Reflection #7 Creative Dance Wk #2

What has changed in your understanding of what creative children’s dance is, and why and how to use it in the classroom?

I believed that creative dance was something that took many years of practice to attain. I believed before this class that I would need to have my students bring dance equipment to school in order to participate that day. I know that it is just a movement that is done to represent what is being taught. I can see how this would really benefit my students in the classroom. A student will learn more from the movements than by having to remember all the words for the test. I really had to think hard to find out how to express myself with movement. I still remember well though what we were talking about in class because of it. It will be the same with my future students in my classroom.

So what will you be taking with you from your experience with creating, teaching and participating in creative dance lessons in class?

The one thing that I want to take with me is: I want to show the difference in dance and pantomime. I think that dance has more feeling with it. In class while the presentations were being done on dance, I had a hard time differentiating between the two. I want to teach my students that dance has more feeling involved with it. The more feeling that is portrayed in the dance the more I believe a student will retain.

Now what do you plan to teach your future students and how will you prepare for that?

I want to teach my students the curriculum mixed with dance included. I want to learn how to incorporate dance into all the subjects. I know that it just comes with practice, but I am a little apprehensive about using it for some of the subjects that I may teach. I can see using it it literature because we used it with a book in our presentations, but I would like to try and use it other ways too.

Reflection #6 Creative Dance Wk 1

What new insights do you have regarding what children's creative dance is and why it is important?

I really enjoyed learning about dance in creative arts. When we were told to put on our dancing shoes for the class I thought to myself, "Oh Boy this class will be boring." I am continually shocked with how the arts are fun for students; they are also very informative. I liked the class; my interpretation of the class changed when I became aware of what dance was. I like the term creative movement, it helped me classify dance better in the classroom. I think dance is important because it allows students to express themselves in different ways, yet the body tells the story.

What important philosophical and practical things became clearer as you worked in class?

My mind worked in with the story to help my body and limbs create a movement to express the thought. It was fairly easy to identify the way the mind had to change gears in a sense to function the way we needed to process the information being presented. It became clear to me that I was learning things about the book I would not have any other way. Dance involved the best qualities of learning. I was able to share emotions through movement. A student may have a difficult time expressing emotion verbally or by other methods; dance makes it much easier to accomplish.

So What does that mean for your preparation for next week and for field? Now What do you need to do to incorporate this knowledge and skills into your practice?

I need to actually think about it in my teaching and how I will actually use it to tie in with other things trying to be taught. The whole week I found myself returning to the dance moves and the fun time we had in class. I am learning to think about how I will incorporate what I am learning into my teaching. I feel this is the key and the first step of using creative arts in the classroom; one must feel it will teach. How I will teach a certain subject with dance will come with experience as I learn the material and the core better.

Reflection #5-Drama

What did you learn from developing a Process Drama from text?

I learned that there are many different ways to use drama in the classroom. It is an easy way to incorporate kinistethic learning into a classroom setting and get the students up and moving. Process drama can be used without much planning, or with a great deal of planning.

What did you learn from the other team presentations?

From the other presentations, I learned that there are many different ways to use drama in the classroom. It can present itself in new and exciting avenues so the students do not get bored. It is helpful to use scripts during drama activities, especially when introducing an activity or concept.

So What drama ideas will you try to implement in your teaching?

I would use Decision Alley because students can use their imagination to perform the subject being taught. I would also use Freeze Frame to encourage the students to be aware of others actions and performances. I especially like Pantomime. It forces the students to use deeper thinking because they are not speaking. They have to concentrate on their actions and how to get their thoughts to be published without words.

Now What - How will you prepare to teach and integrate creative drama in your teaching?


I will practice some of these techniques in my observation times and think more about kinistethic learning while planning future lessons. I can also use the techiniques with my own children and practice how to implement the concept effectively.

Reflection #4 Drama

What have you learned?

I have learned that Drama is not having a play or some kind of a great production in the classroom. I guess it could mean that, but the things we learned in class were very fun activities to keep the students learning. Class showed me that instruction can be fun and children can have a great time learning.

What are your new perspectives about using drama in your future classroom?

I think Drama in the classroom is needed; I think this because I reflect on the way I learned in Elementary School and I can see myself learning many things much better while having much more fun doing it. All children can be involved without feeling uncomfortable; I would have never thought this could ever be the case because I hear Drama and I want to jump under the desk and hide. The techniques we learned in class brought great incite into teaching any subject with the use of the arts and Drama.

So What kinds of activities do you think you will use most as you begin teaching?

I will use the technique of mirroring, this technique was able to grab my attention and place my mind into focus. It was a simple task, but it was successful with us. It would be even a greater success if we could use it with our students. There were many other things that I would do; again I think that the Drama opens the doors to some great possibilities by placing us into a world we are not always in, and teach us things in different perspectives.

Now What - Why do children need creative drama? Why is it important to integrate drama with other curricular areas?

I had fun, and I remember all the things we talked about. We go through a lot of information in the class, but I can still remember much more this week than in the other classes. I think it is interesting to me as a whole; it doesn't matter what is being taught, the child will gain a knowledge of things because we are engaging whole brain learning. As a child acts uses the brain to focus on the actions being performed, the idea about what is being taught also stays and is remembered more easily.