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UNIT PLAN
Teaching Methods
Deedra Harris
April 30, 2014
Title of Unit
Beginner Level Modern
Grade Level
The unit is for 9th grade students in a Dance I course.
Unit Length
The unit will be taught every Monday and Wednesday for an hour and 15 minutes. The unit will
be taught during the first 8 weeks of a 15 week semester.
UNIT FOCUS
Goals
The student will gain knowledge of modern dance vocabulary and terminology.
The student will learn and demonstrate skills in modern dance technique.
The student will learn and perform rhythmically complex sequences of movements and
phrases.
The student will explore various movement styles and qualities of modern dance.
The student will gain kinesthetic and somatic awareness through the exploration of
modern dance.
The student will learn and demonstrate performance skills such as focus, musicality, and
clarity of movement and intent.
The student will relate outside dance work to his/her experience as a modern dancer
through written assignments.
The student will develop self-disciplined and safe work habits.
State Standards
Below is a list of numerous state standards that will be address throughout the period of the unit.
DM.1

The student will demonstrate correct alignment of spine and limbs while performing axial
movements, including bending, twisting, swinging, and stretching.

DM.2

The student will demonstrate correct alignment of spine and limbs while performing basic
locomotor sequences, including walking, running, hopping, jumping, leaping, galloping,
skipping, and sliding.

DM.3

The student will develop dance technique skills, including strength, flexibility, coordination,
and balance, through replication and repetition.

DM.4

The student will perform short movement sequences that employ specific space, shape, time,
rhythm, energy, and effort requirements.

DM.5

The student will identify performance practices that promote safe technique and will recognize
incorrect performance of physical skills, which can result in injury.

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DM.11

The student will

1. identify and use safety procedures in all dance settings; and
2. exercise care with use of theatre facilities, equipment, and costumes. .

National Standards
Below is the national standard that the modern unit will cover.
Content Standard: Identifying and demonstrating movement elements and skills in performing
dance

Instructional Goals
The student will gain an understanding of modern technique while learning the respective
vocabulary (head-tail connection, fall and recovery, etc.) and will be able to execute the
technique practiced in class.
The students will build stamina, memorization skills, and a sense of rhythm by learning
and executing varied length sequenced movement
The student will be familiar with and able to perform different styles and qualities of
modern dance such as sharp and quick movements or slow and fluid movements.
The student will gain awareness of the body by exploring space, shapes, energy and
touch.
The student will be able to execute movement with a higher quality by using the
performance skills worked on in class (focus, musicality, clarity of movement and intent,
etc.)
The student will gain a broader perspective of modern dance by seeing shows and
reflecting on these shows as well as in class experiences by doing written assignments.
Rationale for Unit
Students in a Dance I course are taking modern for the first time. As beginners it is extremely
important for the students to gain a basic understanding of modern dance and all that it has to
offer. In order to execute this genre of dance safely, it is vital that the students are familiar with
the technique and vocabulary of modern dance. Learning how to properly roll to the ground,
spiral off the floor and navigate through the space using modern movements are a few techniques
that are important for the student to learn to prevent injuries and to excel in this particular genre.
Learning and executing sequences of movement allows for repetition which is a key learning
tool. The more the students practice these sequenced movements, the stronger their technique
will become, the better their performance quality will become, and they develop a sense of
rhythm and musicality. Lastly, the students will further develop their understanding of modern by
seeing many works and writing about their experiences with modern dance.
TECHNIQUE/ACTIVITIES
Week 1: On the first day the syllabus, class rules, safety rules and expectations will be discussed.
The first two classes will introduce students to modern dance by exploring the concept of headtail connection. Head-tail connection is vital to modern dance and will be used throughout a
dancers entire career. Therefore, it is important that the dancer first learn this concept because it
is the most used and also difficult to understand. From the first class to the last, the dancer will

