Dance And Science: Integrating Math and Biology through Dance Activities

New Research About the Power of Dance to Teach Dance

Ruqaya and Ellen taught lessons that proved it is possible to use dance as a way to illustrate science concepts. Ruqaya began with Math signs written on big pieces of paper. Every sign had an equivalent in movement. Once the students were familiar with the representation of the signs in movement, she gave them a new activity. This time they had to solve a mathematical operation and represent it through the body with movement. The result was very effective and demonstrative in terms of how dance can help teachers to make Math fun and easier to understand.

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Hemoglobin is a transport protein for oxygen found in red blood cells

Ellen was equally persuasive about the approach she used to teach about the circulatory system and how important it is for the respiratory system. She took the first part of the class to explain the way O2, carried by the hemoglobin molecule, travels through the human body to be delivered to the cell. She asked for them take their static pulse and helped them calculate their heart beat per minute by age. She preceded to guide the warm up, which was based on pedestrian movement. She then invited students to, again, take their  own pulse and compare the two.

Instructor: Ellen Mitchell

Subject(s) and Grade Level: Dance 5th grade

Unit Topic:Human Physiology

Lesson Topic: The Cardiovascular System

Date(s)4/11/2018

LESSON PLAN TEMPLATE

OBJECTIVES 

Students will understand how blood circulates through the body, why breathing is important for movement, and how to check their pulse and what this means in regards to their cardiovascular system.

LANGUAGE: English

MATERIALS: music/speakers, diagrams of the human heart, stop watch, diagrams of the lungs and of the other muscles/tissues in the body, Easter eggs, small pieces of paper that represent oxygen.

KEY MOVEMENT VOCABULARY

Heart rate, pulse, locomotor movements, cardiovascular system, right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium, left ventricle, hemoglobin, oxygen, lungs, red blood cell

PROCEDURE (LESSON SEQUENCE) Students will enter the dance studio and be directed to sit in a circle on the floor. I will introduce myself and the lesson for the day. I will go over key vocabulary words, and pass around diagrams of the human heart and explain the pathway of blood flow through the body. Then I will teach students how to check their pulse/heart rate, and we will do this as a class using a stopwatch. From there, the class will be directed to stand up and spread out. I will start a high-energy song, and instruct the class to do different movements aiming to get their heart rates up. We will walk, jog, run, changing directions, face the mirror and do jumping jacks, other jumping movements, etc. until the song ends. I will then have the class check their heart rates again, and ask them why they got higher. I will explain the concept of maximum heart rate and the physiological reasons behind the increase in heart rate. Then I will direct stretching, and explain why stretching is important after the body is warmed up. Students will observe how their heart rates go back down during stretching. Next, the students will form two lines on one side of the room to do some across the floor, locomotor activities. They will go 2 at a time, and are to check their heart rates after they get to the other side in order to observe which exercises were more strenuous on their bodies. These exercises will include marching, battements, and chasses. The students will also get to learn some French words and basics of ballet movements. Finally, the class will stay in their two lines and these will be the teams for the final game. The game will involve a relay race between the two teams. Each student will be a red blood cell circulating throughout the body in the blood. They will each have their own molecule of hemoglobin (an Easter egg) that they are responsible for holding onto throughout the game. When it is their turn, the student will do a locomotor movement to the area designated “lungs,” pick up a piece of paper that says “oxygen” and put it in their egg, do another locomotor movement back to the area designated “heart,” and then do another locomotor movement to the area designated “muscles and tissues in the body,” drop off their molecule of oxygen there, and run back to their team to send the next student. The timer will be set for 5 minutes, and the team that delivered the most oxygen to the rest of the body will win. There will be a prize for the winning team (candy). The class will end by everyone sitting/laying down relaxing, getting their heart rates back down, while I recap what they learned today.
Ø   MOTIVATION(10 min.) Sitting in the circle, explanation of topic, measuring of heart rate and explaining blood flow using the diagrams of the heart. Warm up will include one song of cardio movements and 3 minutes of stretching.
Ø  PRESENTATION OF LESSON (18min.) Across the floor exercises (8 minutes) Explanation of game rules and execution of the game (10 minutes) Cool down/ relaxation and recap of class (2 minutes)
Ø  REVIEW, GUIDED PRACTICE and/or INDEPENDENT PRACTICE (2 min) Cool down/ relaxation. I will recap the class while they are relaxing and bringing their heart rates down.
Ø  ASSESSMENT I will ask follow up questions during the cool down to see what the class has learned and test their understanding of the material.
FOLLOW – UP EXTENSIONS AND HOME LEARNING I will ask students to learn more in depth about the circulatory system and ask them to learn how oxygen is exchanged from the lungs to the blood to the muscles and tissues of the body for the next class. Students that can explain the mechanism to me at the next class will receive one point of extra credit.
REFLECTION I will ask students to tell me one thing that they learned today, and how it affects their everyday life.

Feedback

"Today’s lessons were amazing! The way the first teacher used Dance, movement, and team work to teach math was immensely impressive. She used activities I could’ve never thought of but I enjoyed them very much. It was smart of her to incorporate friendly competition as a way to keep everyone involved, engaged, and energized. The second class was high energy and I learned more in that 30 minutes than I think I learned in the entirety of my high school science courses. The race was a lot of fun and her ability to explain things and keep us engaged was impeccable." Reece

"Ruqaya's lesson was an interesting take on mathematics, which was especially interesting because I hate math. Of course, the math was for a younger level of students, but putting myself in that mindset I would think that I wouldn't have gotten so bitter and intimidated with the subject if I would have been taught that way originally. She seemed very confident in her lesson. Ellen's lesson was such a great time that I almost forgot it was a lesson. Her enthusiasm and commitment to her role as teacher was inspiring. Her activities were so fun and I really learned a lot. There is almost nothing I would say that could have been better. I could really see her pursuing a career as an educator in whatever field she prefers and with whichever age group, although I think that she would do well with teens. I think it was a great class." Camila

"Ellen's class was incredible. I truly believe she is meant to be a teacher, children would ave so much fun and at the same time learn a large amount of content. I really enjoyed the way she used games to teach us about the human heart, while always keeping a good attitude and a big smile. Ruqaya's class was very interesting. I enjoyed how she used props while she was teaching math. She had great energy and made a lot of effort to get her message across." Sara

"I like how Ruqaya’s class integrated both movement and math. I like how the math required us to think fast on our feet, especially for the last activity. Ellen’s class was great. It also integrated movement and curriculum school learning, taking the activities we were doing in class and directly applying them to what is going on inside our bodies (which is a great teaching tool). She has control of the class and made it very fun." Patricia

"Ruqaya's games were really creative and incorporated math in fun ways." Ellen

About Ruqaya, great class. About Ellen, great class and great energy. Learned a lot! Jenny

Suggestions

About Ruqaya's lesson:

I would have enjoyed doing more of the game and activity rather than spend so much time on the warm up. 

If I had tot do something differently I would probably talk a little louder and give an explanation on how dance connects to math. 

I wish there were more activities and that the class was longer. 

More games! Maybe more instructions and structure to the game where we came up with our own movements.

She could have given more instructions for the make up your combo portion.

About Ellen's lesson:

I would say that she could have found a different way to make everyone feel like a winner without actually making everyone a winner. 

I think the class got really into the competitiveness of her class, but it was a bit of a let down when there was no actual reward.