Dancing Words Blog

Alphabet Series: The Letter A

When you and your students explore the letter A, some of these books can be springboards and inspiration for improvisations and dance projects. 

A is for AROUND

I am always looking for books and stories with prepositions. Check out this picture book about plants and gardens - Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres and illustrator Nadine Bernard Westcott. It will inspire a fun warm up and get students thinking about relationships in space.

A is for ANIMALS

You can do an entire dance class with animal inspiration - shapes, actions, traveling patterns, levels, tempo, and much more. Books to investigate include:

• Animal Action ABC by Karen Pandell and Photographers Art Wolfe and Nancy Sheehan
• African Animal Alphabet by Beverly and Dereck Joubert
• African Animals ABC by Stella Blackstone and Philippa-Alys Browne
• The New Alphabet of Animals by Christopher Wormell
• Creature ABC by Andrew Zuckerman
• Zoo-ology by Joelle Jolivet

A is for AUTUMN LEAVES

Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins is a beautiful picture book with vibrant photos of leaves. You and your students can explore the shapes of the leaves in a warm up exercise. Add some of the classic "autumn music" as well - the jazz standard "Autumn Leaves" or the Autumn section from Vivaldi's Four Seasons.

A is for ARTISTS ALVIN AILEY AND ALICIA ALONSO

You can also share biographies about modern dancer Alvin Ailey and prima ballerina Alicia Alonso:

• Alvin Ailey by Andrea Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
• Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand and illustrator Raúl Colón

Nutcracker Series: Book by Alison Jay

Yes, it is July, and I am writing about The Nutcracker! I believe that it is never too early to be thinking of your classes and units of study in the coming months.

We got this version of The Nutcracker out of the library the other week, and my 5 year old son has asked for me to read this to him almost every day. He hasn't even seen The Nutcracker yet, but I already have plans in the works to take him to see the San Francisco Ballet in December....

Alison Jay is known for her distinctive artwork and its "crackled painting" appearance. Her version of the Nutcracker tale is easy to read and accessible for young ones. Over the coming months, I will review various versions of the Nutcracker story.

Between the artwork and reasonable length text, this book is a great version to share with students in PreK-3rd grade as you explore this classic story from the ballet.

The Nutcracker by Alison Jay

 

Alphabet Series: Alphabet Book Bin (Updated January 2020)

I love book bins within preschool and kindergarten classes. They offer many options around a particular subject. Today I want to share the idea of having an alphabet book bin within your classroom or studio - whether you are a preschool teacher, dance teacher at a studio, kindergarten teacher, or dance teaching artist in an elementary school.

Listed below is a great selection of alphabet books that can lead to a fun closing or opening activity in a dance class. Let me explain how this might work. Let's say you teach dance at a preschool. Let's say that the students are exploring the letter M this week. You can gather the students around you and the book bin. Select 3-4 books from the bin. Look at the M pages within these books. You and the students might begin class by making shapes in your bodies inspired by the images, or by exploring the action words in the books for the letter M. 

If you look at the M page in 4-6 different books, use Post-It notes to mark the pages. After practicing a movement or shape for each page, as a group make an order for the ideas to build a simple phrase. Write the order and key words on chart paper or a dry erase board for easy reference.

From A Garden of Ordinary Miracles

You can repeat this same activity each week or every few weeks. 

 

Here is my list for a book bin, with a variety of books about animals, flowers, food, actions, and dance specific vocabulary:

1. Alphabet of Dance: A Smithsonian Alphabet Book by Barbie Schwaeber

2. A Dictionary of Dance by Harriet Ziefert and illustrator Liz Murphy

3. On Your Toes: A Ballet ABC by Rachel Isadora

4. Alphabet Movers by Teresa Benzwie

5. ABC Yoga by Christiane Engel

6. Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen, with illustrator Holly Clifton-Brown

7. A Children's Day: An Alphabet of Play by Ida Pearle

8. ABCers by Carole Lexa Schaefer and illustrator Pierr Morgan

9. Roar Like a Dandelion by Ruth Krauss and illustrator Sergio Ruzzier

10. From A to Z with Energy! by Connie Bergstein Dow and illustrator Gareth Llewhellin

11. Alphamals A-Z by Graham Carter

12. Animal Action ABC by Karen Pandell and photographers Art Wolfe and Nancy Sheehan

13. Into the A, B, Sea by Deborah Lee Rose and Steve Jenkins

14. Creature ABC by Andrew Zuckerman

15. African Animal Alphabet (National Geographic Little Kids) by Beverly and Dereck Joubert

16. The New Alphabet of Animals by Christopher Wormell

17. 8: An Animal Alphabet by Elisha Cooper

18. Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert

19. A Garden of Ordinary Miracles: An Alphabet Book by Robert Zakanitch

20. An ABC of Flowers by Jutta Hilpuesch

21. ABC Dream by Kim Krans

22. A B See by Elizabeth Doyle

23. ABC Love by Christiane Engel

24. Today I Feel: An Alphabet of Feelings by Madalena Moniz

If you search for these books on amazon.com, many can be purchased used for very reasonable prices. Your school librarian might also allow you to keep a set of books in your room for a few weeks at a time.

