Arts for Learning Lessons in Pike

"Words in Motion"

MSD Pike Township: Central Elementary, College Park Elementary, and Eastbrook Elementary

3rd Grade

Spring Semester 2016

Program Objectives

To develop an appreciation of and interest in the power of words to convey particular ideas, feelings, and images (word consciousness)
Exploration of free-verse poetry, dance, and prosody
Experience speaking in front of others
Working collaboratively as pairs and groups
Expressing themselves through dance, movement, and poetry

Program Design

Arts for Learning provided 3rd grade students at Central Elementary, College Park Elementary, and Eastbrook Elementary with an afterschool program that combined the arts and English components once a week for an entire semester.

Unit 5, from the Arts for Learning Online Curriculum, engages students through dance and poetry. They begin by reading poems and reflecting on the words throughout the poem. The students begin to learn and pick out how certain words make them feel and how the writer conveys that through their work. Students learn how to express a poem through their own movement and tone of voice. Working together is a key part of this lesson, as students work in pairs and in groups consistently. As a result, students learn the importance of group dynamic and actively learning from one another. Additionally, students also have the opportunity to create their own poems, reflecting on the key components of the poems they have read in class and the keys to a successful poem that expresses themselves. Students are encouraged to think about their senses and how to portray those through their poems and their dance movements.

About The Creative Team

Shawn Whistler was our Teaching Artist at Central Elementary School. Whistler is a ballroom dance instructor and also has experience in classroom instruction as a previous Spanish teacher for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. He brought his love for ballroom dancing as a primary component is his teaching for Unit 5.

Carol Tharp-Perrin was our Teaching Artist at College Park Elementary School. Tharp-Perrin is a visual artist, dancer, and performer, making her a perfect fit to teach Words in Motion. Specializing in performance art, Tharp-Perrin was able to use that passion to teach the College Park students.

Laurie Young-Cutsinger was our Teaching Artist at Eastbrook Elementary School. A dancer, teacher, and choreographer, Young-Cutsinger brought her love for dance to the children at Eastbrook.

About Our School Partners

MSD Pike Township, Central Elementary, College Park Elementary, Eastbrook Elementary

Central Elementary - Led by Shawn Whistler

Program Summary

Whistler began the 14 visit program at Central Elementary with one of his ballroom dancing workshops. This would prep children for the Arts for Learning Unit 5 lesson on movement, poetry, and dance that Whistler would be teaching them throughout the semester. Whistler used a word wall for the majority of the program, as it helped students increase their vocabulary usage as well as understand words they were unsure of. Students learned how to make poetry more interesting by using their voices in unique ways, as well as interpreting different parts of poems with their movements. Students had many opportunities throughout the semester to work with partners and perform in front of the class, increasing the group dynamic of the class and the confidence of the students. Whistler used spoken word as the approach to children creating their own poetry after an inspirational performance by Tony Styxx. The students were very engaged in the spoken word process and reacted very well to it.

Creative and Learning Process

First three weeks:

Students were introduced to dance and movement through a ballroom dancing workshop taught by Shawn Whistler
Whistler read the poem, "Dragonfly" to students, teaching them how to interpret different words of the poem with movement. Students were then able to work in pairs and present their interpreted movement poems to the class

Second three weeks:

The word wall was introduced during this time. Whistler would review a couple words a week to increase vocabulary usage and get students thinking about how to interpret different words with their movements
The poem, "Kitten" was introduced. It was a big hit because the children were very interested in the animal theme
Students learned how to use their voices in different ways to portray emotion and emphasis, as well as working with partners and performing in front of the class.

Third three weeks:

The poem, "Sparklers" was introduced. Students used the sequence of modeling, identifying unknown words or liked words, practicing the poem with a partner, and sharing in front of the class.
A spoken word approach was used for children creating their own poetry. Students reacted well to this new, game-like approach and continued learning how to express feelings and emotions in their poems through movement.

Last three weeks:

Students continued to struggle with vocabulary, so Whistler used a book called "Read Aloud Poems for Young People", exposing the children to poems that were more at their reading and comprehension level.
Students wrote their own poems about something that had happened with their Mom or Dad and worked on adding movement to them.
At the end of the program, students had the opportunity to present their movement poems to the class.

Analysis and Impact

Students excelled at the movement and dancing portion of the workshop and enjoyed engaging in that portion of the lesson. However, the students struggled with the poems included in the Unit 5 lesson as they seemed to be above the vocabulary comprehension of this particular group of third graders. As a result, a word wall was incorporated into each lesson that included pictures. Each poetry handout was supplemented with a section that included "words I don't know" and "words I like" so students could repeat difficult words and words they enjoyed. The poems "Clothesline" and "Hose" were edited out due to abstractness. However, "Kitten" proved to be a great poem for this group of children as they were able to really connect it to dance. The book "Read Aloud Poems for Young People" was incorporated to give children poems that were more at their level and understanding.

