Seeds

This is a short lesson plan using the lifecycle of a seed to explore body part movements, levels and time.

Learning Objectives/Goals

Students will create movement using the inspiration of a lifecycle of a seed. In the lesson, the element of time, body part isolations, levels in space and counting forward and backwards as well as subtracting will be used.

Materials Needed

Small space, drum

Introduction

State goals and class expectations, space boundaries

Warm-Up

What shape is a seed? Round, pointed, small, long? Have students make different shapes of seeds. Make the shape of a seed of your choice very low on the ground.

Investigate

Give the students 8 drum beats to grow into their plant, tree, bush or flower. Then have the students reverse or rewind and take 8 drum beats to come back down into their original seed shape. Make sure to use all the drum beats to grow or shrink. Talk to the students about using all their body parts to grow from the ground, to the middle space to the high space. Could they use their elbows? Heads? Hands? Backs? Knees? Feet? How can they show the roots, leaves, buds, twisted branches, etc.?

Create

Try the 8 count version again with all the new ideas. Then ask students if they could do the same movement if 2 drum beats were taken away. How many drum beats would there be? 6! Do the same with 4, then 2, then 1.

Reflect

Ask students which length of time they liked to move with better, 8 or 6 or 4 or 2 or 1. Some will like the slower movement, some will like the faster movement.