Lesson Plan 2

Arts Bridge – Halloween Dance

Lesson Title: Halloween Story

Content Objective: By the end of 45 minutes, 2^nd grade students will be able retell a story through movement and connect picture to movement.

Grade: 2nd

Length of lesson: 45 min

Materials: pictures, story, music, speaker

TIME	ACTIVITY	TEACHING CUES	MUSIC
10 min	Explain Rules. One clap means spread out in space, clapping pattern means come sit down. Warm up: Dance/move like… 1.      Ghost: spiraling, light 2.      Zombie: slow, heavy 3.      Spider: all fours, slow and fast tempo 4.      Mummy: twisting 5.      Bats: skipping with arms .	“Today is going to be really fun! But first, who remembers my three rules. Raise your hands...” 1.      When I am talking, no one else is talking. 2.      We are all going to dance. 3.      We are not going to touch our neighbors. “I just want to dance and fun so hopefully everyone makes good choices. If you don’t follow my rules, remember I will give one warning, but after that, you will have to come sit by me and not have fun with us.” “Today is going to be extra fun because what holiday is coming up…” “When I say go, everyone will stand up and spread out. We have to get our bodies warm so we stay safe.” “We are going move like things that remind us of Halloween…first a ghost! A ghost moves lightly, floating…spiraling.” (Do with each noun, guiding them through)	Monster Mash
10 min	Introduction: Invite students to sit in front of you. Read story with music. Scramble pictures and put them up with tacky. See if students can put them in the correct order of the story…Have them clap when my hand gets to the picture that comes next in the story. Students spread out on floor and begin dancing	Clap. “I am going to read to you a short Halloween story and I want you to be paying close attention because I will ask you to put the events in order after.” Read. “Now lets see if you remember, from these pictures, the order that this story is supposed to be in. I am going to move my hand over each picture and when I get to the right picture, you will clap loudly and quickly.”	Twilight hollow
15 min	Explore: Students spread out on floor and begin dancing the story with my guidance. 1. Skipping, tall shape like tree, falling leaves, spiral down, jump, repeat. 2. Tip toe, melt to sleep, make quick shape, repeat 3. Vibratory, explosive, sustained, swing – do this with arms, legs, head, and then whole body. 4. Find shapes for rock, paper, and scissors. (possible play.) 5. Bat like movement with skipping, sliding, leaping. 6. Roll like a pumpkin, make a round shape, repeat.	“When I clap my hands, spread out. Lets see if we can dance this story out. Stories can be read, but they can also be danced.” 1. “The story begins with the boy walking, but we are going to skip (explain briefly). Then he sees the leaves. Make a tall, tall shape like a tree. Slowly start to fall like a leaf to the floor, all the way down. Now quick stand up and jump with two feet, like you are jumping in the leaves!” Repeat. 2. “What happens next in the story? Tip toe as if you are in an empty abandoned house. Eventually the boy falls asleep, so start to melt to the floor falling asleep. Now quick! Make a shape! He hears a noise…but we go back to sleep…Shape!” Repeat. 3. “Next the skeleton begins to fall off the roof first an arm! Can you vibrate just your arm? Shake it quickly, and the other arm, or both arms?...” 4. “Who remembers what game the skeleton and boy play? Rock paper scissors! So can you make a shape like a rock? Small and compact, or maybe big and open! Make a shape like paper…it is flat and thin. Hold it! Make a shape like scissors…sharp and angular. Okay we are quickly going to play some rock paper scissors but with our body. So everyone make a shape similar to this. This will be our rock…paper…scissor. Paper beats rock, rock smashes scissors, and scissors cut paper. So on the count of three you will choose whichever shape – rock paper or scissor, and play against me…so I am like the skeleton okay?” 5. “What does the boy find when he opens the doors? Bats! Skip like a bat. Slide. Leap. Shape. Now this half of the room hold your shape and don’t move, this half with move through and around you like bats but don’t move!” switch. 6. “What does he find behind the bats? Pumpkins. Can you make a shape like a pumpkin…big and round? Now roll like a pumpkin! And quick make a shape!” Repeat. “Can you carve the space with your hands like you carve a pumpkin? How about with your legs.	Gossamer wings Halloween Town

  

Halloween Story: "One Halloween day, a boy was walking down the street and saw a bunch of leaves that had fallen from a tall tree. He played in the leaves a bit until he realized he had become lost! He found an empty, abandoned house and had to spend the night because he couldn’t find his way home. He fell asleep, but soon woke up when he heard a thump on the roof and a voice calling out, "I'm falling down!" The boy ran outside to see what was the matter. He ran right out of the way just as an arm bone came crashing to the floor. Then another arm bone landed - then a leg bone, a skull, and a second leg. Before he could count to ten, a complete skeleton was standing there. The boy did not want to show his fear. The skeleton was impressed with the boy's spirit and said, "You have courage. Are you brave enough to try me in Rock, Paper, Scissor?"The boy was very afraid, but he dared not refuse this strange ghost, so he began to play. "You win!" said the skeleton. "Your courage deserves a reward. Open that door in the floor and promise me that you will share the reward that you will find." The boy agreed to do what the skeleton asked. As he slowly opened the door, he jumped at all of the bats that flew out! The skeleton laughed, said "Happy Halloween," and then began to disappear, piece by piece, until he was gone. After the bats had flown out of the room, the boy could see hundreds of pumpkins! All for him to carve! He was so excited to return home and carve all of his new pumpkins with his family and all thanks to his friendly skeleton."