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Todays class focused on bridging dance and social studies. We had to develop lessons and ideas the connect the two. The element of dance we focused on was energy.

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This is a photo of me taken last year during our team photo shoot

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The focus of class today was to make connections between dance and science. As students we were looking to gather resources and make connection to curriculum.

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The focus of class today was dance and math. I personally think these two subject have one of the closest connections as dance is built upon counts.

Every time I have ever taught dance I am counting the music and considering the symmetry within a piece. I personally believe there are so many connections between dance and math.

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I have a lot of dance experience. I was a competitive dancer from age four up until I started teachers college. Dance has always been a massive component of my life as it has opened so many doors. I have made so many friendships and learned a lot about myself. Dance gave me the opportunity to get up on stage in front of strangers and be myself. Movement has allowed me an additional form of expression. I feel free when I am able to dance and share my love of the sport. During university I join the Brock Dance Competitive Team, and was the president in 2023. I mentored a team of 40 dancers and attended 3 University level competitions. Over the past 4 years I have started choreographing dances for my team. I have learned that I had to foster a space where the dancers trusted me and were willing to try my crazy ideas. I am grateful to dance and my dance teachers for the opportunities I have been given.

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As a class we sat in a circle and gave actions to a daily task. Together we went through brushing our teeth, and used adjectives to describe the process.

This activity allowed for class engagement and was a fun activity. Students were thinking about the language connections and applying them to the dance principles. This activity would demonstrate body and space, as students had to be aware of where they were moving their bodies and how the action corresponds with the verb.

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This is a YouTube video of a sample dance students could use to model different systems.

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Seth teaches the digestive system dance.

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An echo line in dance refers to a movement sequence where one dancer or group performs a movement, and another dancer or group repeats or "echoes" it shortly after. This creates a ripple or delayed effect, often used for dramatic or artistic emphasis.

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Using dance to showcase a system within science. My group choose to do that life cycle of a frog. For this we included different levels and movement sequences. We choice movement to show the frog being born, tadpole, and becoming a full grown frog.

I really enjoyed this activity as we got be creative and learn about life cycles at the same time. My group was able to collaborate really nicely and provide each other ongoing feedback as we created the movement sequence.

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As a class we ran around the room and had to go up to other students and bump elbows while saying our favourite food. This activity got us moving around while also getting to know each other. It was high energy so set a good pace to our class.

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When thinking about how to make students feel welcomed within dance class, some activities are introduction circles. Students are asked to introduce themselves by giving their name, what are wish to take away from the class, and a fun fact. During our class this was a great way to get to know my peers and feel more comfortable.

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This is an image of me dancing during my grade 12.

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The five elements of dance are body, action, space, time, and energy, each playing a crucial role in movement expression. Body refers to the dancer’s physical form, including posture, gestures, and isolations. Action includes any movement, whether locomotor (traveling) or non-locomotor (staying in place). Space involves direction, levels, pathways, and the use of personal or group space. Time relates to rhythm, tempo, and synchronization with music or beats. Energy captures the quality of movement, such as sharp, fluid, strong, or light dynamics. Together, these elements create expressive, meaningful, and structured dance performances.

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Laban is a theorist we discussed in class. Laban sees dance as a way the body communicates by giving and receiving messages.

1.What people move? (e.g., the whole body, parts of the

body)

2.How people move? (e.g., effort, time, weight)

3.Where people move? (e.g., personal space, general space)

Each aspect can be taken separately or studied as a whole

His theory discusses, Body, Effort, Space, and Shape.

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The Wave Dance Strategy is a movement technique often used in dance education to promote fluidity, group cohesion, and storytelling. It involves dancers moving in a wave-like sequence, where each person or group follows the movement of the one before them, creating a ripple effect—similar to waves in water.

This strategy helps students develop spatial awareness, teamwork, and emotional expression, while also deepening their connection to cultural or historical narratives through dance.

