The Arts

In this unit you will build on what you learned in Grade 3. In dance, you will turn whole sequences from nature (like a butterfly's life cycle) into dance, using new body words: symmetrical and asymmetrical, organic and geometric, angular and curved shapes, gestures and cross-lateral moves. You will dance poems, stories and characters using positive and negative space and pathways in the air and on the floor, tell stories in narrative form with meet/part, lead/follow and groupings, and send messages with efforts (punch, thrust, float, collapse, wiggle, explode, vibrate) and time (tempo that speeds up or slows down, steady, irregular and erratic rhythm, stillness). You will also learn how dance shows people's social and political roles, from royal courts long ago to the potlatch and breaking at the Olympics, and the many roles of dance in your life and around the world.

In music, you will read syncopation (ti-ta-ti) and the fermata, read notes on the five-line staff in treble clef with sharps, flats and naturals, name intervals (unison, step, skip, leap), build the major scale, read simple key signatures, and hear major and minor. You will sing two-part music, listen to how ensembles blend, find the introduction, chorus, coda and repeats in a song, compose for a specific audience with sforzando and phrase markings, and compare the role of music in communities then and now, from West African griots to Inuit throat singing.

You will need a little open space, paper and pencils, and some kitchen instruments (a pot, a wooden spoon, a sealed container of rice). A free keyboard app is very helpful. 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 build believable roles with gestures, voice, projection and relationships, find the pivotal moments of stories with tableaux, build tension and mystery, and solve problems in and out of role using conventions like hot seating, meeting in role and conscience alley. You will share drama with a specific audience using audio, visual and technological aids, reflect on your strengths and next steps, and compare process drama with theatre productions from different times and places, from ancient Greece and Shakespeare's Globe to the Stratford Festival and Indigenous theatre in Canada today. A story about an old oak tree in the made-up town of Maple Creek runs through the drama lessons.

In visual arts, you will use lines that show feelings, contour lines, line weight and visual rhythm; positive and negative space, radial symmetry and diminishing perspective; sculpture in the round and in relief with texture techniques and a collagraph print; and a monochromatic colour scheme with value and intensity. This year's principle of design is emphasis: you will create a strong focal point in a narrative art work and keep a portfolio. You will also read signs, symbols and styles and explore art traditions from many communities, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit art.

You will need paper, pencils, a black marker, crayons or pencil crayons, washable paint (one colour plus white and black), playdough or modelling clay, aluminum foil, cardboard, white glue, string and other flat textured materials, a flashlight, a spoon 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).