Today was our second session of Integrated arts on Education where we had inputs of Art and Dance. In our lecture we were introduced to the 10 skills required to enable a successful dance session which I will expand on later in the blog.

Art

In todays art class we were print making with black ink using our hands. We covered our hands in the ink and pressed onto blank paper to then try and create something out of what we could see from the ink, this activity was extremely engaging as it allowed us to stretch our imagination and each piece of work was unique. We expanded on this by printing using objects such as lego bricks etc.

Then, we studied the story of ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds. This emphasised the point that many people will doubt their ability to produce art, but it teaches that any mark you make is artwork which you can then improve on. I think this is an important lesson to teach as it encourages self belief and the confidence to produce art.

Dance

Firstly, we were shown different ice breaker games to play to get to know the names of pupils in your class etc while incorporating dance, this was beneficial as a student teacher to learn ways on how to get to know your class. We were given lots of ideas of games to play linking to particular topics and giving the pupils the freedom to dance however they would like.

We also thought about different parts of the body and how to stretch properly as it is important to stretch before exercising, this showed how simple it is to encourage pupils to stretch fully.

We then looked further into what was introduced at our morning lecture – the 10 skills required to enable a successful dance session. These are kick, roll, jump, reach, hop, twist, balance, gesture, turn and slide. By putting these skills together it showed just how easy it can be to put a dance routine together. In groups we came up with our own moves for these skills and put them together to form a routine. By being in the pupils side of the situation this input was very insightful and enjoyable.
At the beginning of the input we were asked how we would feel teaching a dance session, I said I would be unsure of what to do and would not be confident with it, however after just this one input I already feel full of ideas and more at ease therefore I look forward to expanding on this over the next few weeks.