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Robert and Michèle Root-Bernstein believe that creativity is a skill that can be used in any field, not just in the arts. They say that creative people often mix ideas from different areas, like science, music, and dance, to come up with new ideas. They also identified key ways creative people think, such as noticing details, imagining, recognizing patterns, building models, and playing with ideas. Creativity isn’t just in the mind—it can also be physical, like how dancers use movement to express ideas. Choreographers use patterns, imagination, and inspiration from things like science or math to create new dances, showing how dance connects to their ideas about creativity.

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With a partner complete different isolations with your body. This connects to math, symmetry, angles, coding, finger isolations to trace shapes.

For this activity, Cassandra and I were partners. We numbered ourselves one and two. Number one first would would start creating shapes and movements with their body and number two would mimic this. After a certain amount of time we would switch. This activity was fun and allowed for full focus as you had to carefully watch your partner.

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Schlemmer's theory looks at the body as a geometric and mechanical form, emphasizing how dancers interact with space using lines, shapes, and abstraction. I was able to make connections to my own experiences choreographing dance. I am very expressive with my dance teaching and often plan my dances thinking about the shapes the dancers will make. I have to consider the whole picture and what my dancers will look like on stage.

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When incorporating dance into math, use action words to inspire dancers in their movement creation.

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This was an activity we did in groups of 3. It was very fun to experiment with creating extraordinary shapes with our fingers. I think this is a great collaborative activity where students can form patterns and create something new. There could also be extension activities where students try to identify the types of shapes they have created.

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This presentation was based on our name activity. Kris, Lexi and I collaborated by grouping all our ideas together and creating transition movements.

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From my experience teaching dance within the classroom, the best way to teach the elements of dance is through the repetition. I found having discussions with the students at the student of every lesson worked extremely well for their understanding.

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Grade 6 Dance:

A2.1 Construct personal interpretations of dance pieces that depict stories

and themes and explain these interpretations, using dance.

Grade 6 Language Arts:

Writing 2.5 Identify a point of view and other possible points of view;

determine if their own point of view is supported by evidence; adjust

thinking and expression if needed (i.e., revise writing.

During the week 1 class we completed a beach activity, where students selected a shell which represents them. In small groups we created movement sequences using the wave strategy. This strategy has student use their selected movement that embodies a word they think about when they see, and feel their shell.

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One of the activities we completed today was a create your own activity using a previously learnt strategy. We played a variation of mystery wink where we pretended the "it" person was a lumberjack. Everyone else in the class was a tree and had to move around the room as a tree following creating high and low movements. They could mimic a tree on a windy day or a cold day.

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Dance connects to intelligence through movement, memory, and problem-solving. Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory includes bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, which dancers use to control movement and express emotions. Embodied cognition suggests intelligence is shaped by physical interactions, and dance enhances spatial reasoning and memory. It also promotes neuroplasticity, helping the brain form new connections. Additionally, dance strengthens emotional and social intelligence, improving empathy and communication.

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Flocking in dance is a movement technique where dancers mirror each other’s movements in a fluid, group-oriented way, similar to how birds move in unison. Typically performed in a diamond or V-shaped formation, flocking allows dancers to seamlessly shift leaders, creating an organic and dynamic flow. This technique enhances spatial awareness, coordination, and group cohesion, making it a popular exercise in contemporary dance, improvisation, and choreography. Flocking encourages dancers to respond to each other in real-time, fostering a sense of unity and collective energy. It is often used to explore themes of community, connection, and natural movement patterns in performance.

In our class we formed a clump, the whole group faced one direction whole one person led a movement. Everyone copies the flow of that movement. One group did a really great job moving as one.

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It could involve imagining an invisible force (a "magic hand") guiding movements to enhance fluidity and expression. This strategy may also help dancers focus their intent, using their hands to direct energy, create shapes, or enhance storytelling. In teaching, instructors might use the "magic hand" metaphor to help students visualize movements and maintain grace.

In our class we split into two groups and had one volunteer lead the entire other group. I think this activity is very interpretive as the followers can take a multitude of direction when following the leader.

