball 3x - varying the shapes each time Head-Tail - looking around in your astronaut helmet while on the moon, and the cord connecting you to the ship pulling you around. Start moving through space. Upper-Lower - reaching for the stars, tip-toeing around the moon Body Halves - creating constellation between elbow and knee Cross-lateral - catching stardust and placing it on opposite boot Vestibular - Earth or Moon rotating on its axis (orbit a varying speeds and stop)
Investigate
Utilizing the expandable ball or other visual star aid, ask students what they observe about the star and ask them to create their own shapes based off the describing words they offer (i.e. small star shape with curves, twists and is dim) Discuss with students how to make a still, frozen star shape. What do stars look like? Show the visuals of different types of stars to broaden their ideas. Ask students to create 3 different star shapes, using the following prompts. 1. small, dim, soft 2. medium sized, a bit more bright, with edges 3. large, very bright, expansive Once they have their shapes memorized, practice transitioning from one star shape to the next with 8 beats of an instrument.
Create
Next introduce how stars in the galaxy are connected to make constellations. Use visual aids and focus on: how constellations are inspired by an idea/image and how they are abstract. With a partner demonstrate how to make a shape constellation by connecting hands, feet, arms, elbows, etc. Create student groups and have them create their own constellations based on an idea or image (the big dipper, the archer, or a new one they make up) Have students share one group at a time and try to guess what their shape is based on. For a more advanced performance share option: have one group share their first shape and have others locomote through the space all around the shapes softly, quietly, tiptoeing. Then switch groups. Keep alternating and changing the methods and qualities of the locomotor exploration groups.
Reflect
Some guiding reflection questions: What do you notice about the constellation shapes of each group? How was the teamwork in your group? Did you cooperate as a group and share your ideas to create your star shapes?
Extension to the Lesson
Some ideas to continue the flow of the lesson: 1. Could your group constellation shape locomote around a fixed central object (earth), reflecting the orbit of the earth? 2. Could all constellations move circularly around a fixed object at the same time?
Follow-up Resources
