PROJECT: SPACE

TEACHER: LORIE MCGEE

SCHOOL: RACELAND LOWER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

CONTENT: Science

GRADE LEVELS: 2nd

OBJECTIVES:
The student should be able to:

• Describe characteristics of the Sun, Stars, Earth and Earth’s moon.(comprehension)

• Model the movements of the Sun, Stars, Earth and Earth’s moon.(application)

Dance Content Standards:
• Identify and demonstrate movement elements and skills in performing:

            a. accurately demonstrate nonlocomotor/axial movements
             (such as bend, twist, stretch, and swing).

            b. accurately demonstrate eight basic locomotor movements
            (such as walk, run, hop, jump, leap, gallop, slide, and skip),
            traveling forward, backward, sideward, diagonally, and
            turning.

            c.  create shapes at low, middle, and high levels.

            d.  demonstrate the ability to define and maintain personal
            space.

            e.  demonstrate movements in straight and curved pathways.

            f.  demonstrate accuracy in moving to a musical beat and
            responding to changes in tempo.

            g.  demonstrate kinesthetic awareness, concentration, and
            focus in performing movement skills.

            h.  attentively observe and accurately describe the action
            (such as skip, gallop) and movement elements (such as levels,
            directions) in a brief movement study.

• Understand choreographic principles, processes, and structures:

            b.  improvise, create, and perform dances based on their
            own ideas and concepts from other sources.

            e.  demonstrate the ability to work effectively alone and
            with a partner.

            f.  demonstrate the following partner skills:  copying, leading
            and following, mirroring.

TIME: 45 minutes

MATERIALS
none listed

INTRODUCTION/PREPARATION/ANTICIPATORY SET:
none listed

ACTIVITY:
The teacher will use a short clip from unitedstreaming.com to show the students the relationship between the sun, stars, earth, and the moon. 

Teach/Model: The teacher will discuss with the students the motion of the earth and the moon around the sun.  The teacher will demonstrate the movements of each explaining the difference between rotation and revolution using skips, gallops, different levels, and directions.  The teacher will model the movements using a ball as the sun, self as the earth, and self as the moon.  The teacher will askthe students if they think the earth and the moon travel in a perfectly straight orbit.  (Define orbit)  The teacher will demonstrate different movements to illustrate the orbit of the earth and the moon. 
             
Guided Practice: The teacher will ask students to model the movements using a chair as the sun, 1 student as the earth, and 1 student as the moon.  The students will demonstrate the rotation and revolution of the earth and the moon around the sun using movements such as walking, hopping, skipping, galloping, and turning. The teacher will explain to the students that they are going to demonstrate the movements staying in their own space bubble.  The students will practice the movements with the teacher in pairs. The teacher will begin to play music and ask different students to demonstrate the movements.
           
             
Independent Practice:  The students will be grouped in threes and asked to come up with their own movements of the rotation and revolution of the earth and the moon around the sun. Each group will be given a symbol to the earth, the sun, and the moon to determine which roll each will play as well as the type of movement each would use to demonstrate the movements. With music each group will perform their movements.

Closure:  The students will write about their experience in their journal.

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT:
The teacher will ask the students to draw a picture depicting the earth, the sun, and the moon.  They will also write a short paragraph about the picture. 

ART CONTENT/CONCEPTS:
Students will read about space during reading and center time.

COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM, GRADE LEVEL EXPECTATIONS AND STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS:
#43:  describe characteristics of the Sun, Stars, and Earth’s moon.

GLE 44:  Give examples of how the sun affects Earth’s processes (e.g., weather, water cycle) 

Louisiana Standard:
Students develop creative expression through the application of knowledge, ideas, communication skills, organizational abilities, and imagination.

D-CE-E1:  Students should know and be able to use kinesthetic awareness, proper use of space and the ability to move safely.

D-CE-E2:  Students should know and be able to explore and demonstrate basic movements and the elements of dance (space, time, and energy).

D-CE-E3:  Students should know and be able to recognize and explore dance as a way to create and communicate ideas and feelings.

D-CE-E6:  Students should know and be able to identify relationships among dance, other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

MODIFICATIONS | ACCOMODATIONS:
none listed

TEACHER'S REFLECTION:
This lesson was a pleasure to teach.  It gave my students a better understanding of the relationship between the sun, the moon, the stars, and the earth.  My students were excited about the lesson because they were able to move around during their demonstrations.  They worked well together and helped each other when it was necessary.  I had one student who didn’t feel comfortable doing the movements so I asked him to be my assistant for the lesson.  He assisted me with giving out tickets for those who followed the directions.  I enjoyed teaching this lesson because it gave the students an opportunity to teach one another instead of me doing all of the teaching. 

This lesson was simple to plan and easy to implement.  As I have continued to teach this unit, the students relate more to the information and seem to have a better understanding for the material.  I would definitely use this lesson again. 

RESOURCES:
Lafourche Parish School Board , Arts Education, State and National Content and Achievement Standards, August 2006

Lafourche Parish School District Curriculum Mapping, Grade 2, Mathematics, Language Arts, and Social Living, May 2005

Our Home in Space.  www.unitedstreaming.com

 “Standards, Assessments, and Accountability:  Grade Level Expectations.” Louisiana Department of Education.   http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/saa/1915.html.

TO DOWNLOAD SPACE PRETEST, PLEASE CLICK HERE

TO DOWNLOAD SPACE TEST, PLEASE CLICK HERE

TO DOWNLOAD VOCABULARY POWERPOINT, PLEASE CLICK HERE

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