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continuously practice head-tail connection. Along with this concept the student will practice
rolling up through the spine. The student will learn why this concept is safe for the body.
Week 2: The student will go further with head-tail connection and explore the concept of spirals.
Spiraling from standing to the floor will be taught as well as spiraling from the floor to standing.
Twisting is a specific movement that will be used to exercise the idea of spiraling.
Week 3: Fall and recovery will be taught and practiced this week. Fall and recovery is a major
concept in modern dance. The student will learn how to properly commit to falling movement
and how to catch oneself safely. Guest artist, Emily Iannotti, will teach this week.
Week 4: After learning three important concepts of modern dance, the student will perform those
concepts while engaging in exercises that play with rhythm and musicality. The student will be
challenged to perform phrases to music of different meters and genres.
Week 5: This week the focus will be on the pelvis. On Monday, the student will learn proper
pelvic alignment. Different shapes, positions and movements will be incorporated into phrases
to practice correct pelvis alignment. Wednesdays class will focus on moving through the space
with the pelvis. The class will include more locomotive exercises and traveling phrases. Outside
performance paper due.
Week 6: Continuing with traveling phrases, this weeks classes will include traveling phrases that
are initiated by various parts of the body. This weeks classes will be less structured to allow for
artistic freedom and investigation of movement through improvisation exercises.
Week 7: Weight shifting will be taught this week. The student will develop the skill of taking the
weight of the body from one position and transferring it to another position. The student will
gain an awareness of the body and further develop a sense of direction.
Week 8: Performance quality will be discussed and performed this week. Monday the student
will learn the importance of focus and intention when performing. Wednesdays class will focus
on quality of movement and effort. The student will investigate energy, force, weight and
musicality. Class reflection paper due.
ASSESSMENT
Outside Performance Paper - Formative Assessment
The students will be required to see an outside modern dance concert performed by a college
dance department or professional company. After seeing the concert, the students will write a 2
paged, 12 point font in Times New Roman, doubled space paper. The paper should discuss 3
topics: concepts seen in the concert that have been talked about in class, a piece that the student
enjoyed (costume, music, number of dancers, etc.) and why, and a piece that the student did not
enjoy and why. The goal of this assignment is to get the students to witness modern dance
outside of class at a more professional level. The students will learn to identify modern concepts
and develop the skill of articulating through words what it is that they are seeing. The paper is
due the Wednesday of week 5.

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The students will also be graded and evaluated at the end of each class. The students will be
graded on class promptness, participation, and effort. The evaluation will be on a four point
scale with four being the highest or equaling to 100%. The goal of this assessment is to ensure
and push each dancer to work hard in class, give their all and to be at every class on time unless
there is an excused absence.
Daily Evaluation Formative Assessment
POINTS
4

PROMPTNESS
On time to class and prepared

PARTICIPATION
Fully participated and engaged in
discussions

EFFORT
Gave 100 %, fully
committed

On time, but somewhat not

prepared
Or
A little late, but prepared

Participated a fair amount

Mainly committed, gave

100% most of the time

Somewhat late and somewhat

not prepared

Had little to say

Committed on and off,

gave 70%

Very late and not prepared

Did not participate

Rarely committed, gave

45%

Unexcused absence from class

Unexcused absence from class

Unexcused absence from

class

Outside Performance Paper

DEPTH
Clear compelling
message with strong
awareness of purpose.
Message grounded in
concrete language and
examples

ORGANIZATION
Organizational
strategies and structures
work effectively to
convey intended
message to reader

TERMINOLOGY
Uses modern vocabulary
and names of concepts

/5

/5

/5

CLARITY
Ideas are
presented in a
clear and
articulate
manner

MECHANICS
The paper is presented in
a scholarly manner with
few, if any spelling and
grammar mistakes

/5

/5

Final Reflection - Summative Assessment

The students will submit a 2 paged, 12 point font in Times New Roman, doubled space paper
reflecting on in-class experiences. The paper should discuss what the students have learned over
the unit, something that they did well in the class and something they would like to improve.
The goal of this paper is to allow the students to have a self-evaluation and to serve as a review
of all the material learned. The paper will be graded on depth of reflection, mechanics,
organization, clarity and use of terminology. The paper is due on the Wednesday of the 8th week.

Total

/25

Reflection Paper Summative Assessment

DEPTH
Clear compelling
message with strong
awareness of purpose.
Message grounded in
concrete language and
examples

ORGANIZATION
Organizational
strategies and structures
work effectively to
convey intended
message to reader

TERMINOLOGY
Uses modern vocabulary
and names of concepts

/10

/10

/10

CLARITY
Ideas are
presented in a
clear and
articulate
manner

MECHANICS
The paper is presented in
a scholarly manner with
few, if any spelling and
grammar mistakes

/10

/10

RESOURCES

Dance studio with mirrors

CD player, IPod connector, and sound system.
Skeleton for anatomical reasons
First Aid Kit
Handouts as necessary which will be provided by the teacher
White board for visual learning
Emily Iannotti as guest artist during week 3

Total

/50