Sparking movement ideas
Students start the year exploring where dance ideas come from. They pull from their own lives, music, images, and stories to invent short movement phrases of their own.
What does a student learn in
This is the year dance shifts from learning steps to shaping ideas with intent. Students draw on their own experiences and the world around them to build short pieces with a clear purpose. They sharpen their technique, give and take feedback, and think about how culture and history show up in the movement. By spring, they can perform a dance they helped create and explain what it means.
- Choreography
- Dance technique
- Performing
- Giving feedback
- Cultural context
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
- 1
- 2
Shaping and building dances
Students take rough ideas and shape them into longer pieces. They play with order, timing, and space, then revise sections that feel unclear or repetitive.
- 3
Dance across cultures and time
Students look at dances from different cultures, eras, and communities. They notice how movement carries meaning and use what they learn to add depth to their own work.
- 4
Sharpening technique and performance
Students work on the craft of dancing itself. They focus on control, alignment, and clarity, and rehearse pieces so an audience can feel what the dance is trying to say.
- 5
Watching and judging dance
Students become thoughtful audience members. They describe what they see in a performance, figure out what the choreographer was after, and use clear reasons to say what worked.
Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 7.
Connecting
Connecting
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Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art
Students connect what they already know and what they've lived through to the dances they create. Personal experience shapes artistic choices.
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Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural
Students connect a dance piece to the time, place, or culture it came from, explaining what that context reveals about the work's meaning.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art | Students connect what they already know and what they've lived through to the dances they create. Personal experience shapes artistic choices. | DA:Cn10.7 |
| Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural | Students connect a dance piece to the time, place, or culture it came from, explaining what that context reveals about the work's meaning. | DA:Cn11.7 |
Creating
Creating
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Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work
Students brainstorm movement ideas and start shaping them into a dance. This is the spark stage, where raw concepts become something worth developing in the studio.
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Organize and develop artistic ideas and work
Students take a dance idea and shape it into a structured piece, making deliberate choices about movement, sequence, and how the whole thing fits together.
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Refine and complete artistic work
Students revisit a dance they've been building, make specific changes based on feedback or their own eye, and bring it to a finished state ready to share.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work | Students brainstorm movement ideas and start shaping them into a dance. This is the spark stage, where raw concepts become something worth developing in the studio. | DA:Cr1.7 |
| Organize and develop artistic ideas and work | Students take a dance idea and shape it into a structured piece, making deliberate choices about movement, sequence, and how the whole thing fits together. | DA:Cr2.7 |
| Refine and complete artistic work | Students revisit a dance they've been building, make specific changes based on feedback or their own eye, and bring it to a finished state ready to share. | DA:Cr3.7 |
Performing/Presenting/Producing
Performing/Presenting/Producing
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Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation
Students choose a dance or section of movement to perform, then explain why it best shows their skills and artistic choices.
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Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation
Students practice and improve a dance piece until it's ready to share with an audience. That means refining movements, cleaning up timing, and making intentional choices about how the work looks and feels in performance.
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Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work
Students perform a dance to share a specific idea or feeling with an audience, making choices about movement that help viewers understand what the piece is about.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation | Students choose a dance or section of movement to perform, then explain why it best shows their skills and artistic choices. | DA:Pr4.7 |
| Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation | Students practice and improve a dance piece until it's ready to share with an audience. That means refining movements, cleaning up timing, and making intentional choices about how the work looks and feels in performance. | DA:Pr5.7 |
| Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work | Students perform a dance to share a specific idea or feeling with an audience, making choices about movement that help viewers understand what the piece is about. | DA:Pr6.7 |
Responding
Responding
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Perceive and analyze artistic work
Students watch a dance and describe what they notice: how the body moves, how the space is used, and what choices the choreographer made. The goal is to look closely before forming an opinion.
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Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work
Students watch or perform a dance and explain what they think it means, what feeling it expresses, and what choices the choreographer made to get that message across.
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Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work
Students use a checklist or set of criteria to judge a dance, explaining what works, what doesn't, and why. The focus is on making a reasoned case, not just saying whether they liked it.
| Standard | Definition | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Perceive and analyze artistic work | Students watch a dance and describe what they notice: how the body moves, how the space is used, and what choices the choreographer made. The goal is to look closely before forming an opinion. | DA:Re7.7 |
| Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work | Students watch or perform a dance and explain what they think it means, what feeling it expresses, and what choices the choreographer made to get that message across. | DA:Re8.7 |
| Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work | Students use a checklist or set of criteria to judge a dance, explaining what works, what doesn't, and why. The focus is on making a reasoned case, not just saying whether they liked it. | DA:Re9.7 |
Common Questions
What does a year of dance look like at this age?
Students move through four kinds of work: making up their own dances, practicing and performing them, watching dance and talking about it, and connecting dance to history and their own lives. The year builds from small movement ideas to short dances students plan, rehearse, and show.
How can I support dance at home if I don't dance?
Ask what idea or feeling a dance was trying to show, and why students picked certain movements. Clearing a small space at home for ten minutes of practice helps more than any technique advice. Watching a short dance clip together and asking what they noticed counts too.
Does a student need prior training to do well this year?
No. The focus is on thinking like a choreographer and a thoughtful audience, not on advanced technique. Students who are new to dance can still generate strong ideas, refine them, and perform with intention.
How should I sequence the four areas across the year?
Start with responding and creating in short cycles so students build a movement vocabulary before longer projects. Layer in performing once students have material worth rehearsing, and weave connecting throughout by tying each unit to a cultural or historical context.
Which skills usually need the most reteaching?
Refining work is the hardest part. Students often want to finish a draft and move on rather than revise based on feedback. Plan repeated cycles of show, respond, revise so refinement becomes a habit instead of a one-time step.
What does mastery look like by the end of the year?
A student can take an idea, shape it into a short dance with clear choices, rehearse it, and perform it with intent. They can also watch another dance and explain what it might mean and how the movement supports that meaning.
How do I grade something as personal as a student dance?
Tie criteria to the work itself: clarity of the idea, range of movement choices, evidence of revision, and focus in performance. Share the criteria before students create so they know what counts, and separate craft from personal taste when giving feedback.
What should I ask after a school performance or showing?
Ask what the dance was about and which movements carried that meaning. Then ask what was changed between the first try and the final version. These questions show students that thinking and revising matter as much as the final performance.