College Park Elementary - Led by Carol Tharp-Perrin

Program Summary

Tharp-Perrin began the program with one of her workshops, "Music, Movement, and Storytelling" which prepped the students for the rest of the semester of poetry and dance. After making sure there was a clear, consistent group of children, less distractions were made and students could be fully engaged in each lesson. Poems "Dragonfly" and "Sparklers" were used for the majority of the time, as they seemed to be age appropriate for this group of students. The students also very much enjoyed the theme of animals, so their final poems were based on an animal of their choosing. They researched how to portray their animal's feelings, thoughts, imagery, and emotions. Students were able to write better poems once they thought about their senses. At the end of the semester, students performed their poems to each other and in front of the class. They also created a group movement dance that was recorded and watched at the end of the semester as well.

Creative and Learning Process

First three weeks:

The poem, "Sparklers" was introduced and proved to be age appropriate for the children.
Students learned about prosody and how it relates to reading a poem, as well as creating movement and composition
Students practiced performing in front of staff members, which improved their focus and discipline as well as the group dynamic.
Tharp-Perrin included bilingual yoga components from her workshop which aided with engaging the Hispanic students in the classroom.

Second three weeks:

Children showed eagerness in interpreting movement in the poems once understanding of the poem is achieved.
Students developed a group movement interpretation for "Dragonfly" and "Sparklers" poems, increased group dynamic between the children.
Children begin brainstorming for their own poem. The theme of animals was chosen because of the students' excitement of that topic.
Videotaping of the group movement began, helping the students understand the need to take more than one shoot and being able to improve each time. Students were focused and cooperative.

Third three weeks:

Students continued their brainstorming of their own poems, reflecting on their animal's thoughts, emotions, feelings, and senses.
Students were able to sit through most of a lesson working on their poem instead of the need to incorporate movement into the time period.
The video recording of their group movement interpretation was shown to the students and they were also able to perform the poems they created to each other and another class.

Analysis and Impact

Carol expressed the importance of the consistent, stable group of kids as it allowed for a more focused and less distracted class time. The second semester was a good time to teach Unit 5 because the third graders were more mature at this time and could understand the concepts better than they would have first semester. The students really enjoyed the movement aspects of the unit, which kept them engaged in the lessons from week to week. It was hard for students to grasp the idea that poems did not have to rhyme, but excelled in differentiating between metaphors and similies.

Eastbrook Elementary - Led by Laurie Young-Cutsinger

Program Summary

Young-Cutsinger began the semester-long program with her workshop, Decades of Dance, introducing students to the elements of dance that would become a key part of the Unit 5 lesson in the coming weeks. The students learned to choreograph poems, interpreting words into movement. They also wrote their own free-verse poems, expanding their vocabulary and learning about prosody and word emphasis. The students were able to perform at the end of the semester in front of family, friends, and community partners.

Creative and Learning Process

First three weeks:

The poem, "Sparklers", was introduced and children concentrated on the meaning of the phrases and words.
Students began learning about how to speak with prosody in their poems and began to incorporate movement into "Sparklers" as well.

Second three weeks:

Children brainstormed ideas for their own free-form poem, experimenting with word choices to expand their vocabulary.
Children were very motivated by the movement and choreography, so they worked in pairs to choreograph different lines of the poem and then presented to the class.

Third three weeks:

The class decided to use "Sparklers" for their end of the semester performance. Students decided to use movement for the words instead of performing to the music.
Students felt ownership of the performance preparation because they were able to choose which lines and words needed emphasis and prosody.

Last three weeks:

The poem, "Black Kitten", was chosen for the students to do as a spoken word piece for their performance. Each student had a chair to do their own choreography around as "Black Kitten" was spoken.
Children performed "Black Kitten" and "Sparklers" to a group of family, friends, school peers, and community partners. They were engaged and enthusiastic!

Analysis and Impact

Laurie said that the residency went extremely well and she had amazing cooperation with the site director and classroom teachers. The students were eager and enthusiastic to learn every time she came. She explained the writing portion supplied in Unit 5 was above the skill set of this particular third grade class, so emphasis was placed more on the dance and movement aspects of the lesson. However, they learned how to interpret words into movement and the confidence to share onstage.

Closing Thoughts

Unit 5 Words in Motion in an afterschool setting seems to strike a good balance between fun and learning. There are days when one just needs to be able to get up and move after a long day of sitting at a desk learning, and this Lesson has that built-in. Allowing the artists to adapt the lesson to the needs and abilities of their student groups is a large part of what made this a success; engaged site staff is another large part of that success.