Changing Movement

Overview

In this fourth lesson of Dance Explorations: Creating, Performing and Responding, students investigate how tempo and dynamics change the quality and meaning of movement. Building on earlier exploration of body, space and actions, they use freeze-and-pulse games and short group phrases to create, perform and respond through movement.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• explore slow and fast tempo in movement.
• explore strong, gentle, large, small, sudden and sustained actions.
• create a short movement phrase with a clear change.
• perform safely and respectfully as dancers, movers, clappers or cue leaders.
• describe how a movement change affects mood or meaning.

Success criteria

• I can change my movement from slow to fast, or fast to slow.
• I can show a strong, gentle, large, small, sudden or sustained action.
• I can keep moving to a steady beat or follow a cue.
• I can explain how my movement change makes the dance feel or mean something different.

Curriculum links

• Victorian Curriculum: The Arts – Dance, Levels 1–2: explore and use the elements of dance, including time and energy, to communicate ideas.
• Victorian Curriculum: The Arts – Dance, Levels 1–2: improvise and create movement sequences in response to stimuli.
• Victorian Curriculum: The Arts – Dance, Levels 1–2: perform movement sequences using expressive skills and safe performance practices.
• Victorian Curriculum: The Arts – Dance, Levels 1–2: respond to dance by describing movement choices and their effects.

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and visual hook. Open with the hook and learning intention slides and show two contrasting images or short movement demonstrations: a tiny, gentle, slow action and a large, strong, fast action. Ask, “How did the movement change the feeling?” Students silently copy each action, then share one describing word with a partner. Establish safety expectations: personal space, eyes up, no touching and freeze immediately on the signal.

2. 5–12 min · Tempo and dynamics warm-up. Use the movement word slides to introduce the paired ideas slow/fast, strong/gentle, large/small, and sudden/sustained. Play a steady clap or simple recorded beat. Students travel safely around the space, changing movement when the teacher calls a word or displays its picture. On “freeze”, everyone holds a still shape. Pause regularly so students can choose to dance, move only their arms, clap the beat or lead the next cue.

3. 12–20 min · Freeze-and-pulse game. Display the freeze-and-pulse instruction slide. Students work individually or with a partner: they make a frozen shape, pulse or repeat one small action four times, then freeze again. Call contrasting cues such as “small and gentle”, “large and strong” or “slow, then sudden”. Year 1 students focus on showing one obvious change. Year 2 students practise coordinating two changes, such as fast and small followed by slow and large. Invite clappers or cue leaders to maintain the four-beat count.

4. 20–32 min · Create a group phrase. Place students in groups of four or five and open the group creation steps. Each group selects or is assigned a simple idea, such as a growing plant, a storm arriving or a robot losing power. They create a 20–30 second phrase with a beginning shape, a repeated action and a clear change in tempo or dynamics. Year 1 groups include one clear change. Year 2 groups include at least two coordinated changes and decide how each change communicates their idea. Allocate roles so students may dance, move, clap the beat or give the cue. Circulate, count aloud and ask, “What changes? Can the audience see it?”

5. 32–43 min · Share and respond. Use the performance and audience prompts. Groups perform for another group or for half the class while the audience watches silently for the selected changes. After each performance, audience members name one visible movement change and describe its effect: “When it became…, it felt…” Performers identify whether their change was clear and make one small improvement before repeating a section. Keep transitions brief and allow groups to perform from their own space.

6. 43–50 min · Reflect and exit check. Return to the reflection and exit prompt slides. Students complete the movement change reflection sheet individually, drawing or writing one movement change and finishing the sentence, “It made the dance feel…” Year 1 students may circle picture choices and dictate or copy key words. Year 2 students record two changes and explain the expressive effect. Invite two or three students to demonstrate an example, then restate that tempo is how fast or slow movement is and dynamics describe how movement is performed.

Resources

• the complete tempo and dynamics teaching deck
• the movement change reflection sheet
• Clear, open movement space
• Device and projector or display
• Optional instrumental music with a steady beat
• Hand drum, clapping pattern or other beat-making object
• Four simple picture/word cue cards: slow/fast, strong/gentle, large/small, sudden/sustained
• Timer and visible freeze signal

Assessment

• Observe whether students respond safely and visibly to tempo and dynamics cues during the warm-up and freeze game.
• During group creation, check for one clear change in Year 1 work and two or more coordinated changes in Year 2 work; question students about the intended mood or meaning.
• Use the reflection sheet and demonstrations as an exit check. Note whether students can identify a change and explain its expressive effect.

Differentiation

• Provide picture cues, teacher modelling, repeated four-beat counts and sentence starters such as “It became ___, so it felt ___.”
• Offer students the choice to use seated or upper-body movement, clap the beat, cue the group or perform with a trusted partner. Mark a clearly defined personal space for students who need reduced movement demands.
• Support EAL learners with gesture, paired vocabulary, visual contrasts and rehearsal of the words before creating.
• Extend confident Year 2 students by asking them to make a gradual change as well as a sudden change, or to use tempo and dynamics together while keeping the beat.