Poetry in Motion

-The teacher will begin by leading the students in a warm-up where they move around the general space showing different movements to represent words (up, down, upside down, swing, hang, tiptoe, roll, silly, loud, soft) as called by the teacher.
-The teacher will introduce the idea of moving to different verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions.
-The teacher will read the poem, Stop Thief! by Shel Silverstein:
                           “Policemen, policemen,
                                   Help me please.
                   Someone went and stole my knees.
                    I’d chase him down but I suspect
                  My feet and legs just won’t connect.”

-The students will identify key parts of the poem and discuss the meaning. 
-Volunteer students will create movements for each line of the poem.
-The students will practice the dance with and then without assistance from the teacher
-The teacher will introduce production elements and the students will discuss different ways to enhance the meaning of the dance through lights, costumes, props, etc.
-The teacher will show the students the 16 different color options with the stage lights or LED lights. The students will discuss which lights will enhance the meaning of "Stop Thief."
-The teacher will turn on and add colored lights to the dance based on student choices.
-The teacher will guide the students through a discussion on how to choose which words to perform movements to and how to create movements that show the meaning of the words.
-The teacher will explain the choreography assignment:
                               ---“You are going to work with a small group to choreograph a dance to a Shel Silverstein poem, just like we did with Stop Thief! You are going to have a clear beginning to your dance, abstract movements that show the verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and prepositions in the poem, and a clear ending.”
-The class will divide into small groups of either 3 or 4. Each group will randomly select from the poems. The teacher will walk around, monitor progress, and read the poems for each group. 
-The teacher will ask each group to discuss which lights would work best to enhance the meaning of their poem and provide a rationale for their choice.
-Each group will perform their choreography with their chosen lighting effects.
-The audience will discuss the meaning of the poem, how it was shown in the performance, and the effect the lights had on the dance.
-The teacher will lead the class in a review and close the lesson

This is a unit lesson. The first day, teach the first exploration with the whole group working together for "Stop Thief." The students will be able to discuss lighting and perform "Stop Theif" at the end of the first class period. The next class period starts with a review by having the students explore different adjectives, prepositional phrases, and verbs found in the poems in the warm-up. After the warm-up, explain the assignment and have the students break into small groups. The small group performances usually occur during the third class period.

Informally observe the students during the exploration to ensure that they are using the elements of dance to create movements that show the meaning of the words, and phrases called out. 

Use the Poetry in Motion Rubric from the resource list to assess the students' choreography. The students will perform a shape that demonstrates a clear beginning that relates to the theme of the poem, movements that connect and show the meaning of the poem, and a clear ending with confidence. Before the students perform their choreography they will share with the class which colored lights they would like with their dance. The teacher can ask the students to explain their choice before or after the performance.