Dimon Magnet Academy Year One
Sutherland- Jen Weisphal
Learning Objective/Exit Outcomes:
- Students will be able to create a food chain with organisms they come up with individually.
- Students will be able to create a food web from their food chains.
- Students will be able to move creatively to show what organisms/species they are.
- Students will use movement to express ideas.
- Students will collaborate with others to create a group performance of a food chain.
Integration Area/Subject:
Science & Dance
State Standards:
S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
- Develop a model to describe the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.
- Develop simple models to illustrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.
ESD4.CR.2 Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a form of communication.
- Use movement to express an idea or feeling.
ESD4.PR.2 Understand and model dance etiquette as a classroom participant, performer, and observer.
- Demonstrate attentiveness, full participation, and cooperation with others in the dance learning and performing environment.
- Demonstrate focus, concentration, and self-discipline in the performance of skills.
- Apply knowledge of appropriate behaviors and skills as an audience member and dance observer.
Materials/Playing Space:
Open classroom space or outside!
Description:
The Teacher took this art strategy outside, which was a great way to tie nature into this awesome science based lesson!
You could start this lesson with a more basic example of Machines so students have a chance to practice this strategy before it is ‘performed.’ The teacher will introduce the concept of Machines based on student’s previous knowledge of the machines they already know. Teacher will help build a class machine (a car, a vending machine, etc.) to demonstrate the structure. Students are encouraged to think about how machines work together and follow sequence, as well as creating a physical and vocal action to clearly express the part of the Machine they are portraying.
The teacher will then introduce the food chain/web within the ‘Machine” strategy. Students should create a movement and vocalization to show what organism/animal they are representing, then the teacher can choose a student to start a food chain. The chain does not have to start with a more obvious beginning, which allows students to consider which end of the food chain they attach to, testing their knowledge of how their organism relates to their fellow students choices. Having the class decide where the next student adds onto the food chain is also a great way to keep students involved as well.
Adding student after student will eventually get us to a point where students need to add their chosen organism/animal to the side of the food chain rather than directly in line with it: then we are creating a Food Web!! This is a great way to emphasize the fact that, while a fox might eat a rabbit, his next meal might be a squirrel; and then we’ve got a new food chain developing, connecting many food chains together for a Food Web!
To take this strategy further, give students different environments to test their knowledge of producers, consumers, and decomposers in the sea, the desert, and so on.
Notes:
- If your students shy away from physical and vocal activities, it is useful to have students develop ideas for movements at the same time before breaking up the class to make the machine.
- For instance, you could ask students to be a part of a vending machine (the spindle that rotates to drop a candy bar) and have the entire class create their own movement and sound for that part, then pick out a student to join the machine as it is created.