Poetry in Motion A Poetry Dance Play for the Middle School Special Education Classroom Jenny Seham, PhD Nawal Muradwij

Diverse Learners

Middle School Students

Outline of Webinar  Diverse learners and multiple art forms  How do I teach an art form that’s not my discipline?  Poetry and Dance  How do they complement each other?  Poetry Dance Play: Strategies, Instructions, Ideas  Poems to use  Poems to write  Dance for the special education classroom  Next Steps  How will I expand my practice?

“You start with the material.” - Robert Rauschenburg

Write on a wall

Sing and Act a wall

Paint a wall

Dance a wall

Your students

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How do I teach an art form that is not my discipline?

Mira a los caballos

Partners

“I want people to be able to hear the sound of pages flipping ”

Poetry and Dance, an embrace

Poetry Dance Play Find inspiring poems

Taking Action James Berry I dream I am High-flying duck’s eyes Over an ocean, washed In fire-splash sunset. I dream I am two swimming shark’s eyes in search of swallowed whole-fish dinner. I dream we cross an open field And face a lion in our track. Making one group body, oddly, we Come together, thrusting arms like horns And flapping our clothes like fighting wings, while we scream in waves like earsplitting sirens. The lion turns and runs in terror I dream I am Color pieces of feelings In music notes, jumping up On the keys of a piano Playing it together. I dream of a lot that puzzles me.

I dream I am High-flying duck’s eyes Over an ocean, washed In fire-splash sunset.

I dream we cross an open field And face a lion in our track

Making one group body, oddly, we come together

And Still I Rise Maya Angelou You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops. Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own back yard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise.

You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes

I’ll rise, I’ll rise, rise, rise

Poetry Dance Play Write Poetry

Ryan’s Dream Ryan with Alex and Emily People you trust appear in your dreams Things are not what they seem You don’t know where to turn. And all your thoughts are going to burn Whether or not you choose to turn, Darkness surrounds. A dream? Was it a dream? Or just a distant memory.

Was it a dream? Or just a distant memory.

Samantha Since the dawn of time people have danced They have jumped, done ballet, run and pranced When I dance I am filled with joy Anyone can dance, girl or boy It feels nice to perform I take the stage by storm People are excited when they watch me When I dance, I feel free!

“When I dance, I feel free!”

Ashley’s Poem Sometimes I can be a mime But I don’t have the time To rhyme But I look like Optimus Prime

Ashley’s Poem Snapped, whapped, babapped Bop your head to the music Stop bop hip hop drop

Dream Boogie - Langston Hughes Good morning, daddy! Ain't you heard The boogie-woogie rumble Of a dream deferred? Listen closely: You'll hear their feet Beating out and Beating out a -- You think It's a happy beat? Listen to it closely: Ain't you heard something underneath like a -- What did I say? Sure, I'm happy! Take it away! Hey, pop! Re-bop! Mop! Y-e-a-h!

Good morning, daddy! Ain't you heard The boogie-woogie rumble Of a dream deferred?

You think it’s a happy beat?

Love the Look of Words - Maya Angelou Popcorn leaps, popping from the floor of a hot black skillet and into my mouth. Black words leap, snapping from the white page. Rushing into my eyes. Sliding into my brain which gobbles them the way my tongue and teeth chomp the buttered popcorn. When I have stopped reading, ideas from the words stay stuck in my mind, like the sweet smell of butter perfuming my fingers long after the popcorn is finished. I love the book and the look of words the weight of ideas that popped into my mind. I love the tracks of new thinking in my mind

Popcorn leaps, popping from the floor of a hot black skillet and into my mouth. Black words leap, snapping from the white page.

Samples of Dance Scripts

Takeaways:  How to maximize the potential of diverse learners by integrating multiple art forms in the classroom.  Specific strategies, exercises, and curricula utilizing poetry and dance in special education classrooms.  How to step outside your arts or educational expertise and consider ways to include less familiar art forms in your teaching

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