Title Writing with the Body (Adpated from Voigt and Pepler n.d. and Brownfield 2010).

Overarching goals for This lesson is about using body movement and dance as a vehicle to engage students
developing this in English. The lesson will focus on using technical skills and space, to represent
learning experience letters and words, so students can feel the shapes of letters with their whole bodies
in space, to make it easier to generalize spelling patterns (Brehm and McNett 1997,
citied in Brownfield 2010), and use them in writing.
Prior Learning This lesson is designed as a single standalone lesson, which will be carried out over
two lessons (preferably a double). Prior to the lesson, students would have explored
learning experiences pertaining to elements of dance (i.e. technical skills and space)
and elements of English (i.e. written letters and the alphabet). Students would also
have had the experience to work independently and collaboratively.
Learning Area The Arts
ACARA Level Sub – Strand Key elements of standards to which lesson is focused:
Years 3 and 4 Dance • Practise technical skills safely in fundamental
movements (ACADAM006).
• Improvise and structure movement ideas for dance sequences
using the elements of dance and choreographic
devices (ACADAM005).

General Capabilities:
Literacy • Understand learning area vocabulary
• Composing texts through speaking, writing, visual and creating

Critical and • Generating ideas, possibilities and actions

Creative Thinking

Personal and
Social Capability • Identify cooperative behaviours in a range of group activities

Learning Objective
The students will:
• Explore body movement and develop movement phrases to represent letters and words (ACADAM006).
• Interpret sequences of movement phases as they make and respond to body movement and dance
(ACADAM005).
• Work co-operatively with their peers to improvise, showing their dance ideas to others and watching
other people dance (ACADAM005).
Learning Outcomes
(Evidence of learning)
The students will:
• Demonstrate technical skills of body control, accuracy, alignment, strength, balance and coordination in
fundamental movements in response to teacher’s feedback.
• Demonstrate the elements of dance of (space, including level, shapes and dimension).
• Demonstrate positive communication and interaction.
Teacher Outcomes:
The teacher will:
• Wait for the full attention of the class before providing instructions.
• Give clear and simple instructions.
• Use questioning and student demonstrations to check for student understanding.
• Position themself to the side and front of the group so students can follow demonstrations.
Suggested inclusiveness and modified approach:
• Mixed ability grouping for peer scaffolding.
• Group size adjustment (social dynamic and individual needs)
• For students with poor technical skills it is advised to modify standardised movement to meet their needs.
• For students with low to below literacy skills, further scaffolding required and a letter chart may be made
available.
• This lesson sequence can be extended to provide additional opportunities for practice and further
 scaffolding.
• Extending for students has been made available in the exploration phase.

Formative Assessment and Monitoring Student Progress

Teacher Anecdotal Observation, recorded in: reflective diary
• Watch for student’s engagement.
• Observe students’ responses.
• Continually evaluate how well students share their thoughts on ‘topic’.
Time Teaching and Learning Experience Resources
5 min Warm Up Resources
• Introduce and demonstrate different types of body movements • Large, clear space
which create lines (straight, horizontal, and vertical, diagonal, • Comfortable clothes
curvy) and shapes (with whole body, by drawing with different
body parts).
20 min Exploration Resources
• As a whole group in a scattered formation, students explore • Large, clear space
how to make straight lines and shapes with their bodies in • Comfortable clothes
space. Students use their arms, and then they can progress
using their legs, head and torso.
• Guide students to explore how to make different letters with
their body in space.
• Use a spelling bee format and go around the class giving each
student a letter to write with his or her body.
• Encourage students to keep in mind the shape of the letter,
whether it is tall or small, straight or curved. And or have them
think about the sound it makes; is it bold and strong, or smooth
and flowing?
• The class will decide which movement will be their standard
movement for that letter or pattern.
• To extend students, students can represent their letters in
order to spell a word.
(Adpated from Voigt and Pepler n.d. and
Brownfield 2010)
30 min Development Resources
• Introduce the idea of spelling words through movement • Large, clear space
phrases. • Comfortable clothes
• Divide the students into groups and assign each group to
vocabulary word (scaffold any group with low reading ability).
• Groups create a dance phrase incorporating the agreed upon
movement to represent each letter.
• Give students time to rehearse their sequences in preparation
for performing their dance phrase for the spelling word.
• Highlight the importance of focus and accuracy in repeating the
sequence of movements.
(Adpated from Voigt and Pepler n.d. and
Brownfield 2010)
20 min Culmination Resources
• Each group performs their movement sequence for the rest of • Large, clear space
the class. • Comfortable clothes
• The class interprets which word is being spelled and shares
what they saw to identify the word (e.g. noticing the vowel
placement, the length of the word, or identifying movements
that are particularly recognisable as a letter or group of
letters).
5 min Closure Resources
• As a whole group evaluate the movement phrases by • Large, clear space
discussing why they enjoyed particular sequences and • Comfortable clothes
identifying the similarities and differences between them.
(Adpated from Voigt and Pepler n.d. and
Brownfield 2010)