Off the dance floor and in the Classroom!
There are many ways to approach the 20-minutes per week of related instruction. The most important thing is to find a method that fits your school’s schedule and academic goals. This may mean spending a dedicated one solid 40-minute period every other week to this portion of the program, or finding something in the middle of this scenario.  Some activities included are geared towards slightly younger or slightly older children, but can be customized to fit your classroom.

We will be focusing on the following four primary categories to help structure the lessons.  Topics listed are meant to provide guidance, but are not meant to be restrictive:

DANCE

Sample topics could include history of dances taught in SSBD, identification of geographical origin of dances, general summary of dance and /or dance exploration, and researching the role or importance of dance.

CULTURE and CUMMUNITY

Sample topics could include discussing what culture is, studying historical and / or cultural aspects of the countries from which the SSBD dances originate, exploring what roles dance plays in different cultures, exploring how cultures differ and how to respect these differences, exploring social norms and understanding our community.

CHARACTER EDUCATION

Sample topics could include exploring concepts of respect, team work, fairness, responsibility, caring and commitment, discussing action and reaction and how these can impact others, identifying individual work habits and how these relate to working with others, and exploring how concepts from dance class can be used in other areas of life.

HEALTH, FITNESS and NUTRITION

Sample topics include exploring healthy eating habits and how to determine healthy foods, understanding the importance of exercise (including dancing!), exploring what habits help create a “healthy lifestyle,” discussing body image and/or valuing your self, being drug free and studying how the body operates in relation to dance and/or movement. We discuss how dancing and other methods of exercise and nutrition help our bodies to function in a more effective manner.

Many of these concepts can be tied into other academic studies such as math, science and language arts.  

We encourage our instructors and teacher sponsors to connect when appropriate in developing ‘homework” that can be integrated in these lessons to support what is happening in the dance periods. Please contact us if you have questions about this.