LESSON PLAN FORMAT- DANCE CONTENT AREA

WINTHROP UNIVERSITY
Educator: Brittany M. Johnson
Date: 11/12/2014
Target Age Group/ Grade: 8th grade
Length of Lesson: 45 minutes
Focus of Lesson: Todays lesson continues our focus on the development of jazz dance.
Broadway dance will be the lesson topic for today. Students will use our Jazz Dance
Development Timeline to develop a connection between Broadway dancing and modern-day
jazz dancing.
Materials: Promethean board, YouTube video, notecards, stereo, music CD, white board, dry
erase markers, eraser
Resources: National/ SC State Dance Standards,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wugWGhItaQA,
http://saipan.com/edu/mhs/S.&%20D.%20Web%20Page/PERFORMANCEWest%20Side%20Story.htm , http://musicals.net/cgibin/synopsis?sn=81&show=West+Side+Story

National/ State Curriculum Standards:

Standard 1: Technique
The student will identify and demonstrate movement elements and skills and apply them while
performing dance.
Indicator:
D8-1.6 Demonstrate accurate memorization and replication of movement sequences.
Standard 5: History and Culture
The student will demonstrate an understanding of dance in various cultures and historical
periods.
Indicator:
D8-5.2 Identify the role of dance in various cultures and historical contexts and distinguish the
similarities and differences among them.
Vocabulary:
Introduced Vocabulary
Lesson Objective

Students will learn.

1. About the background and historical content of the musical
West Side Story
2. Learn an interpretation of the musical number Cool

Instructional
Procedures

Introductory Activity: (15 minutes)

1. Rumble
a. This activity will be a pre-assessment of what the
students know about the musical West Side Story.
b. The class will be split into two halves, the Sharks and
the Jets. Each half starts on opposites sides of the room
(Sharks on the right and Jets on the left).
c. I will have a stack of notecards of about 10 multiple
choice questions about West Side Story. I will ask the
question aloud and both sides will decide upon the
answer collectively, then tell me their choice of
answer.
i. Who wrote West Side Story? A) Lemony
Snickett, B) Arthur Laurents, C) Edgar Allen
Poe
ii. Who choreographed and directed West Side
Story? A) Wade Robson, B) Kenny Ortega, C)
Jerome Robbins
iii. What year was West Side Story first produced?
A) 1957, B) 1966, C) 1987
iv. Which is a character in West Side Story? A)
Maria, B) Lance, C) Jerry
v. Who are the main gangs in conflict in the
story? A) The Bears and The Wildcats, B) The
Aces and The Kings, C) The Sharks and The
Jets
vi. Where does the story take place? A) California,
B) New York, C) Ohio
vii. What was story was West Side Story inspired
by? A) Cinderella, B) The Great Gatsby, C)
Romeo and Juliet
viii. Which is a song from West Side Story? A)
Cool, B) New York Streets C) Beat It
ix. Where does the beginning of the story take
place? A) New York alley, B) School
gymnasium, C) Marias house
x. Which gang wins the war at the end? A) The
Sharks, B) The Aces, C) Neither
d. If the group answers correctly they will can advance
towards the other groups with small sideways steps
while snapping (in a cool way). If the group answers
incorrectly they cannot move.
e. The goal of the game is to get as many answers correct
as possible to take over your opponents territory
before they take over yours.

f. A tally system will be recorded on the white board to

determine who wins.
g. After this activity, students will view a PowerPoint
about West Side Story in correlation to the preassessment.
Developmental Activity: (20 minutes)
1. Cool
a. Students will view a brief PowerPoint presentation and
watch a clip of the dance excerpt Cool from West Side
Story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wugWGhItaQA
b. Students will learn and perform a shortened,
interpreted version of Cool.
Concluding Activity: (5 minutes)
1. Discussion
a. Students will participate in a brief discussion about
their experience with the Cool dance number, what
they learned about West Side Story, and then three
students will be chosen to edit the Jazz Dance
Development Timeline by including what we learned
today.
i. Can you see how jazz dance is used in cool?
ii. What is some the jazz dance terminology in the
dance?
iii. What did you learn about West Side Story?
(These answers will be including on the
timeline after this discussion.)
iv. Based on the plot, why do you think jazz dance
is appropriate for this play?
Assessment of
Objective

I will assess the students background and historical knowledge about

West Side Story in the summative assessment during the concluding
discussion. I will also assess students based on their performance of
the excerpt Cool.