Teacher's Role for Arts Activities:
Los Dias de los Muertos, The Days of the Dead
http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/artswork/arts/students/holidays/muertos01.htm

The Social Studies focus for the lesson:

• Understanding that family is important to all Americans
• Learning the history and customs of the Mexican holiday
• Respecting the culture of others

There is text about the holiday and two activities: a skeleton dance with choreography by the students and a skeleton puppet play with scenarios by the students. The students may read the text, or you may present the material to them.In either case they will need your help so that all students are involved and cooperate with one another. Drama Teacher Strategies at http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/99_tg_00.htm has suggestions for methodology to question, side coach, step into role, assess the artwork, manage the class and use computers with the lesson.

The Text

Vocabulary: corpse, departed, figurine, ofrenda, procession, Spaniards

The text explains the holiday and emphasizes the focus on the family.The point is made that this is a joyous holiday with images everywhere of skeletons doing ordinary things!

A Skeleton Dance
http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/artswork/arts/students/holidays/muertos03.htm

The Dance Skills:

• Identifying and demonstrating movement elements and skills in performing dance: nonlocimotor and locomotor movements; accurately moving to a musical beat and responding to changes in tempo, concentrating on the dance and maintaining personal space
• Creating a dance phrase and repeating it

Suggestions for presenting the lesson follow.The site instructions for students are in the shaded blue boxes that follow.

It will be best if this activity can be done in a cleared area so the student movement is not hampered by classroom furniture.If this is not possible, be certain the room is as neat and organized as possible.

Vocabulary: axial, critique, locomotor, non-locomotor

Materials:

1. The picture of a skeleton (at the site)
2. A rhythm instrument. This can be a wood block with a drum stick, a tamborine, a drum,

Side coaching the dance

1. Motivation After reading the text, have the students look at thecalacas and discuss what they are doing. Talk about how askeleton would move. Tell them they will get a chance to try out their version of a calaca in action!

2. Movement

1. Have students stand, find a space of their own where they will not bump into anybody or anything

2. Have the students look at a skeleton, again, noting joints

3. Side coach their exploratory movement.See the suggestions from the student site, below.

Look at the picture of the skeleton. See the big bones forthe arms and legs.Check out where those bones are inyour body. Try moving your arm and leg bones. Would askeleton move in a smooth or jerky way?How many wayscan you find to move your arms and legs?Try it out. Move your skeleton head. Try moving your backbone.

3. Rhythm:

1. Introduce the rhythm by saying their movement needs to be organized.Clap a ¾ beat. Have the students clap the beat.

2. Have the students move to the beatas you use a wood block or tambourine

3. Side coach their movement suggesting differing ways to move.Move slowly enough so they really move to the beat.

4. Vary the tempo

Move to the beat as your skeleton.Have your skeletonwalk to the beat.Have your skeleton bend and stretch tothe beat.Try with a faster and slower beat.

4. The Dance.

1. Side coach the children as they find a movement to one ¾ measure.Have them repeat the movement until they are sure of it.If this is a class that has not danced, it may be best for the class as a whole to do the same movements.
2. Side coach their finding three additional movements.Take this slowly enough so that they move to the beat and remember the movements.
3. Have the students put the movements together in a sequence.As you beat the rhythm, repeat the movement in the sequence they have chosen.
4. Practice the dance, side coaching their movement to look like a skeleton moving
5. If interest remains high, groups of five or six can share their "dance" with the class.Perhaps you'd like to videotape it for them so they can see their work!
   

Find four movements your skeletons can do.They might skip, walk, run, hop, jump, leap, gallop, or slide. They can travelforward, backward, sideward, diagonally, and turn . Or yourskeletons might twist, bend, stretch, or swing . Do eachmovement to two measures of the 3/4 beat. Repeat yourmovements. For example: walk sideward x x x; walk sideward x, x, x ; bend x, x, x; bend x, x, x ; skip x ,x,x; skip x ,x,x; turn x ,x,x; turn x ,x,x. Repeat the movements

5. Critiquing your Dance Having the students think about their art work is an important part of their being "artists."Along with the questions suggested in the student text, it would be good to discuss with them their ability to concentrate and cooperte with their classmates.