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Students can demonstrate texture and elements in the world using dance. In our class this week we looked at showing smooth, rocky, and hot movement. The element of dance we focused on was space. We movement as water considering the space in takes up, the way it moves, and direction it flows.

I overall really enjoyed this connection within our dance class and thought it introduced news way of teaching the content.

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explore, orbit, navigate, dock, land, traverse, probe, analyze, transmit, communicate, return, re-enter, splashdown

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An expectation which I think would correlate nicely with the verb chain activity is from grade 4 dance curriculum

A1.1 translate into dance a variety of movement sequences observed in nature

also grade 6 dance expectation

A2.2 Analyse, using dance vocabulary how the elements of dance (specifically space) are used in their

own and others’ dance pieces and explain how they help communicate messages and ideas.

Grade 6 Science:

Understanding Earth and Space Systems

3.1 identify components of the solar system, including the sun, the earth, and other planets, comets,

asteroids, and meteoroids, and describe their physical characteristics in qualitative terms.

Students are taking topics like space and translating it into movements. This activity forces students to think outside of the box and use their reasoning skills to create words and movements which directly connect to ongoing teachings

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This weeks lesson focuses on dance and math. Students could think about the shapes we create, the lines we make, and use dimensional thinking. I like this image above as it is one example of a way students could create moves to represent orders of operations in math. This could increase memory among students and allow for deeper learning.

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Teachers can:

1.  Get to know students. Aim to be socially, emotionally, and politically comprehensive.

2. Build long-term academic achievement and social empowerment for marginalized

students by setting high expectations for students.

3.  Recognize and honour diverse cultural competence and cultural practices by engaging in cultural experiences.

4.  Validate every students’ culture by bridging gaps between home and school.

5. Transform schools and societies by developing a sociopolitical consciousness, including understanding and critiquing social inequities.

6.Introduce anti-oppressive and liberating educational practices and ideologies within schooled settings.

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Grade 7 Dance:

A2.1 Construct personal interpretations of the messages in their own and others’ dance pieces, including messages about issues relevant to their community and/or world (e.g., creating dance pieces on natural disasters, homelessness, poverty) and communicate responses in a variety of ways (e.g., through writing, class discussion, drama).

Grade 7 Geography:

A2.1 formulate questions to guide investigations into the impact of natural events (and/or human activities) that change the physical environment, ensuring that their questions reflect a geographic perspective.

Integrating dance and social studies allows students to explore real-world issues through both movement and inquiry, deepening their understanding of complex topics like natural disasters, poverty, and human impact on the environment. Through choreography, students embody historical events, cultural traditions, and social challenges, making learning more engaging and memorable. This interdisciplinary approach fosters critical thinking, empathy, and creativity, helping students connect emotional expression with factual analysis for a richer educational experience.

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Example of using stick figures to demonstrate dance movements. 

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Example of using stick figures to demonstrate dance movements. 

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This is a resource on how to connect dance and social studies

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This is a resource on how to connect dance and social studies

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Return to Mariah's Portfolio Page | Mariah's Mini-Course Homepage | Unit 3 Overview

Unit 4 Overview>>>

Lesson Objective

Participants will explore practical applications and example lessons of dance integrated into social studies

Dance Concepts

The following are the dance concepts most commonly or naturally integrated into social studies courses. However, this list is not exhaustive. As covered in Unit 2, you should now understand the scope of dance as well as have access to the standards if you would like to explore other connections.

DANCE ELEMENTS
There are five elements: Body, Action, Space, Time, Energy (B.A.S.T.E.) that can serve as lenses to help students analyze, discuss, manipulate, and create movement. Each category describes who is dancing or what is moving (body), what they are doing (action), where they are in relation to others or their surroundings (space), when they are moving or for how long (time), and how they are moving or the quality of movement (energy).

