New+York+(Jess)

The New York City Department of Education offers a very impressive BLUEPRINT FOR Learning and Teaching in the ARTS. The publication of the //Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts// defines a course of excellence in arts education that begins in early childhood and follows students up through the grades to a commencement level of achievement in art, music, dance and theater.

The //Blueprint// provides a standards-based rigorous approach to teaching the arts. It gives New York City’s students the opportunity to delve deeply into these subjects, while giving their teachers the latitude to create an instructional program that demonstrates student learning over time and in varied dimensions. New York Blueprint ARTS [] The //Blueprint// for Dance is organized by benchmark years, moving through the five strands of dance learning for each benchmark, followed by a sample unit that illustrates a strategy for holistic dance teaching. Thus, each benchmark section provides a complete view of dance learning for children in that age group. Scanning through the //Blueprint// and reading the pages in each benchmark year associated with any one strand gives a sense of the developmental learning PreK-12 in that strand. The curriculum is both subject-based—defining the goals for content—and outcome-based—defining the goals for student achievement. Thus, they first list student learning indicators, and then provide suggested examples of activities to reach these outcomes. The //Blueprint// is meant to provide a framework for teachers, suggesting strategies that spur individual creativity, depth and breadth in dance teaching.
 * Organization of the Blueprint (course of study) **

Each benchmark section of the Bluepr//int// for Dance begins with Dance Making, which encompasses all of the activities in which students are physically dancing. Dance is the kinesthetic art form, and all dance learning must take place first in the body. In a box to the right of the Dance Making strand for each benchmark is a list of entry points for teaching. This list suggests a variety of starting points that can lead into the curriculum. The learning inherent in the four other strands of the //Blueprint// stems organically from the Dance Making activities, and the activities in those strands are inextricably bound with those in the Dance Making strand. The four other strands deepen dance learning by providing students with the means to:
 * Dance Making Is the Starting Point **

· become literate in dance, developing critical insights and the means to express them in dance terms. · make social, cultural and historical connections through dance. · connect creatively to the other arts and disciplines, technology and health through dance. · engage in dance learning with both school staff and other sectors of the New York City dance cultural community. · become lifelong learners in and advocates for dance. This //Blueprint// is a scaffold on which a sequential, cohesive PreK-12 dance curriculum may be built, encompassing the body of knowledge in the art form of dance, in rich dialogue with all other aspects of children’s lives and learning. **A G u i d e t o t h e D a n c e B l u e p r i n t **  The 5 STRANDS By exploring, creating, replicating and observing dance, students build their technical and expressive skills, develop their artistry and a unique personal voice in dance, and experience the power of dance to communicate. They understand dance as a universal language and a legacy of expression in every culture. **Perform **
 * 1. ****Dance Making **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">At every level students are able to: **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Develop Skills andTechniques **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Improvise **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Choreograph **

<span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Students develop a working knowledge of dance language and aesthetics, and apply it to analyzing, evaluating, documenting, creating and performing dance. They recognize their role as articulate, literate dancers in communicating about dance to their families, schools and communities. **<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Identify and Compare Dance Styles, Genres, Major Works and Artists **
 * <span style="color: #00aef0; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">2. ****<span style="color: #00aef0; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Developing Dance Literacy **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">At every level students are able to: **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Understand Dance as a Means of Expression and Communication **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Apply Dance Vocabulary, Terminology and Symbols **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Analyze, Critique and Communicate About Dance **

<span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">By investigating historical, social and cultural contexts, and by exploring common themes and principles connecting dance with other disciplines, students enrich their creative work and understand the significance of dance in the evolution of human thought and expression. (Theatrical, Ritual & Social Dances) **<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Connect Dance to Health and Well-Being **
 * <span style="color: #aa70b0; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">3. ****<span style="color: #aa70b0; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Making Connections **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> At every level students are able to: **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Understand Dance History and the Social and Cultural Significance of Dance **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Connect Dance to Other Arts and Disciplines **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Utilize Technology in Connection With Dance **

<span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Students broaden their perspective by working with professional artists and arts organizations representing diverse cultural and personal approaches to dance, and by seeing performances of widely varied dance styles and genres. Active partnerships that combine school and local community resources with the full range of New York City’s dance and cultural institutions create a fertile ground for students’ dance learning and creativity. **<span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Share Dance Experiences in and Between Schools **
 * <span style="color: #f8901e; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">4. ****<span style="color: #f8901e; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Working With Community and Cultural Resources **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> At every level students are able to: **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Engage With Community and Cultural Institutions, Colleges and Universities **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Use Dance Research Resources **

<span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Students consider the range of dance and dance-related professions as they think about their goals and aspirations, and understand how the various professions support and connect with each other. They carry physical, social and cognitive skills learned in dance, and an ability to appreciate and enjoy participating in dance, throughout their lives. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> The Blueprints also offer teachers a section called “Teaching through the Five Strands” which offers ideas, samples, and resources for completing lessons, tasks, portfolios, etc. to insure that each teacher is offered a comprehensive understanding of how to implement the five strands. The Blueprints also includes a complete Appendix with a glossary, assessment tools, explanations, examples, and rubrics. __Appendix E is also a very useful tool for all of us to consider as we write the Florida standards for the Florida classrooms.__ **Would love to see tools and a model similar to this in place for our Florida teachers!
 * <span style="color: #e64098; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">5. ****<span style="color: #e64098; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> At every level students are able to: **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Learn About Careers in and Related to Dance **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Set and Work Toward Goals **
 * <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Value Dance as a Source of Enjoyment and Lifelong Learning **

