Everything a Ballerina Needs to Succeed

An Individualized Lesson Plan for Miss Lilia McDole

1. Lilia McDole, a Gifted Ballerina, and the list of things she will need to succeed.

• - Lilia McDole, 8 years old, caucasian. Lilia has been a public school student since kindergarten, and has practiced ballet just as long.
• - Lilia is a very smart girl, in fact she is gifted in English and social studies, but she finds most subjects in school boring. She could be above average in a majority of subjects if she had the motivation to do so. Lila wants to be a ballerina and doesn’t think many subjects in school will help her become one.
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• - Lilia’s life revolves around Ballet, no matter what. That’s why we’re making this little list of what a ballerina needs. Also loves reading and stories, which is part of the reason she loves ballet; it is a storytelling medium.
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• - Lilia learns best if she can physically move with the lesson. In English, she often puts on a performance to help visualise the content. In math, she will use objects to represent her equation and work it out.

2. Ways for building teacher-student CONNECTIONS

• The class and I will all present a little poster explaining our interests and a little bit about ourselves. This will allow everyone to get to know each other.
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• Make time for a one-on-one talk with Lilia. Allow her to express what she thinks she needs. Discuss my own interests and life as well.
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• Discuss her favorite ballet and performances, and share my own favorites.

Student-Student Connections

• Duck-Duck-Tell-me-about-you: Each student in the circle has a paper on their head with a question, such as favorite book, song, or animal. When a kid picks someone to be “it,” instead of saying goose, that ask the question and the “it” child must answer before choosing another child to be “it.”
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• Mini-play: a small group project in which groups create and act out a scene. Can be a applied to most school subjects, or as a “get to know you” project
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• Share-a-book: Each student picks a book they lover from home to share with the class. Lilia’s favorite book is about ballet.

3. Motivation strategies for learning and promoting positive behavior

• Promote good behavior by setting a reward system, specifically personal reading time (Lilia loves books and stories)
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• Take areas of disinterest (Science, Math) and connect it to ballet, perhaps as a story-writing project.
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• Place lessons in a story-based context. For example, in science, create a story around the subject rather than use a textbook.

Teaching AND Assessment methods used specifically for this student: Part 1

• Math: Use physical objects and baking examples and play money as examples to stress the importance of the subject and help give a grasp on how it works. Assess with a fill-in-the-blank story about shopping and baking.
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• Language arts (reading and writing): Keep the focus on stories, as straying from that in this subject will lead to a loss of interest. Have Lilia keep a journal on each story assigned, giving a brief summary and her thoughts on the work. Assess journal by accuracy of content to the book read, and by grammar and neatness of the writing.
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• Social studies: Use the textbook sparingly. Focus on the story elements of the subject and expand into the deeper details from there. Lilia will write a short play that she and other students may act out as assessment. Success will be judged by accuracy of the play content

Teaching AND Assessment methods used specifically for this student: Part 2

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• Science: Bacteria can be ballerinas too, so use that. Explain biology as it applies to ballet and for microscopic organisms, explain their movement as a ballet. Assessment would be a fill-in-the-blanks story about a ballerina and all the biological information that plays a role in her success. Physics can be applied to ballet easily, use the spins and leaps of the dance to explain these concepts. Assessment might be dance-focused, in which Lilia performs certain moves and explains the physics behind it.

• Physical education should explain and show how other forms of exercise help ballerinas stay on top, assessment can be the same as usual here.
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• Art projects that connect to ballet will help, showing how it helps a ballerina sharpen her creativity will keep her interested. Assessment shouldn’t need to be altered from normal, as the projects will be similar for everyone.
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• Lilia adores music already, but is not interested in playing any instruments. Allowing her to move while practicing an instrument will help her stay interested. Assessment shouldn’t need to be altered.