 

Alphabet Series: Launch

About 10 years ago, I wrote a book about teaching the alphabet through dance. I am going to edit the lessons one more time and publish it in 2014. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I will share here on the blog some of the books that are referenced within my book. I hope that you will find these books to be inspiring springboards for activities as well as extensions to lessons.

I believe that teaching the alphabet through many different modes - movement, writing, reading, drawing, etc. - is invaluable to reach all kinds of learners and to teach one of the most fundamental concepts to young children.

Magic and Whimsy Series: Infinity and Me

I read a review of this picture book a few months ago, and finally found a copy at the library this week. If you are searching for a new concept for a modern dance class with students in grades 3-5, check out this book!

Infinity and Me is written by Kate Hosford and illustrated by Gabi Swiatkowska (a favorite of mine). It shares the story of a young girl poundering and discussing the question of infinity. The text, artwork, and concept are all magical. With students in grades 3-5, you can explore the movement concepts of repetition, traveling, figure 8 patterns in the air and on the ground, and more.

I envision a magical dance that actually has the text read aloud or recorded for the audience to hear. The story will lead to the creation of an exciting dance with your students. 

A Leaf Can Be.....

The 2012 picture book A Leaf Can Be..., by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrator Violeta Dabija, is a great springboard for a dance with students in K-3 classes. 

The rhyming text explores the many actions of leaves on and off of trees depending on the time of year - tree topper, rain stopper, shade spiller, mouth filler....pile grower, hill glow-er, ground warmer, nest former..."

Whether you choose to use the actual text or to have your students write their own ideas about what a leaf can be, the action words can inspire a rich movement exploration about what leaves do, how they relate to other creatures in the world, and more. 

Hickory Dickory Dock by Keith Baker

Keith Baker's 2007 book Hickory Dickory Dock is an extended version of the nursery rhyme. It can be fun inspiration for a new dance or warm up in preschool and kindergarten dance classes. 

With each strike of the clock - at 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. - a different animal is moving about. Let your imagination and playfulness create a new dance for your students. "Hickory dickory dock, a hare hopped over the clock. The clock struck four....he hopped some more! Hickory dickory dock."

I am a big proponent for incorporating rhymes into dance classes - for the playfulness of them as well as the rhythms and cultural importance of nursery rhymes.

Have fun!

 

Another Blog to Check Out - Book to Boogie

How can preschool story times include movement?

The Book to Boogie Project offers more ideas for the intersection of reading and dancing. Maria Hanley's recent post shares ideas to explore with Harold and the Purple Crayon. Check it out!

Blue Sky

Audrey Wood's 2012 picture book Blue Sky might just be the book you are looking for this summer. I already envision multiple ways to use this book with K-5 students. 

The text is sparse but lends itself to action and imagery. It reads like a poem:

Blue sky

Cloud sky

Rain sky

Storm sky

In your K-2 classes, use the text as a starting point for a warm up you develop, or for a structured improv activity. With students in 3-5, I imagine dividing up the book. In small groups or even solos, students can create a short phrase to represent each page - "rainbow sky.....storm sky.....dream sky..."

Have fun and play!

 

Collaboration

Truth be told, only a small handful of children's books on the subject of dance get published each calendar year. I keep a close out for them when browsing stores, libraries, and the Horn Book Magazine and Horn Book Guide.

This week I was excited to find a new one on the shelf at the North Berkeley Library! And, it is great! The book is When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot by Lauren Stringer. 

The book shares the tale of the making of The Rite of Spring, which was a radical piece at the time in terms of sound and movement. "Together they decided to dream of something different and new." For students in grades 1-5, the take away from this picture book is about two artists with inspiration and dreams, who worked together, took a chance, and made art.

I think this book would be a great introduction to a collaborative project, whether that project is within one class or across grade levels or artistic mediums. Secondarily, the book does an excellent job giving an introduction to the work of Stavinsky and Nijinsky.

If your students get excited about this book, you may also want to explore Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan with illustrations by Brian Floca. Ballet for Martha shares the story of the collaboration between Martha Graham, Aaron Copland, and Isamu Noguchi to create Appalachian Spring.