Teaching Children Dance is back and better than ever. The fourth edition of this text retains everything dance educators have loved in previous editions while providing significant updates and new material.
What’s New in This Edition? New material in the text—which contains learning experiences for physical education, dance, and classroom settings and is geared toward K-12 students of all ability levels—includes the following:
- Two new chapters that feature 32 new learning experiences for popular, fitness, and social dances, as well as for folk and cultural dances based on traditional movements and songs from around the globe
- Instructional videos of teaching techniques, movements, and dances from the two new chapters
- Online resources, accessed through HKPropel, that include PowerPoint presentations, gradable assessments, and forms that can be used as is or adapted
Other new material includes suggested answers to chapter-ending reflection questions; updates to discussions on dance and the whole-child education initiative; new material on how 21st-century skills promote creative thinking, collaboration, communication, global awareness, and self-direction; and a description of the link between dance and the 2018
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
Dance an Inherent Component of Education “This latest edition of
Teaching Children Dance brings a new perspective focused on dance as an inherent component of a child’s education,” says coauthor Susan Flynn. “Since our last edition, educational issues have refocused on students gaining knowledge and skills that can be applied to all aspects of their lives. Dance is one mode for learning that involves using the body and the senses to gather information, communicate, and demonstrate conceptual understandings.”
Book Organization The text is organized into two parts, with part I’s seven chapters providing the foundation for developing dance learning experiences and offering ideas for planning a yearlong program, a unit, or a single lesson. Part II contains two chapters of creative dance learning experiences and two chapters on choreographed learning experiences. Each learning experience includes learning outcomes; ideas for the introduction and warm-up, development, and culminating dance; variations and adaptations; and assessment suggestions that are directly linked to each outcome.
Fun Learning for All Ability LevelsTeaching Children Dance offers dance instructors insight into designing lessons for students of all skill levels, including those with disabilities, and provides a variety of teaching strategies, assessment tools, and instruction on effective demonstrations—all to make the learning experience fun and motivating for the dancers.
“We’ve developed learning experiences that encourage creativity, positive social interaction, and motor skill development,” says Flynn. “Students view dance as a way to have fun. This opens the door for dance to be a welcomed activity in the school curriculum.”
Note: A code for accessing HK
Propel is included with all new print books.
Audience
Undergraduate text for general courses in dance, physical education, or elementary or secondary teaching methods courses. Reference for physical education, dance education, and classroom teachers or related professionals who teach dance to K-12 students in a variety of settings.
Part I. A Framework for Teaching Children’s Dance
Chapter 1. Understanding the Importance of Teaching Children’s Dance
What Is Children’s Dance?
Why Teach Children’s Dance?
What Are the Benefits of Children’s Dance?
Applying 21st-Century Skills to Teaching Dance
Meeting the Whole Child Through Dance
Linking the Physical Activity Guidelines to Dance
Summary
Questions for Reflection
Chapter 2. Presenting Essential Content for Children’s Dance
The Body
Body Shapes
Space
Time
Force
Flow
Relationships
Dance Forms
Summary
Questions for Reflection
Chapter 3. Designing a Dance Program
Planning a Yearlong Dance Program
Planning a Dance Unit
Planning the Dance Lessons
Sample Unit and Lesson Outline
Interdisciplinary Connections
Summary
Questions for Reflection
Chapter 4. Creating a Dance Education Setting
Class Size
Equipment and Teaching Materials
Facilities
Class Frequency and Length
Community Characteristics
School Policies
Program Advocacy
Summary
Questions for Reflection
Chapter 5. Making Teaching Effective
Helping All Students Learn
Using Various Teaching Styles and Strategies
Motivating Learners
Establishing Protocols and Rules
Creating a Safe Learning Environment
Presenting Demonstrations
Providing Feedback
Engaging Students in Performances
Observing and Responding to Dance
Summary
Questions for Reflection
Chapter 6. Assessing Children’s Learning in Dance
Teacher Assessment of Program
Teacher Assessment of Students
Peer Assessment
Student Self-Assessment
Assessment Instruments
Summary
Questions for Reflection
Chapter 7. Including All Children in Dance
Knowing Your Students With Disabilities
Creating an Inclusive Environment
Implementing Inclusive Teaching Strategies
Inclusive Dances
Summary
Questions for Reflection
Part II. Learning Experiences
Chapter 8. Learning Experiences for Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade
Neighborhood Friendship Streamer Dance
Floating Clouds and Rain Showers
Run, Hop, Jump, Skip
The Playground
Ocean Waves and Swimmers
Spaghetti Dance
Balloon Dance
Percussion Instrument Dance
The Hungry Cat
Circus Dance
Connect the Spots
Frog Dance
Chapter 9. Learning Experiences for Third Through Eighth Grades
Dancing Homework Machine
Creative Square Dance
Action Words
Baseball Dance
Birthday Celebration
Partner Dance
