The Arts · Grade 2 · Characters and Creative Movement · Term 3

Exploring Emotions Through Movement

Students will use their bodies to express different emotions without speaking.

• Ontario Curriculum Expectations
• DA:Cr1.1.2a

About This Topic

Narrative Dance and Gestures focus on using the body as a storytelling tool. In Grade 2, the Ontario Dance curriculum encourages students to use 'elements of dance' (body, space, time, energy) to communicate ideas and feelings. Unlike abstract dance, narrative dance has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Students learn that a specific gesture, like shielding one's eyes or reaching out a hand, can replace a whole sentence of dialogue, making the story universal and visual.

This topic helps students develop coordination and sequence-based thinking. They learn to plan a series of movements that flow together to tell a tale. This concept is most effectively taught through collaborative choreography, where students work in small groups to 'translate' a short story into a dance, negotiating which movements best represent the action and emotion of the plot.

Key Questions

1. Construct a movement sequence that clearly shows a specific emotion.
2. Analyze how different body postures communicate feelings.
3. Compare how two different emotions might be expressed through movement.

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate how specific body shapes and levels can represent different emotions.
• Analyze how changes in tempo and force of movement communicate varying emotional states.
• Create a short movement sequence that clearly expresses a chosen emotion.
• Compare and contrast the movement vocabulary used to express two distinct emotions.
• Identify how posture and gesture can convey feelings without words.

Before You Start

Body Awareness and Control

Why: Students need to be aware of their body parts and have basic control over them to begin exploring movement.

Introduction to Elements of Dance (Body, Space, Time)

Why: Understanding basic concepts like body shapes, levels, and directions in space is foundational for expressing emotions through movement.

Key Vocabulary

Emotion	A strong feeling, such as happiness, sadness, anger, or surprise, that affects how a person behaves.
Gesture	A movement of a part of the body, especially a hand or the head, to express an idea or meaning.
Posture	The way in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting.
Tempo	The speed at which a movement is performed.
Force	The strength or energy used when performing a movement.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Students often think dance has to be 'pretty' or involve specific 'steps' like ballet.

What to Teach Instead

Broaden the definition of dance to 'expressive movement.' Using everyday gestures as the basis for choreography helps students see that any movement can be dance if it is done with intention.

Common Misconception

Children may struggle to remember a sequence of movements.

What to Teach Instead

Use 'movement anchors.' Give each part of the story a name (e.g., 'The Sprout,' 'The Wind,' 'The Flower'). Peer teaching, where students count out the beats for each other, helps reinforce the sequence.

Active Learning Ideas

Inquiry Circle: Story to Movement

Give small groups a 3-sentence story (e.g., 'A seed grows. It faces a storm. It blooms in the sun.'). Students must create three distinct movements to represent these stages and perform them in a sequence for the class.

30 min·Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Gesture Statues

Half the class freezes in a gesture that represents a specific action (e.g., 'chopping wood' or 'sailing a boat'). The other half walks through the 'statue gallery,' trying to identify the story each gesture is telling.

20 min·Whole Class

Think-Pair-Share: Speed and Story

Students choose one gesture (e.g., waving goodbye). They practice doing it very slowly and then very quickly. They share with a partner how the 'story' of the wave changes when the speed changes (e.g., sad vs. excited).

15 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Actors in theatre and film use body language and movement to portray characters' emotions, helping audiences connect with the story without relying solely on dialogue.
• Mime artists, like Marcel Marceau, create entire narratives and express complex feelings using only physical movement and facial expressions, demonstrating the power of non-verbal communication.
• Therapists specializing in dance or movement therapy use physical expression to help individuals process and communicate emotions they may find difficult to verbalize.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

Present students with images of people expressing different emotions. Ask: 'How is their body telling you how they feel? What specific parts of their body are you looking at? How could you copy that feeling with your own body?'

Quick Check

Ask students to stand and show 'happy' using their whole body. Observe for use of space and energy. Then, ask them to show 'sad' and observe for changes in posture and tempo. Provide verbal feedback on their choices.

Peer Assessment

In pairs, have students create a 5-second movement phrase for one emotion. They perform it for their partner. The partner identifies the emotion and explains one specific movement choice that helped them understand it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can active learning help students understand narrative dance?

Active learning turns storytelling into a physical puzzle. When students work in 'collaborative investigations' to choreograph a story, they must discuss and justify why a certain movement represents an idea. This process of translation, from word to body, requires high-level thinking. Peer-led 'gallery walks' also provide immediate feedback, helping students see if their 'visual sentences' are clear to an audience.

What are the 'elements of dance' for Grade 2?

The primary elements are Body (what is moving), Space (where it moves), Time (how fast/slow), and Energy (how much force is used).

Can boys and girls both enjoy narrative dance?

Absolutely. Framing dance as 'action storytelling' or 'physical theater' often appeals to all students, especially when incorporating movements from sports, nature, or popular culture.

How do I assess a dance sequence?

Focus on whether the student followed the sequence and used their body to clearly express the intended story or emotion, rather than their technical 'ability' to dance.