Social Studies Applications: As a non-dance teacher, you should not feel the need to teach dance elements as a broad concept, or feel like you need to integrate all five elements. In social studies, typically teachers focus on actions that may physically events or structures in history. Also, sometimes energy qualities are used to help students express thoughts and emotions about current events. As you will see in examples below, all of these elements can have numerous applications for social studies teachers of every grade level or demographic.

Actions: Students can practice different types of movements that relate to events that have occurred or studies of historical people. Examples of different actions include jumping, turning, locomotor (traveling), open/close movements, rise/sink, stretch/bend, etc. ~ See Elements of Dance chart above for more

Energy: Students can practice movement with different qualities that represent emotions read about in documents, as well as personal feelings towards past or current events. Examples of different energy qualities include force (strong/gentle), weight (heavy/light), or flow (bound/free) ~ See Elements of Dance chart above for more

NCAS Artistic Process: Dance element concepts can be developed into activities that facilitate creating, performing, responding, and connecting. With more space for movement activities, students can practice and choreograph movement inspired by historical events or people. At a desk, students can discuss and write about dances viewed using social studies concepts.

CULTURAL DANCES
A large component of every student's dance education, is typically some experience with cultural dances. In the United States of America, this is often assumed to be simply 'non-western' dance styles. However, cultural dances include any style that emerged from a community of people. Either brought together by a similar way of thinking, geographical location, or history, the human race has managed to create an innumerable amount of dance styles. Some are highly unique, but most can exhibit connections and inspirations from others.

Social Studies Applications: The potential for cultural dance in a social studies classroom is most likely pretty obvious. However, it is worth saying that dance can have a significant effect in supporting social studies curriculum in many unique ways. From the beginning of known human history, movement and music have been used for multiple reasons. These lens help dancers process the different facets of different cultural dances.

Form: Students can view forms as the general structure and elements of a dance that make it unique. Examples of different forms are the codified steps of ballet, the polyrhythms of African dance, or the strict shapes of Chinese fan dance.

Function: Students can view function as the purpose of a cultural dance style. Examples of different functions are the religious purposes of liturgical dancing, the performance goals of commercial hip hop, or the social purposes of swing dancing

Context: Students can view context as the place and setting typical to a specific style. Examples of different contexts are the stage for modern dance, the underground clubs for certain street dances, or at weddings for many ceremonial dances.

NCAS Artistic Processes: Cultural can be best developed into activities that facilitate performing. Ideally with more space for movement activities, students can learn and practice the cultural dance associated with the topic of the unit. Sometimes these units can also include choreographing activities if students learn how to rearrange traditional steps into their own sequences. At a desk, students can also complete responding and connecting activities while watching videos of professional performing the dance styles and discussing with each other.

Related Concepts: Dance elements (reflecting on unique uses of B.A.S.T.E), themes or artistic intent (choreographing with a purpose)

Note: Depending on your resource, some cultural dances will appear different based on region and teacher. Try to just pick a reliable source, but you may also use that as an opportunity to show how dance styles change and morph so easily.

Arts Partnership: Arts Reaching and Teaching in Schools | BYU
These lessons are great examples of dance and math fully integrated for multiple grade levels. Each includes materials, resources for both students and teachers, in-depth procedures, and alignment to common core standards.

From the Heart of Africa by Miriam Bowen ~ Grade 2 ~ 1 Class Period: Students learn about African culture while reading books, singing songs, and performing gesture choreography for the traditional welcome dance, Fanga Alafia. They gain a respect and understanding for a specific culture while practicing and presenting the dance to peers.

Native American Round Dance by Chris Roberts and Brenda ~ Grades 3-5 ~ 1 Class Period: Students learn about Native American culture while practicing a traditional Round Dance. Then they practice different follow the leader games while maintaining hand-to-hand connections from the circle (like a snake). This means that students experience different formations and pathways (space), as well as traveling (actions), all while gaining an appreciation for a specific culture.