Three Sport Dances: Sport Add-On, Sport Web, and Sport Pictures in Action
Dance Maps
Create Your Own Hip-Hop Dance
Funky Shape Museum
Stick Figures Come Alive
Chapter 10. Learning Experiences in Popular, Fitness, and Social Dances
Overview of Popular, Fitness, and Social Dances
Teaching Strategies for Choreographed Dance Lessons
Basic Social and Popular Dance Movements
Learning Experiences
5, 6, 7, 8 Steps Line Dance
16-Step Contra Dance
Disco Fever Dance
Funky Cowboy Line Dance
Grapevine Slide Dance
Hey Baby Line Dance
The Hit Man Contra Dance
Honky Tonk Line Dance
Honky Tonk Circle Dance
Rockin’ Shuffle
Rock This Party Line Dance
Baba Hou Fitness Dance
T Fitness Dance
Cha-Cha Plank Fitness Dance
Circle Jam Fitness Dance
Tabata Dance
Salsa
Swing
Cha-Cha
Create Your Own Fitness Dance
Create Your Own Popular Dance
Sample Rubrics
Chapter 11. Learning Experiences in Folk and Cultural Dances
American Square Dance
Bele Kawe
Appalachian Big Circle (Elementary Version)
Appalachian Big Circle (Secondary Version)
Kinderpolka
La Raspa
Mayim, Mayim
Samoan Sasa
Tanko Bushi
Tinikling
Virginia Reel
Susan Flynn, MA, teaches in the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance at the College of Charleston, South Carolina, training students in sport pedagogy and preK-5 teacher education. Flynn specializes in the areas of rhythms and dance in the PE curriculum, adapted physical education, and elementary methods. She has also taught at Purdue University and in public schools in Maryland.
Flynn developed the Perceptual Motor Development Clinic at the University of Toledo and was director for 10 years. She also organized Pete’s Pals, a mentoring initiative at Purdue University offering aquatic and motor therapy for children with disabilities. Currently, she conducts a similar program at the College of Charleston called FitCatZ Aquatic and Motor Therapy.
Emily Enloe, EdD, is a dance educator at Oakbrook Middle School in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to teaching, Enloe was the graduate mentor for the Dancers Connect program housed through the University of South Carolina’s dance education program from August 2010 to May 2014. Work with this program earned Enloe the 2012 Elsa Posey Graduate Student Scholarship from the National Dance Education Organization. She earned her MEd in early childhood education from the University of South Carolina in August 2013, and she continues to present at workshops and both state and national conferences in addition to teaching. Dr. Enloe is past president of the South Carolina Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance as well as the South Carolina Dance Association. She graduated from Charleston Southern University with an EdD in leadership in May 2022.
Stephen L. Cone, PhD, is a professor emeritus in the department of health and exercise science at Rowan University in New Jersey. Dr. Cone is past president of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD; now SHAPE America) and received their Honor Award in 2000. He is also a member of the New Jersey AHPERD, the Alliance for Arts Education New Jersey, and numerous other professional organizations. He has written dozens of articles for physical education publications and was coauthor of Interdisciplinary Teaching Through Physical Education (Human Kinetics, 1998) and the three previous editions of Teaching Children Dance.
Theresa Purcell Cone, PhD (1950–2019), was a physical education and dance teacher at Brunswick Acres Elementary School in Kendall Park, New Jersey, where she also directed a children’s dance company. She was an adjunct professor at Rowan University in New Jersey and a teacher and choreographer at the Princeton Ballet School. Dr. Cone was a past president of the National Dance Association and was named its first Dance Educator of the Year. She was also a member of the National Dance Education Organization, the Alliance for Arts Education New Jersey, and numerous other professional organizations. Dr. Cone was coauthor of Interdisciplinary Teaching Through Physical Education (Human Kinetics, 1998).
In 2004, Dr. Cone was awarded a Presidential Citation by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She also was awarded the Margie R. Hanson Distinguished Service Award by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. Dr. Cone received her doctorate in dance from Temple University.
All ancillaries are free to adopting instructors through HKPropel.
Test package. Contains 125 questions in multiple-choice, true-false, multiple-response, and matching formats. The files may be downloaded for integration with a learning management system or printed for use as paper-based tests. Instructors may also create their own customized quizzes or tests from the test bank questions to assign to students directly through HKPropel. Multiple-choice questions are automatically graded, and instructors can review student scores in the platform.
Presentation package. Features more than 115 PowerPoint slides of text, artwork, and tables from the book that can be used for class discussion and presentation. The slides in the presentation package can be used directly within PowerPoint or printed to make handouts for students. Instructors can easily add, modify, and rearrange the order of the slides.
Instructors also receive access to all student materials in HKPropel. For Teaching Children Dance, Fourth Edition, this includes video demonstrations of dance movements, choreographed dances, and teaching techniques; the book’s Questions for Reflection along with suggested answers; and rubrics and other forms.
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