Think about what you did. If you moved in space, youwere doing locomotor movements. If you were twistingand turning, you were doing non-locomotor or axial movements. These are the basic movements that all dancers use!

A Skeleton Puppet Show
http://herbergercollege.asu.edu/artswork/arts/students/holidays/muertos04.htm

Vocabulary: character, critique, dialogue, imagination, improvisation, rehearse, scenario, volume

Materials:

1. Heavy white paper with the skeleton puppet image on it for each student
2. Sissors
3. Crayons or colored markers
4. Music such as"Night on Bald Mountain" or "Carnival of the Animals."Or you can make skeleton sounds with a wood block as you did for your skeleton dance.
5. A desk or table for students to perform behind

1. Making a skeleton puppet
   1. It is a good idea to have a model for the students to see - a completed puppet with an outrageous hat, colored, cut out and assembled.
      1. Motivate the students to think about a skeleton puppet character. Help them think about what a skeleton character would want, would like to do. Sharing the calaca images on the site may give them ideas.
      2. Distribute the materials.
      3. Move through the classroom responding to their work, helping where it is needed.The instructions on the site are quite complete.
   2. The instructions for the students follows.
      

      Print the puppet model below. Draw a hat on the head of your puppet to let us know who he or she is.For instance, a young girl might have a bow on her head.A young boy might have a baseball cap.Use your imagination to create your very special puppet!Color the hat and put in any black lines that will help your audience see the bones. If you want the puppet to be stiffer, glue the paper on to tag board. Cut out the arms, legs and body. With a paper punch, punch out the circles where the arms and legs join the body. With brass paper fasteners, join the arms and legs to the body.Be certain they are very loose. Tape a wooden stick to the back of the body so you can hold and move your puppet.

2. Getting your Puppet to Move Music will help the students become comfortable with their puppet. Sidecoach their moving the puppet.
3. Here are the directions for the students from the unit.
   

   Use some music.We like "Night on Bald Mountain" or the skeleton dance in "Carnival of the Animals."Or, make sounds on a wood block as you did for your skeleton dance. Move your puppet to the music.Can you make him or her move as you did in the dance?Can he twist and bend, move forward and back or to the side?Have fun with your puppet.

4. Making a Puppet Play This is the time to teach story and drama construction - character, setting, plot with problem/solution, beginning, middle and end.There is a short description in the text about making a play, rehearsing and critiquing it.Also there are links to the "Theatre Book" that has definitions and exercises.But your teaching the students through modeling will be most effective.
   1. Review with the students the elements of a drama/story: character, setting plot.For suggestions see: http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/03_05_scenarios.htm and in the Teachers Guide http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/99_tg_02.htm
   2. With the students choose two characters; decide what the characters want to do and the problem they have so they can't do it. Choose a student to improvise the scene with you.For suggestions see: http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/99_tg_08.htm and http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/99_tg_06.htm
   3. Then divide the students into pairs to have them create and rehearse their own dramas. For suggestions see: http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/99_tg_14.htm "Students rehearsing in small groups without direct supervision"
   4. Have the students present the puppet plays.Be certain the class is prepared to be a good audience that will listen and watch to find the story.Prepare them to critique the work.See "e" below.
   5. Then critique their drama stories and performance. For suggestions see: http://artswork.asu.edu/arts/students/tb/99_tg_15.htm
5. The class may need to have you refocus their work with a "One, two, three, eyes on me" — response "One, two, eyes on you." Or a clapped rhythm that they echo, and then your directions about what the focus of the work should be or what to do next.Listen to the group; encourage them to do as much as possible; sense when many have reached their limit and stop the activity.Move to the next step or wait to continue the next day.
6. Remember all of this is done with high humor.As our teachers comment, "It adds joy to the classroom."

      

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