Academics in Motion

Academics in Motion (Teaching Artist: Molly Puryear)
Elizabeth Freese Elementary (An Arts & Culture Magnet School)

All 280 first, third and fifth grade students at Freese Elementary spend one hour each week with a Malashock Dance Teaching Artist who supports current academic curricula with each dance lesson.  First grade students focus on reading comprehension skills as they re-create “The Three Little Pigs” through movement they choreograph and memorize.  Third Graders learn a set warm-up, repeating it each week to focus energy and improve technique, strength, flexibility, body awareness, anatomical vocabulary and dance vocabulary.  Improvisation games and creative dance exercises support a progression of activities incorporating geometry terms to create original choreography.  Fifth Graders research the planets in our solar system, creating choreography based on their findings as they relate to time, space, and energy (the elements of dance).  All students journal each week to reflect on connections and applications, while providing a direct measurement of what the students have learned during class.

Education is more than simply a core curriculum; it must include an introduction into the larger world.  This magnet program opens the eyes of our students to some of the best mankind has to offer.  The variety of music, art, theater, and dance are studied not only for their own singular value, but also for the role they play in defining our community and culture.
Lauren Vacchi
Freese Teacher