In the Hilliard City Schools music course of study, students in grades 1-6 study a different master composer each year. Second grade's composer is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We spent many music classes learning about Mozart's life and times, as well as watching performance videos, listening to, and moving to selected works.
The culminating project of our Mozart study was to identify the form of Rondo Alla Turca and use the form to create an original dance. We used the SMART Board to organize our listening into the form sections and to select words that describe each section of the form. To choose both the descriptive words and the dance movements, students brainstormed and shared ideas while I jotted notes on paper. Then I selected 3-5 that I felt best matched the music, and the students then voted for their favorites. This was a time consuming process, but it was well worth the time spent. First, it allowed all of the students to have a voice in the dance creation, either through coming up with a word, a dance idea, or voting on their favorite ideas. Additionally, the students were very thoughtful in their creation and revision of the dances. We had authentic and mature conversations about how artists use criticism to refine a performance.
Below is each class's organizing chart and a video of their dance. I hope you enjoy their creative masterpieces!
Through this project, the students worked on the following Ohio Music Standards (standards marked with an asterisk are specific to the Hilliard City Schools course of study).