The National Center for Quality Afterschool

Helping local practitioners and state education agencies develop high-quality and balanced programs

About the Center

Afterschool Lesson Plan Database

Lesson Plan

Dance: Telling a Story Through Dance
Subject: Art
Grade span: 5 to 12
Duration: Three 45-minute sessions
This lesson was excerpted from the Afterschool Training Toolkit under the promising practice: Thinking and Talking About Works of Art

Description:

In this lesson students learn how a dancer acts out the story with movement instead of words, through watching a video of the ballet Swan Lake. Students are amazed at how the dancer is able to convey her feeling with her body. Explain that dance can tell a story and that, like Odette, they can tell a story with their bodies as well. They have the opportunity to tell a short story of their own through pantomime and movement.

Learning Goals:

Materials:

Preparation:

What to Do:

Session One: Warm Up Session Two: Swan Lake Session Three: Students Tell Their Own Stories

Evaluate (Outcomes to look for):

Online Training for Afterschool Staff
The Afterschool Training Toolkit is available online free of charge.

The following resources can be used with the online Afterschool Training Toolkit to give you the resources you need to build fun, innovative, and academically enriching afterschool activities.