Grade by Grade
A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Music and Dance: Unit Review

A1.1 A1.2 A1.3 A1.4 A2.1 A2.2 A2.3 A3.1 A3.2 C1.1 C1.2 C1.3 C1.4 C1.5 C2.1 C2.2 C2.3 C3.1 C3.2About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can turn nature sequences, poems, stories and ideas into dances using Grade 4 elements of dance.
  • I can describe how dance shows people's roles in communities, then and now.
  • I can read syncopation, fermatas, notes on the treble clef staff, intervals, scales and key signatures.
  • I can perform two-part music, compose for an audience, and compare the role of music in communities past and present.

Words to know

cross-lateral
Moving the opposite arm and leg together.
negative space
The empty space around and between parts of the body.
narrative form
A dance that tells a story with a beginning, middle and end.
effort
The way energy is used: punch, thrust, float, collapse, wiggle, explode, vibrate.
syncopation
A strong or long sound between the beats (ti-ta-ti).
fermata
Hold the note or rest longer than its value.
major scale
do re mi fa so la ti do; in C: C D E F G A B C.
coda
An extra ending section.

Let's review!

This year you danced nature sequences, poems and characters, stories in narrative form, and messages with energy and time, and you learned how dance shows people's roles in communities. In music you read syncopation and fermatas, read notes on the treble clef staff, built the major scale, heard major and minor, sang in two parts, composed for an audience, and compared music in communities then and now.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Some ask you to move, clap or sing. Try each one, then press Show answer to check. If a part feels tricky, go back to that lesson.

The elements of danceBodyshapes, gesturesSpacelevels, pathwaysTimetempo, rhythmEnergyfloat, punchRelationshipmeet, part, lead
The five elements of dance you used this year, each with examples. Use these words to describe any dance you make or watch.
EGBDFFACELines: E G B D FSpaces: F A C EEvery Good Boy Deserves Fudgespells FACE!
Treble clef review: notes on the lines (filled) are E, G, B, D, F from the bottom up. Notes in the spaces (open) spell F, A, C, E.

Dance: Movement Sequences from Nature

1

Put these in order and give each a dance move: butterfly, egg, chrysalis, caterpillar.

2

Make an asymmetrical, angular shape.

3

What is a transition?

4

Moving your right hand with your left knee is called ___.

Dance: Dancing Poems, Stories and Characters

1

What is negative space?

2

Draw a spiral pathway in the air for the wind. What does it show?

3

How could dance make a tiny mouse and a huge lion clear characters?

Dance: Telling a Story in Narrative Form

1

Name the three parts of narrative form.

2

What is a theme? Give an example.

3

With a partner or a toy, show meet, part, then lead and follow.

4

How many dancers in a trio?

Dance: Sending a Message with Energy and Time

1

Show explode, then collapse safely.

2

What is the difference between increasing and decreasing tempo?

3

Name one strength and one area for growth for yourself as an audience member.

Dance: Dance, Power and Roles in Communities

1

What did court dances like the minuet show about the people who danced them?

2

What happened to the potlatch from 1884 to 1951, and what is true today?

3

Name three roles of dance in communities around the world.

Music: Syncopation (ti-ta-ti) and the Fermata

1

Clap and say ti-ta-ti over a steady beat. How many beats does it last?

2

Does ti-ta-ti ta fill a bar of 3/4?

3

What does a fermata mean, and who decides how long?

Just for fun

Riddle: What has lots of keys but can't open a single door?

A piano!

Music: Reading Notes on the Staff in Treble Clef

1

Name the lines and the spaces of the treble clef staff, bottom to top.

2

Which word do these notes spell: line 3, line 1, line 1?

3

What does a natural sign do?

4

Where is middle C in treble clef?

Music: Steps, Skips, Leaps, Scales, Major and Minor

1

Name each interval: E to F, E to G, E to E.

2

Sing the major scale with numbers and with solfège.

3

Which key has one sharp, F♯?

4

Which tonality often sounds darker: major or minor?

Music: Two-Part Music, Ensemble Sound and Song Form

1

Sing a song you know while a grown-up claps a steady ostinato. What kind of music is this?

2

Why does a brass quintet sound blended (homogeneous)?

3

Put in order: chorus, coda, intro, verse.

Music: Composing and Performing with Expression

1

What does sfz mean?

2

Plan a short piece to wake up a sleepy class. Name its purpose, audience and two elements.

3

Where should you breathe when you see a phrase marking?

Music: Music in Communities, Then and Now

1

How did griots help their communities long ago, and what do they do today?

2

Compare the role of work songs then and now.

3

Name two characteristics you might hear in taiko.

How to use this review

  • Do the review in two or three short sittings: dance one day, music another.
  • Clear a safe space for the movement questions.
  • For questions that ask you to move, clap or sing, the answer tells you what to look for. Many answers can be right!
  • After each answer, ask "How do you know?" or "Which element did you use?" Explaining is part of the Arts.
  • Note which section had mistakes, then go back to that lesson's examples, activity and practice.
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

A butterfly with both wings open makes a ___ shape.

2.

The empty hole inside a circle of arms is ___.

3.

A dance that tells a story with a beginning, middle and end uses ___.

4.

Which effort is tiny, very fast shaking?

5.

Long ago, court dances like the minuet showed ___.

6.

How many beats does ti-ta-ti last?

7.

The spaces of the treble clef staff spell ___.

8.

In a major scale, the half steps are between ___.

9.

A string quartet has a homogeneous sound because ___.

10.

Before the phonograph (1877), people almost always heard music ___.

For parents and teachers

Use mistakes to choose what to revisit. Each review section matches one lesson.

  • Can't put a nature sequence in order, or mixes up symmetrical/asymmetrical, angular/curved, or cross-lateral: revisit Dance: Movement Sequences from Nature.
  • Mime only, or can't explain positive and negative space or air/floor pathways: revisit Dance: Dancing Poems, Stories and Characters.
  • Dance stories with no problem or turning point, or confusion about meet/part, lead/follow and groupings: revisit Dance: Telling a Story in Narrative Form.
  • All efforts look alike, tempo jumps instead of changing gradually, or vague self-review: revisit Dance: Sending a Message with Energy and Time.
  • Can't explain how dance shows social roles or power, or speaks about First Nations dances as only in the past: revisit Dance: Dance, Power and Roles in Communities.
  • ti-ta-ti turns into ti-ti ta, bars don't add up, or fermatas are cut off early: revisit Music: Syncopation (ti-ta-ti) and the Fermata.
  • Counts staff lines from the top, mixes up EGBDF and FACE, or forgets middle C: revisit Music: Reading Notes on the Staff in Treble Clef.
  • Calls every jump a leap, misplaces the half steps, or mixes up key signatures: revisit Music: Steps, Skips, Leaps, Scales, Major and Minor.
  • Drifts into the other part, or can't find the intro, chorus and coda: revisit Music: Two-Part Music, Ensemble Sound and Song Form.
  • Compositions don't fit their audience, no key for devised notation, or breathes mid-phrase: revisit Music: Composing and Performing with Expression.
  • Can't compare a role of music then and now, or describes unfamiliar music as "weird": revisit Music: Music in Communities, Then and Now.

In the Arts, effort, willingness to try and explaining choices matter more than a polished performance. Praise brave tries!