Digital Unit Plan Template

Unit Title: Choreographing Pieces of Art Name: Cerissa Riley

Content Area: High School Course 4D: Advanced Dance Grade Level: 9th – 12th Grade
CA Content Standard(s)/Common Core Standard(s):
Standard 1.4- Demonstrate skills in choreography.
Standard 2.1- Achieve a level of fitness that improves health and performance and provides opportunities for enjoyment and challenge in a dance activity.
Standard 3.3- Perform planned and spontaneous leadership assignments and roles in high- level dance activities.

Big Ideas/Unit Goals:

The purpose of this unit plan is for students to:
1. Be able to define the role of a good leader and choreographer.
2. Learn about dance improvisation.
3. Understand the importance of how art and images can inspire choreography.

Unit Summary:
In this unit, students will learn to dance in a choreographer's shoes! Taking it step by step in and through a choreographer's world. This unit will allow students to
collaborate ideas creatively. It focuses on the developmental process of choreographing a dance piece with others by letting images, pieces of art, and music lead the way for
inspiration. Students will express how they feel and what they have learned from the experience by writing weekly in a class blog. The complete dance piece will be
performed and recorded for the class to view.

Assessment Plan:
Entry-Level: Formative: Summative:
1. Survey Monkey
2. Anticipation/ Reaction Guide 1. Three Critical Thinking/ Reflection Questions 1. Performance
2. Class Blog 2. Final Blog Post
3. Quick Write
4. Main Idea Graphic Organizer

Lesson 1 (Teacher Lecture)

Student Learning Objective: Acceptable Evidence Lesson Activities: (Communication Strategies)
At the end of the lecture, (Assessments):
students will be able to This lesson/ lecture will begin with a survey where students will use their hand-held devices to answer
describe the four elements of 1. Survey Monkey questions about characteristics of a good leader, choreography skills, elements of dance, and if they have
dance, express how
improvisation is critical for
movement, and explain how
different forms of art can
inspire choreography.
Students will answer 6
questions at the beginning of
the lecture. This will assess
student’s prior knowledge and
tell me what they think in
regards to being a well-
rounded leader, choreography
skills, and elements of dance.
It will also give me insight to if
they have ever choreographed
before.
2. Three Critical Thinking/
Reflection Questions-
Throughout the lecture in
lesson 1, students will be
asked to reflect on three
aspects of choreography
(shown in prezi presentation).
These questions will assess if
students are understanding
key concepts of choreography.
choreographed before. This activity will engage students and allow them to start thinking critically about the
topic.
The teacher will give a 20 minute lecture that is two-fold. The first section will explain what it means to be a
good leader and how those characteristics apply to being an excellent choreographer. This section will also
describe a brief history about the development of jazz dance choreography and the pioneers that led it. The
second section will discuss the four elements of dance and how improvisation is critical to developing new
choreography. This section will also inform students of different improvisation techniques and parameters that
help narrow useful movement. At the end of the lecture, students will be instructed how to keep a blog about
their choreography experiences in the coming weeks.
The class will then break up into groups of four. Each group will stand in a square with enough space between
them to move moderately. One member of the group will face outward as the others face inward with their
bodies facing towards them. As the music plays, the dancer facing outward will start improvising movement
that is slow and controlled so that other group members can follow. The lead dancer will then pass on the
choreography role to another dancer by looking at them. The music will be a mash of various songs and genres
allowing students to explore different movement styles that match.

3. “Choreographing Pieces of
Art Class Blog”- This is a
critical assessment because it
is used throughout the unit.
This will allow me to see
student’s cognitive
progression in every step they
make. Students will write
about what they have learned
and their experiences each
week. In addition, they will
provide feedback and advice to
other groups.

