This creative movement lesson designed for 3rd grade explores the process of a plant’s life cycle through elements of dance.
Learning Objectives/Goals
Using the elements of dance, including levels, positive/negative space, kinesthetic memory and group/self-spatial awareness to explore the process of a plant's life cycle.
Materials Needed
Drum and Music
Introduction
Set up the goals for the class, define the movement space and all behavior expectations.
Warm-Up
Talk with the students about concepts of seeds, germination, growth, reproduction, pollination and seed spread. Then using movement explore the many different shapes of seeds by creating frozen body shapes. Add to this different levels (high, medium, and low) and then create opportunities to travel, moving slowly, quick and freezing.
Investigate
Talk with the students about concepts of seeds, germination, growth, reproduction, pollination and seed spread. Then using movement explore the many different shapes of seeds by creating frozen body shapes. Add to this different levels (high, medium, and low) and then create opportunities to travel, moving slowly, quick and freezing.
Investigate – Using traveling ideas (locomotor movements) travel through the space as a pollinator. Add qualities of movement to each pollinator.
Be a seed! What shape is your seed? How does it grow from the ground to a seedling, show different ways of growing using body parts and different energies. Add branches, roots, and leaves as the shapes get bigger.
Using a traveling locomotor pattern, how does pollen transfer from one plant to another, show qualities, like sticky, light, dusty, etc.
Where do the seeds land? Show the traveling of seeds through the space.
Create
Divide students into small groups of 3-4 students. Have them create a plant cycle on their own based off of the above investigation. Make sure to include levels, speeds, textures and patterns. Show to the class and see if they can guess what type of plant each group chose.
Reflect
Have them create a plant cycle based on the above investigation. Make sure to include levels, speeds, textures, and patterns. Show to the class and see if they can guess what type of plant each group chose.
Extension to the Lesson
Follow-up Resources
