Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble
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      • CDE- Arts Ed

CDE's Arts Education Curriculum, Resources and Training
​ for Teaching Artists

"Early cultivation of the imagination and critical thinking skills initiate a life long quest for learning, curiosity and social and civic engagement. 
​For at-risk youth, these skills are particularly beneficial."

Training Videos
​

cde_arts_education_program_guidelines_reference_and_curriculum.pdf
File Size: 314 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Mission, Vision: CDE arts ed
Arts Integration By Grade Level
Breath, bend, balance
Bridging Activities and Math and Literacy in the Classroom
Spelling Dance Warm Up
Songs and Stretch

Resources for Teaching Artists

PDF' quick reads for teaching artists and go to guides
Inclusiveness in the classroom and language 
Levels of dance in early childhood
  • Rhythmic Development
  • Locomotor Movement and Rhythmic Basis- (includes the examples skip, hop, gallop, etc)
  • Traditional Dance Steps
CDE's Fundamental Skills and Vocabulary 
.The fundamental skills contain the key learning guides for CDE' arts education programs.
Our assessments are based off of these skills.

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Owned by CDE- indispensable guide to getting young people on stage and helping them create their own shows. For teachers, for parents, for budding actors, emerging crew, and incipient directors—this is the book that shows how to get a production up and running...and have fun in the process. Clear and accessible, Kids Take the Stage outlines a systematic approach to staging, complete with basic lessons in acting, relaxation and trust-building exercises, and improvisations. 

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Owned by CDE- this book bring mindfulness, social and emotional learning (SEL), and the arts into lesson plans through storytelling and fun games, this book offers a complete course that helps kids identify and talk about their feelings, self-regulate and self-soothe when stressed, and learn from easy mindfulness practices.

The book has 21 
different exercises for focus time.





Lesson Planning Resources

PBS Media Learning- contains videos and lesson plans on all different subjects and ages
​-all videos are approved for the classroom

Kennedy Center For The Arts- contains videos and lesson plan for all ages
-all videos are approved for the classroom

Learning for Justice- contains videos and lesson plans for all ages that brings social Justice into the classroom
-all videos are approved for the classroom


Warm ups for Pre-K-2nd

Songs and Stretch Warm Up

Spelling Dance Warm Up


Focus Time Activities

Books with lessons and discussions
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Collection of stories for all ages


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Additional Activities and Lessons
  • Breathing Exercises
Bend, Breath, Balance & Focus Activities ​


Bridging Activities & Discussion Books

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Power Points:
  • Action Alphabet: good for PreK-3rd (a-airplane, b-bow, etc
  • Movement Alphabet: 3rd and up- uses dance vocabulary 
  • Laban Basic Movement: 3rd and up


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Literacy Bridging Activities 
  • show a word card and all or few or one students moved 
  • have students create a movement gesture to the word card, put them together to make a dance
  • after students create a gesture movement, hold up card and see if they remember what it was
  • create a story to the word cards
  • draw a picture to the word card


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Math Dancing: bridging activities or lessons to build from
  • Symmetry/asymmetry
  • Fractions
  • Parallel/Diagonal
  • Graphs
  • Addition/Subtraction
  • Shapes and Letters


Books with five to ten session unit plans

Books for grades PreK-2
-these books combine theater, dance, musicality and some visual art
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Books with one to five session unit plans

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Raspberries for PreK-2

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Books With Scripts Adapted For A Play
-grade level is 2nd and up
-Some of these stories contain both movement and acting

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Books for 3rd and up
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Papalotzin and the Monarchs: A Bilingual Border Tale”
-play and movement 
adaptation 


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Lesson Planning Units
-incorporates dance, theater, visual art

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Superheroes Power Point: grade levels-2nd and up- you can take different elements according to grade level
  1. Famous superheroes
  2. Observations
  3. How do superheroes move
  4. Powers vs elements
  5. Onomatopoeia 
  6. Story: Even superheroes have bad days
  7. Story: Rules of Being a Superhero
  8. Create a logo​ ​


Theater

Intro To Theatre 5 session for grades 3-6th
Theater Games

Dance History and Dancemaking- Grades 3 and up

10 Week Unit covering the following artists
  1. Merce Cunningham & Chance Operations
  2. Martha Graham & Narrative
  3. Twyla Tharp & Recurring Theme/ Broken Form
  4. Alvin Ailey & Suite (ABC)/ Narrative  (Culture, Heritage)
  5. Bill “Bojangles” Robinson & Rhythm

5-10 week Unit Dance: Choreography and Improvising

  • Grade level: 4th and up- good for introduction to dance with kids who never had dance
  • ​Includes survey questions and post evaluations
  • Take this and add in the styles of dance and music the students are interested in Show videos of the examples

Elements of Dance Chart: Body-Action-Space-Time-Energy
​
elementsofdance_b-w.pdf
File Size: 31 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Choreography Techniques and Vocabulary 
dance_composition_and_choreography_unit.pdf
File Size: 409 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Cultural Dance Lesson Plans

Introduction to Native American Dancing- contains resources for videos and about the dances
Introduction to Dances from India- videos and resources 
Introduction to West African Dance

Music- Lessons, Music and Books

Musical Instrument Freeze and Play - PreK-3rd (depending on knowledge level of music)
power point with demonstrations of each instrument and freeze game at the end
good for bridging or a unit about music

Simple Songs to teach PreK-2nd

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Carnival of the Animals- movement and music
​

Grades 2nd and up- this is a multilevel lesson plan 

Counting song for PreK-2nd- includes videos for learning

This will be an ongoing list of song to use in the classroom that incorporates math, dance, music and language

Listen and Move Playlist-for PreK-2nd

This list will be updated ongoing

Barefoot Books Sing-a-long

This includes some of the books we use plus other songs

Poetry and writing
​

I Am, You Are, We Are- poetry in 1-3 sessions

Location

Performance Space: ​

Ebenezer Lutheran Church
1650 W. Foster Avenue
Chicago, IL 60640

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Photos used under Creative Commons from Brett Jordan, shixart1985, edenpictures
  • About
    • Mission & Vision >
      • Annual Report
    • Our Team >
      • Core Team
      • Artistic Associates
    • Board of Directors
    • Funders
  • Performances & Events
    • Upcoming Shows & Events
    • Past Performances
    • Company History
  • Educational Programs
    • Philosophy & Approach
    • Our Impact
    • School Partnerships
    • Summer Camp
  • Connect
    • Get Involved >
      • Becoming a Teaching Artist
      • Auditions
    • In the Press
  • Donate
  • Blog
    • Audience Info
    • Behind the Scenes Blog
    • Arts Education Blog >
      • CDE- Arts Ed