The Arts

In this unit you will build on what you learned in Grade 1. In dance, you will use locomotor (travelling) and non-locomotor (staying in place) moves to show creatures and objects, use body shapes and space to tell the main ideas of poems and stories, turn activities from your community into dance phrases with strong beginnings and endings, compare dances using dance words, and learn why people dance in Canada and around the world, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit dances.

In music, you will read and play half notes, whole notes and rests, feel beats in groups (metre), sing do, re, mi, so, la with hand signs, explore crescendo, decrescendo, legato and staccato, sort instruments by their tone colour, learn about texture (unison and accompaniment) and form (phrases, AB form, verse and chorus), compose your own song, and discover why people make music in many communities, times and places.

You will need a little open space and some kitchen instruments (a pot, wooden spoons, glasses of water). Every lesson has hands-on activities, practice questions and a short quiz.

Curriculum expectations covered: Dance A1.1–A1.4, A2.1–A2.3, A3.1–A3.2; Music C1.1–C1.5, C2.1–C2.3, C3.1–C3.2 (The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1–8: The Arts, 2009).

In this unit you will act and make art! In drama, you will step into a character's shoes and show their point of view, listen and respond to other characters in role (relationship), create pretend settings, build tension with mysteries and problems, find the main idea of a story, and share your drama with your family using simple props, sound effects and technology. You will also discover drama traditions from around the world, like shadow puppets from Indonesia and paper theatre from Japan, and Indigenous theatre in Canada.

In visual arts, you will explore all the elements of design: horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines, symmetrical shapes and forms, overlapping to show space, mixing secondary colours and tints with a limited palette, light and dark values, and drawn and painted textures. This year's big principle of design is repetition and rhythm. You will find signs and symbols, learn how art sent messages long ago and today, explore art from many communities, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit art, and make your own 2D and 3D art about your community and nature.

You will need paper, crayons, washable paint (red, yellow, blue and white), glue, scissors, recycled boxes, a flashlight and a few simple props. Every lesson has hands-on activities, practice questions and a short quiz.

Curriculum expectations covered: Drama B1.1–B1.4, B2.1–B2.3, B3.1–B3.2; Visual Arts D1.1–D1.4, D2.1–D2.4, D3.1–D3.2 (The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 1–8: The Arts, 2009).