4. Improvisation Activity-
Students will participate in an
activity where each participant
must take on a lead role and
improvise movement. The
teacher will use structured
observation to provide

Lesson 2 (Webercise/ iPad Lesson)
Student Learning Objective:
In small groups, students will
construct a descriptive
storyboard of their dance
theme through analyzing
pieces of art and pictures.
Lesson 3 (Graphic Organizer)
Student Learning Objective:
During this lesson, students
will create four movement
sequences as they relate to
the four elements of dance.
feedback and assess level of
comprehension.
Acceptable Evidence:
1. Quick Write-
At the end of lesson 2, students
will write a quick paragraph
on their group’s dance theme
and storyline. This will allow
them to write out complete
thoughts in order to give them
clarity. This will be read along
with the webercise assignment
to ensure students/ groups are
on the right path.
2. Presentation- Each group
will present their Pic Collage
and storyline to the class.
Acceptable Evidence:
1. Anticipation/ Reaction
Guide- Students will complete
a graphic organizer in
correspondence to the two
resources. It will assess
student’s prior knowledge on
what has been taught in
previous lessons and correct
misconceptions if needed.
2. Main Idea Graphic
Organizer- Students will use a
graphic organizer to organize
the main idea of chapter 2 in
the book, Choreography A
Basic Approach to
Improvisation: Elements of
Lesson Activities: (Collection Strategies)
The night before this class, students will have already created an account on Stumbleupon.com and chosen
different interests tailored to their likes. They will create storyboards that present various pieces of art and
images by using the collection and storage tools.
As a group, students will use these storyboards to narrow down an idea or theme that will inspire their dance
piece. They will select 5 – 8 pieces of art and images that support their storyline. These pictures will be
analyzed within the group using the six-step process. The teacher will monitor conversations and provide
questions for further analyzing. Groups will then create a collage of the selected pieces by using Pic Collage.
Each group will then present their final product to the class.
Lesson Activities: (Collaboration Strategies)
This lesson will begin with an Anticipation/ Reaction Guide that students will complete using the two resources:
TEDx Talk video & Chapter 2 of Choreography A Basic Approach to Improvisation: Elements of Dance. Using the
information provided in chapter 2, students will then complete the main idea graphic organizer.
By using the improvisation strategies and techniques, students will collaborate and choreograph a dance. Each
student is responsible for choreographing 4 to 6 eight counts and teaching it to the group. Dancers will revise
movement as needed to make connections. The teacher will provide a detailed rubric of different choreographic
elements and formation changes that are to be included. The dance should also clearly represent the theme or
storyline chosen that correlates with the three images.
Then, using the information from the two resources, students will create a Popplet mind map in their dance
groups. They will include their choreographed, short movement sequences that use the four elements of dance
in their Popplet.
To present their finished product, students will perform and record their dance. and then edit the video
accordingly as a group. After receiving parent or guardian permission, groups will post their videos on the class
blog website where other students will comment and critique the work.
 Dance. A breakdown of this
concept is required (4 parts).

3. Performance- Each group

will perform their completed
dance piece to the rest of the
class. The dance must include
all choreographic elements
that were discussed, convey
their theme and storyline
appropriately, and have
performance qualities.

4. Final Blog Post- Students

will record their final dance
piece and post it to the class
blog. Peers will assess the
final product and provide
feedback.
Unit Resources:
1. Book: The Dance of Leadership: The Art of Leading in Business, Government, and Society. Chapter 1- Exploring the Art of Leadership (books.google.com)
2. Book: The Moment of Movement: Dance Improvisation. Specific excerpts from Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7
3. Book: Choreography a Basic Approach Using Improvisation. Specific excerpt from Chapter 2
4. Article: “All That’s Jazz” by Tom Ralabate (https://www.dancestudiolife.com/all-thats-jazz/)
5. Article: “What Makes a Dance? The Brain as a Choreographer, Dancer, and Spectator” -Judith Hanna
6. Article: “What is your Favorite Choreographer Style?” -Christine Alexander
7. Article: “3 Ways to Find Unique Music for Dance” -Chelsey Bradley
8. Ted Talks: “A choreographer's creative process in real time” by Wayne McGregor
9. Tedx Talks: “I Believe in the Power of Dance” by Cara Scrementi

Useful Websites/ Tools:

1. www.contemporary-dance.org
2. www.stumbleupon.com
3. www.pinterest.com
4. www.beatpick.com
5. www.musopen.org
6. www.virtuallrc.com
7. www.infotopia.info