Benchmarks** <span style="color: #f8901e; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Early Childhood and the Grade 2 Benchmark: informed by their inner fantasy worlds and their real lives. Children at this stage are whole-body movers who tend toward perpetual motion; balancing and holding stillness are major accomplishments. Structured dance experiences help them to develop the following skills and understandings: · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Physical: Self-control, refinement of gross motor skills, development of fine motor skills, and understanding of the relationship between their bodies and the space around them. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Social/affective: Listening, responding, taking turns and working cooperatively in a group. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Cognitive: Recognizing, recalling, identifying, differentiating, and sequencing movements. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Aesthetic: Choosing and expressing preference for dance movements. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Metacognitive: Reflecting on their own and classmates’ dancing. **
 * <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Movement is integral to the learning process of young children. Inquisitive and active, they are quick to absorb information through their senses, and eager to engage in physical explorations. Dance gives them an aesthetic avenue for creatively expressing feelings and imaginative stories

<span style="color: #f8901e; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Elementary Students and the Grade 5 Benchmark: secret codes and personal languages. At this stage they have developed a more detailed sense of their bodies’ movement capabilities as regards effort in space and time, and will challenge themselves to achieve new skills in dance. Group dance experiences with longer-term resolutions that incorporate the opportunity to practice independently or in small groups give students a chance to express themselves in a unique and self-affirming way. Ongoing participation in dance classes develops the following skills and understandings: · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Physical: Rhythmic patterning, fine motor control, isolation of body parts, and transitions between movements. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Social/affective: Initiating, cooperating, co-planning, and respecting others’ opinions. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Cognitive: Classifying, interpreting, comparing, analyzing and generating movement. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Aesthetic: Revising and refining movements, and recognizing varied notions of beauty in dance. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Metacognitive: Reflecting on their own dancing in a wider crosscultural context. **
 * <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> In upper elementary school, children become increasingly keen observers of their world. Capable of complex patterns of logic, they like to analyze and define people, activities, situations and events. They enjoy inventing games, working cooperatively on group projects, and creating

<span style="color: #f8901e; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Middle School Students and the Grade 8 Benchmark: emotions and rapid physical changes of this age group present both challenges and opportunities for the growth of skills and expression in dance. Students are capable of focused work in various techniques and styles of dance, and enjoy the “safe space” that a structured and defined physical challenge provides. They can investigate and apply complex processes to movement invention and execution. Sharing their original creative dance work in small groups can be a productive solution for the shyness that often accompanies this period. Consistent dance study develops the following skills and understandings: · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Physical: Further refinement of movements, building strength in various dance techniques, and coordinating spatially and rhythmically complex sequences. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Social/affective: Overcoming awkwardness, building trust among peers, working independently and taking risks. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Cognitive: Distinguishing, manipulating, synthesizing, analyzing, evaluating and creating dance. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Aesthetic: Accurately executing different styles of dance, considering multiple factors leading to aesthetic effect. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Metacognitive: Reflecting on their own qualities as dancers in relation to their training and world dance styles. **
 * <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Students at this stage of their lives are testing their relationship to the world, both in terms of challenging the status quo and developing a self-identity with which they feel comfortable. They are increasingly concerned with meaning and truth, both personal and social, and are beginning to think in more abstract ways and to speculate about origins and outcomes. The turbulent

<span style="color: #f8901e; font-family: 'MyriadPro-Black','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> High School Students and the Grade 12 Benchmark: ** <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> For those high school students studying dance as an elective course or a physical education requirement, dance classes provide an enjoyable outlet for self-expression, a challenging means of staying fit, and an opportunity to explore personal meaning and identity. High school students who are majoring in dance are ready to use their capacity for sustained, detailed work and critical inquiry to advance their skills in all areas of dance learning. Students at this age gain confidence as dancers, choreographers and dance critics through consistent study and practice. They develop an awareness of the standards and requirements of the university and professional dance arenas, and identify personal goals regarding future study and work in dance. Deep experience training in and creating dance, and developing an understanding of dance history, cultural contexts and aesthetic concerns, leads to the emergence of their personal artistic voice. Sustained, sequential dance training builds the following skills and understandings: · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Physical: Execution of advanced technical elements of various styles with expressive subtlety. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Social/affective: Initiating, planning and producing projects independently in coordination with others. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Cognitive: Explaining, comparing, implementing, deconstructing and critiquing dance. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Aesthetic: Defining and articulating a personal aesthetic in dance. · <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Metacognitive: Reflecting upon their strengths and weaknesses in dance and their personal approach to dance study.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">1. Rigor - yes 2. Coherence – yes 3. Focus – yes each strand is clearly focused and offers focused concepts of concentration 4. Specificity - yes 5. Clarity/Accessiability - In speaking with educators last summer in NYC, not all the levels are posted online but are available to their teachers. What is posted provides an excellent framework. 6. Measurability – 100% Yes <span style="color: #244090; font-family: 'MinionPro-Regular','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> because the assessment tools and implementation are offered to teachers with the blueprints.