Iron Horses by Miriam Bowen ~ Grades 4-6 ~ 1-2 Class Periods: Students learn about the Transcontinental Railroad while practicing various locomotor movements (traveling actions). After reading the book Iron Horses, students choreograph and perform short movement sequences in groups, inspired by the actions in the story.

1600s Dancing and Instruments by Emily Soderborg ~ Grade 6 ~ 1-2 Class Periods: Students learn about the Renaissance/Baroque period by practicing a social dance choreographed to "Scarborough Fair". They experience different formations (space), traveling steps (actions), and dancing together in pairs or groups.

Egyptian Pyramids by Jana Shumway ~ Grade 6 ~ 1 Class Period: Students learn about various Egyptian history, pyramid structures, and their evolution while performing shapes that represent them. After viewing pictures of certain artifacts and landmarks, they improvise shapes (space) with creative interpretations of pyramids. Then they choreograph short movement phrases in groups, where some students remain parts of the pyramid, while one navigates through the structure.

Creative Dance Integration | BYU by Erika Cravath
These lessons are great examples of dance and science fully integrated for elementary grade levels. They all connect well to all for NCAS artistic processes and allow for plenty of movement.

Social Studies: The Charleston and Dance Culture in the 1920s and 30s ~ Grade 5 ~ 1 Class Period: Students learn about American culture and effects of The Great Depression while choreographing steps inspired by the Charleston. After they learn some basic parts of the Charleston style, they improvise and create steps of their own.

Collaborate

Click here to join our Collaboration Nearpod (with code CPGLM) and respond to the question: How do you plan to integrate dance into your classroom? -- After reviewing these applications and examples, describe a content topic that interests you.

Your contributions will be public to any other participants in this course. Feel free to peruse other responses.

Additional Resources

Kassing, G. (n.d.). | This excerpt functions a as a great perspective to view dance as a cultural anthropologist. With a stronger connection to the many concepts explicitly taught in social studies, this resource includes a more detailed review of how culture and dance can truly blend. It even discusses some specific dance qualities of certain cultures from around the world

References

Blake, O. (n.d.). Slideshow Presentation. Retrieved from https://slideplayer.com/slide/9152160/

BYU McKay School of Education. (n.d.). BYU Arts Lessons. Retrieved from https://education.byu.edu/arts/lessons

Cravath, E., BYU Arts Partnership, E., Arts Bridge America, E., & BYU | Honors, E. (n.d.). Lesson plan resource.

Elements of Dance | Kqed Arts. (2015). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGuD9Geeb2k

Kassing, G. (n.d.). Discovering Cultural Dance. Retrieved from https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/discovering-cultural-dance

PBS, & SGHB Educational Foundation. (n.d.). Teaching Resources For Students And Teachers. Retrieved from https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/

Perpich Center for Arts Education, & University of MN Dance Program. (2018). The Elements of Dance. Retrieved from https://www.elementsofdance.org/

Unit 4 Overview>>>

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Lesson: Integrating Dance into Social Studies

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Return to Mariah's Portfolio Page | Mariah's Mini-Course Homepage | Unit 3 Overview Unit 4 Overview>>> Participants will explore practical applications and example lessons of dance integrated into social studies The following are the dance concepts most commonly or naturally integrated into social studies courses. However, this list is not exhaustive.

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Dance in Ontario schools connects to Indigenous teachings through movement-based learning that reflects Indigenous perspectives, traditions, and storytelling. The Ontario Arts Curriculum (Grades 1-8) emphasizes the importance of learning through First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) perspectives, encouraging students to explore dance as a means of storytelling, cultural expression, and connection to the land.

For example, the Grade 7 Dance Curriculum (A3.1) encourages students to describe and explore dance forms from diverse cultures, including Indigenous dances such as the Jingle Dress Dance, Hoop Dance, and Powwow styles. These dances embody spiritual, social, and healing purposes, aligning with Indigenous worldviews that see dance as a way to honor ancestors, express identity, and maintain well-being.

