Welcome Dance Educators & Artists!

We are Rutgers University Dance Education Ed.M. Candidates. In lieu of traditional fieldwork during this period of remote learning, our cohort was tasked to create unit plans for K-12 students in New Jersey for our community service project. Through our Rutgers University course, Students, Communities, and Social Justice: Kinetic Connections and under the mentorship of Emily Funicello and Rebecca Visintainer, we examined social justice standards and culturally responsive pedagogy in the dance classroom. The purpose of this project is to create culturally responsive unit plans that include a social justice topic, wellness component, and non-Western dance form. Our cohort explored the following styles: Hula, Flamenco, Chinese Ribbon Dance, Hip-Hop, and Salsa.

For the purposes of these lesson plans, we have integrated the Social Justice Standards to support educators in creating classrooms that address anti-bias practices, cultural equity, and social justice issues through Identity, Diversity, Justice, and Action. These lessons also incorporate social-emotional learning to support student wellness.

To navigate the site, simply click on the grade range you teach (K-2, 3-5, Middle School, or High School). Once you are on the grade level page, you will see an abstract of the unit, links to the lesson plans, biographies from the creators of the unit, as well as goals for the students and teachers for the unit. The lesson links will take you to that lesson plan where all necessary videos and materials are linked. We have also included additional teacher resources for classroom teachers to explore! There is room for each unit to be adapted to fit the needs of your individual classes, so we encourage you to use any of the units as a stepping stone for instruction. We also encourage you to explore the Social Justice and Dance Crosswalk we have created to further spark ideas on where dance and social justice intersect in the studio classroom.

Our cohort understands that the pandemic has brought challenges and obstacles to dancers and educators state-wide. We hope that through these unit plans, we can give back to the teachers that paved the path for us as dance educators. Let's continue to celebrate the diversity of dance through these units!