Animal Moves | Choreographing to Carnival | Carnival of Animals Lesson Plan

Learning Objective(s) aligned to standard(s):  

• Students will identify different energy characteristic specific to different animals. 

• Students will create choreography based on the movement and survival characteristics of a specific animal.

• Students will identify different aspects of pieces of music from the Carnival of the Animals suite and relate them to movement qualities. 

Success Criteria: 

The students’ success will be measured by:

1. Their ability to identify how the music and movement quality represents an animal and defend their movement choices.
2. Their ability to create a piece of choreography that represents and animal

Student Check-in Strategy: 

Check ins will be done as students begin creating their choreography. I will go to each group and have them talk me through their plan and provide them feedback. 

Connections to Prior Learning/ Setting Purpose (Opening): 

The students will have previously learned about the elements of dance in dance class and explored applying the elements to their movements to alter the movement quality. Students will have also learned about animal adaptations in their science class.

Direct Instruction:

1. I will play a piece of music from the Carnival of the Animals suites and students will write down different movement qualities they think of when they hear the music. They will interpret the music and visualize different movements. 

2. We will start talking about each suite we listened to and what we visualized. I will then ask the class, if they had to pair that piece of music and movement quality with an animal, which one would it be? This will lead to a deeper discussion as to why that music represents the animal. We will talk about animal behaviors and the types of movement qualities different animals have. We will have a discussion about whether or not the animal we pictured matches the title of the suite from Carnival of the Animals or if the students pictured different animals. We will use the elements of dance to help guide this discussion.
3. Students will then be divided into small groups and assigned a piece of music and animal to create a dance.

Guided Practice:

1. Students will choreograph a dance using the movement qualities and knowledge of animal behavior. They will align their choreography to the suite from Carnival of the Animals that they are choreographing to as well.
2. Students will perform their dances for the class.
3. Students will give peer feedback on the performances they watch. 

Each group will choreograph a sequence of movement that is inspired by the animal they have chosen. The dance will also mirror a suite from Carnival of the Animals to which they are choreographing. 

Prompt: Create a dance thinking about the movement behavior of your groups animal. How can we create movement that represents this animal? Think about their quality of movement. Is it fast or slow? Is it smooth and flowy or is it more sharp and sudden? Can you create movements inspired by how the animal moves without crawling around like the animal? Think more abstract. 

The teacher will monitor the groups as they are creating their dances, providing feedback and support with their project. 

Lesson Reflection/Closure:

Each group will perform their dance for their peers in the class. Students will give verbal feedback based on their observations in regards to how their movement was reminiscent of a specific animal and paralleled the Carnival of the Animals suite they performed to. 

The teacher will facilitate a discussion about how their dances helped them understand movement qualities and also helped them connect to topics they are learning in science and reinforce those concepts. 

Differentiation: The students can be paired with flexible groupings to enhance all student learning. Students will be given opportunities to respond individually and in group settings. All accommodations will be implemented. 

Assessment/Product/Student Work: Students will choreograph a dance in small groups that interprets animal behaviors and movement qualities using the elements of dance. 

Students will provide oral feedback to the other groups when watching their performance. They will identify specific movements/moments in the dance that made them really see the specific animal and why? “What moves did you see in the dance that made you think the dance was representing a lion? Why did that move make you think of a lion?”