Additionally, the Ontario Social Studies Curriculum (Grade 7, B3.2) highlights Indigenous ways of knowing, including oral traditions, symbols, and storytelling—all of which are deeply connected to dance. By incorporating Indigenous dance traditions, Ontario schools promote reconciliation, cultural appreciation, and respect for Indigenous knowledge systems.

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I used the lesson above for dance unit I taught in grade 5. It had students watch a spoken word poem from an Indigenous artist and find meaning and words that stuck out to them. Then using the themes and words they create their own movement phase. Students had the options of sharing this with the class.

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This Learning Activity is divided into three sections. Adults should guide children through it in the following order:

1. Minds On: Introduces the learning concepts to be explored in the Learning Activity.

2. Action: Offers a focused activity to explore the content and discover key concepts.

3. Consolidation: Provides students with an opportunity to deepen understanding and reflect on learning.

Stay Connected

Sign up for the TVO Learn Newsletter. Discover engaging ways to support learning. Connects families to the Ontario 1-12 curriculum.

choosing a selection results in a full page refresh

press the space key then arrow keys to make a selection

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Grade 5 - The Arts - Dance Learning Activity 2

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This Learning Activity is divided into three sections. Adults should guide children through it in the following order: Minds On: Introduces the learning concepts to be explored in the Learning Activity. Action: Offers a focused activity to explore the content and discover key concepts.

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Sample activity of Indigenous Teaching and Dance connection

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Sample activity of Indigenous Teaching and Dance connection

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Storytelling Through Hoop Dance (Grades 4-8)

Connection to Curriculum: Grade 7 Dance (A1.1 - Creating movement sequences to express a message) & Social Studies (B3.1 - Understanding oral traditions and cultural expression).

Activity: Students learn about the Hoop Dance, a storytelling dance practiced by many Indigenous nations, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe. Using hula hoops or imagined props, they create their own movement sequences to tell a story, inspired by themes of transformation, nature, and identity. After performing, students discuss how dance conveys meaning without words, much like Indigenous oral storytelling.

This activity helps students engage with Indigenous culture, traditions, and history while developing movement skills and creativity.

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Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life" by Nahanni Shingoose

This non-fiction book follows a Canadian Indigenous family as they travel across the country participating in powwows. It highlights Indigenous dance, regalia, and cultural traditions in a Canadian context.

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The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action emphasize the importance of education and cultural revitalization in fostering reconciliation within Canada. Calls #62 and #63 advocate for the inclusion of Indigenous history, culture, and traditions in school curriculums, while #83 promotes Indigenous artistic expression, including dance, music, and storytelling. Dance plays a vital role in preserving Indigenous knowledge and strengthening cultural identity, particularly in Canadian contexts such as Powwows, the Jingle Dress Dance (Anishinaabe), the Métis Jig, and Inuit Drum Dancing. By integrating these dance forms into education, Canadian schools can help honor Indigenous traditions, promote reconciliation, and build cross-cultural understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

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To engage students with themes of Immigration or Truth and Reconciliation through dance, educators can use strategies such as storytelling through movement, flocking, and improvisation.

Storytelling dance allows students to express personal or historical narratives, such as the journey of immigrants or the resilience of Indigenous communities.

Flocking, where students move in unison while shifting leaders, symbolizes themes of migration, adaptation, and collective strength.

Improvisation encourages students to explore emotions tied to displacement, belonging, and reconciliation, using guided prompts to create expressive movement sequences.

By incorporating Indigenous dance forms or cultural dance traditions from immigrant communities, students develop a deeper, embodied understanding of these important social themes.

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This video teaches students how to Powow dance 

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This video teaches students how to Powow dance 

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A teacher could share this resource with students in their classroom when making connections to Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing.

When considering my future teaching I hope to bring in First Nation Indigenous Peoples to help with my teachings. In dance it is important to use the resources available to you, so I think having outside voices within the classroom would be extremely beneficial. I could additionally send letters home to students to see if any of their family members have dance experience and would be willing to volunteer.