“BEING PART OF DANCE CLUB MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I'M IN A SAFE COMMUNITY.” – TARINA, GR. 3
ways. “Let’s try Kevon’s movement using different levels” (element of space). “How might we exaggerate Zehra’s movement to use the whole body?” (element of body). “Can we try Mohammed’s movement with sharper arms?” (element of energy).
• Name the move! When students create the movements and see them in their dances, there is an overwhelming sense of pride and ownership. If we use a student’s movement for a dance, I invite them to name it and explicitly refer to it when we teach it to the school. Naming moves also helps with cueing.
• Practice! Once you co-create a dance, practice it and find a way to share it with the school. It can be taught at an assembly, you can dip into the media cur- riculum to create a tutorial video, or team students up to teach it to other classes. We have tried all options over the last six years, and which ones work best always depends on the group of leaders that year.
Wake Up Wednesday is truly a passion
project. I do it because of the shared joy I ex- perience as I look out at the sea of 400-plus smiling faces. I do it because of the buzz of electric energy I feel walking into the school aſter WUW. I do it because I see the dance leaders explode with pride aſter WUW as they high-five and ask me daily if we can have practice. Dance is a profound and powerful tool that connects to our social and emo- tional well-being. On Wednesday morning, positivity is in the air, and there is an intense sense of joy, belonging and engagement. Tis kind of collaborative experience can transform a school into a community. Special thank you to my colleague Chris
Grady, who has been the WUW DJ and tech crew over the last six years, for making this initiative possible. n
Jennifer Matsalla is a member of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto Local.
ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ FEDERATION OF ONTARIO 37
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