The Arts · Grade 10

Active learning ideas

The Elements of Dance: Time and Energy

Active learning works because dance movements exist in real time, so students need to physically and visually engage with time and energy to understand them. By moving through the structures themselves, they grasp how tempo and force shape a dance’s mood and meaning more deeply than by only watching or discussing.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• DA:Cr1.1.HSII
• DA:Re7.1.HSII

• 25–35 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Experiential Learning
• 30 min · Small Groups

Tempo and Emotion: Music Exploration

Students listen to short musical excerpts with distinct tempos and dynamics. In small groups, they improvise movement phrases that reflect the mood and speed of each piece, discussing how tempo influences their choices.

How does varying the tempo of a dance phrase change its emotional impact?

Facilitation Tip

For Power Levels, ask students to call out energy words like 'sharp' or 'smooth' while they move to build a shared vocabulary.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Experiential Learning
• 25 min · Pairs

Energy Qualities: Movement Study

Pairs of students are given a simple action (e.g., walking, reaching). They must perform this action using contrasting energy qualities: sustained, percussive, vibratory, and swinging. They then present their interpretations to the class for feedback.

Analyze how a dancer uses sustained versus percussive movements to convey different feelings.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Experiential Learning
• 35 min · Individual

Rhythm Composition: Body Percussion

Students work individually to create a short body percussion sequence focusing on rhythmic complexity and variations in tempo. They then teach their sequence to a partner, focusing on clear execution.

Design a short movement sequence that uses changes in energy to depict a transformation.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model the structures first by performing sample phrases so students see how ABA or Cannon actually look and feel. Avoid over-explaining; instead, let students experience the forms kinesthetically and then discuss what worked. Research shows that when students move before analyzing, their observations become more precise and personal.

Students will demonstrate understanding by organizing movement phrases into clear choreographic forms, using repetition and transitions intentionally, and explaining how energy choices support the dance’s emotional arc. Their work will show careful attention to how time and energy build narrative or mood.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the ABA Puzzle, watch for students who avoid repeating the opening theme because they think new material is always required.

  Remind them that the return to the theme creates cohesion, so have them underline the repeated phrase in their notes and mark how it was varied the second time.

• During the Cannon Challenge, watch for students who focus only on their own timing and ignore the group’s overall picture.

  Pause the activity and ask each group to step back and describe the visual pattern their overlapping movements create before refining their timing.

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Methods used in this brief

• Experiential Learning