Colored Floor Tape
5-6 years
The size of the space may depend upon the number of children, although the space should be large enough to enable them to feel the sensations of moving through space.
A large colored plastic floor tape, which has been used to create shapes of numbers and letters, and geometric and abstract shapes on the walls, and will be used for the students to create their own shapes on the black board, and or walls; taped music or drum accompaniment.
The students will learn that they can make shapes with their bodies.
Students will explore the shapes that they can make with their bodies by copying the shapes on the walls, and freezing in shapes of their choice.
Students will explore how shapes can move through space by adding locomotor movements of their choice and by changing the levels of their shapes.
Students will create their own shapes, and a shape dance by working in pairs and placing pieces of tape on the board to create a sequence of shapes, and a shape dance.
Students will perform the shape dance as a group, adding their own personal ways of traveling in a shape, both without and with music.
1. Review of Personal and General Space: The teacher gives each student a small piece of magic tape to use to create their personal space bubbles.
2. The teacher tells the students that we are going to play a freezing game by dancing in any way to the music, but then freezing, when the music stops. After a couple of times with just freezing the teacher should point out the different shapes that the students are making with their bodies, and then give them specific instructions to do it again, only this time, freeze in a shape.
3. The teacher leads an exploration of the shapes on the walls. Questions: Can anyone tell me what kind of a shape this is? Can someone else make this shape with your body? Can everyone make this shape with their bodies? Are there any other ways to make this shape with our bodies?
4. The teacher leads an exploration of how shapes can move through space and change levels. Questions: Staying in the same shape, how can you get across the room? How would you do this shape on a high level? Low level? Middle level? Can you make this shape turn? Can you do this shape backwards?
1. The teacher asks the students to find a friend to work with, and then gives each student two pieces of tape (about 6 inches long). The teacher instructs them to work together to make a shape on the black board, or a bare wall. All of the shapes should be close together so that they can be read from left to right as a movement sentence.
2. The teacher asks the students to create the shape they have made on the chalkboard with their bodies. Questions: Can you make you shape move? Lets try to make all of these shapes in order. Can you make all of these shapes in order and make your own shape move?
1. After the students have gone through the shape dance, the teacher can then add music.
2. If they seem to know it very well the teacher might ask them to do it facing away from the board.
3. Closing Questions: The teacher asks the students to sit in a circle and leads a short discussion on what has been learned through the lesson. Questions: What was you favorite shape? How did you decide to make you shape on the board? Why did you choose to travel in the way that you did?
Angela McDonnell
Teachers College
Columbia University
November 1992