Dance: Putting it together

Written self-evaluation

In Dance, students must evaluate their own dance works. This is part of the Choreographic Process (ISARE), which includes:

  • Improvisation
  • Selection
  • Arrangement
  • Refinement
  • Evaluation.

During each stage of the process, students will draw on a range of literacy strategies including:

In practice

The following approach focuses on the final evaluation of the dance work in a written report.

  1. The teacher provides the students with the following template that provides a suggested structure for the evaluation and is intended as a planning resource for students.
  2. suggested structure for the evaluation and is intended as a planning resource for students

  3. The teacher leads a discussion of the template document including highlighting the following:
    • The suggested structure of the evaluation report
    • The sentence starter examples
    • The use of tense (for example, use of past tense when recounting the performance)
    • The use of verbs to indicate dance movement and communication of intention (for example 'conveyed').
  4. The teacher provides examples of the ways in which noun groups may provide detailed information, for example, 'a reaching gesture', 'a forceful kick'.
  5. The teacher asks the students to write and share examples of their own noun groups in describing their own works. These are noted in the 'Planning' column of the template.
  6. The teacher discusses the use of adverbs and prepositional phrases (When? Where? How? In what manner?) that provide vivid details of actions and movements, for example: 'on my knees'; ' with my torso in a slumped position'; ' in the upstage right corner of the space'; ' in a fluent motion to the sky'.
  7. Students are asked to formulate and share their own prepositional phrases based on their own dance works. These are noted in the 'Planning' column of the template.
  8. The teacher and students draw on the earlier activities to read and deconstruct the following sample paragraph identifying the following:
    • Topic sentence
    • Use of first person 'I'
    • Intention
    • Elaborations or examples linked to the intention
    • Dance-specific vocabulary
    • Varied verbs
    • Noun groups
    • Adjectives
    • Adverbs
    • Prepositional phrases
    • Linking words/connectives to create cohesion.

    In phrase 8, the action of gesture is used to display overwhelming physical and emotional 

    The teacher and students draw on the earlier activities to read and deconstruct this sample paragraph identifying the following

  9. Teacher asks students which resources they may draw on to aid in the planning and writing of their reports, for example:
  10. Students are given time to begin completing their planning template drawing on the resources above.
  11. At regular intervals, the teacher monitors and offers feedback and advice through one-on-one scaffolding and whole class discussions.

Curriculum links for the above writing piece: VCADAP037, VCADAR038, VCADAR039, VCADAR045, VCADAR046.

Learning sequence

The learning sequence for Levels 7 and 8 in Dance, demonstrates how literacy teaching strategies can be used in a sequence. 

A learning sequence tool is also available to assist in the planning of Dance and Literacy across a series of lessons.