Technology and Pedagogy

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtTz1mNYo61vdFg3UEoyUm9SU3o3bi1uNmNvV3dCdXc&usp=drive_web#gid=0

         I felt the lesson plan I chose would be an extremely successful way to teach about the elements of dance within locomotor and non-locomotor movement. Since dance is very hands on and physical it is important to keep the activity filled with excitement so the students are constantly engaged. Within this lesson plan the author uses the theme of the jungle. This to me was amazing because the students are not only being taught locomotor and non-locomotor movements but they are using their imaginations as if they are animals in the jungle. I will use The Lion King DVD to show clips of the movie and the Lion King soundtrack. This will keep the theme of the jungle up and running the entire class period creating a mood for the students. This activity will challenge the students critical thinking skills along with their creativity. There were many core standards within this lesson plan that were covered. The first part of my lesson will be an introduction of the vocabulary and a warm up where the students will have to follow a short sequence phrase. This will challenge students to grasp movement at a quick pace. I will provide students with locomotor and non locomotor movements using the idea of animals in the jungle. The students can explore through improvisation and create their own phrases based off of the vocabulary they just learned. This portion allows for the students to explore their creative minds and use self expression. The last part of the activity is the performance aspect. I will challenge my students to create a movement sequence using the vocabulary within groups of three or four. They will have to portray a jungle animal that we have not used in class. This will challenge the students to work together in groups, share ideas, and create a movement phrase on their own and more importantly memorize the phrase to perform for their fellow classmates. I feel this lesson will be exciting for students and challenge them in many ways. I felt that this lesson was missing certain aspects. I will try to incorporate technology in more ways, then the author of this lesson did. I will constantly incorporate the Lion King Soundtrack, and clips of the dvd. Not only will this be exciting because most students have already seen the lion king, but we can make connections and find locomotor and non-locomotor movements seen in the movie. I also felt that from the start of the lesson the author talked about the theme of the jungle but the warm up drifted away from the theme. I will change the warm up and incorporate the jungle theme. I also feel like she didn't use classroom discussion as much as she should have, so I will incorporate that a bit within each activity. I feel this lesson will reach out to all different learning styles, and overall was an excellent lesson. It is important to make connections to life outside of the classroom, the elements of locomotor and non-locomotor movements not only apply in dance but we use these movements on a daily basis.