Dancing Hands!

 Agnes B. Elementary School - Lesson 4!

    We started off our lesson by asking the students how their Halloween went, since Halloween was last Friday. In our previous lesson, both students expressed that they do celebrate Halloween at home, so I knew that this was an appropriate question to ask. Both students went trick or treating; One student was a character from the new movie K-Pop Demon Hunters, and the other was Ghostface. They told us that they had a great time, got lots of candy, and even saw each other while trick-or-treating. After our brief conversation, we moved onto our icebreaker. Today, since our book was centered around music, we had them share their favorite genre of music and played an Instrument Charades game. For the charades, the students were asked to pretend they were playing an instrument while the rest of us tried to guess what instrument they had. After they took their turns, they asked us if we could go. Me and my co-teacher took our turns and then transitioned into going over the agenda for the day. 

    Once we completed our agenda review, we started with a brief explanation as to who Abraham Lincoln was and what the Civil War was, because these were topics that were going to be brought up in our book. We explained that he was a President that was in term during what was called the Civil War, and that the Civil War was a battle that occurred between the North and the South. After that explanation, we went into going over our vocabulary for the day. The vocabulary words we chose were piano, musician, President, battle, rhythm, and refugee. This time, instead of just having the vocabulary in the slideshow we provided the students with a hard copy of the vocabulary words on index cards. The index cards included all the information we usually have on our slides including the definition, the type of word it is (noun, verb, adjective, etc.), the word used in a sentence, and then a visual to go along. This decision was made so that the students have easier access to the vocabulary throughout the lesson, and they would be useful for a later activity. We had the students clap out their syllables as always and follow along with the slideshow using their own cards. 

    After going over vocabulary, we started our reading. The book we read was Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln. This was about a young girl named Teresa from Venezuela who had to leave because of a war that was happening in her country. She fled to America for refuge, not knowing that there was also a Civil War happening here too. She coped with her emotions through music and was extremely musically gifted. After President Lincoln's son passed away due to sickness, Lincoln sent a letter to Teresa asking her to come play piano for him at the White House to cheer him up. Although nervous, she went and played him a song and he loved it. I took the lead for this reading, since my co-teacher has taken the lead more in previous lessons. I made sure to ask questions throughout the reading to promote comprehension and dialogic reading. The students were engaged throughout the story and seemed to enjoy it. 

Some of the questions we asked during reading include: 

• Do you play any instruments? 
• Do you think music is able to create pictures and scenes like this one? 
• How do you think moving away from her country because of war made Teresa feel? 
• Do you think she will be able to play happy music again?
•  Can someone remind me again what this is called? (battle) 
•  Do you think she is starting to play happy music again? 
• Can someone remind me what we call Aberham Lincoln? What was he, it's one of your vocabulary words! 
• Do you think Teresa will play for the president even though the piano is “ugly” sounding? 
• What do you think, does President Lincoln like her playing?

    After reading, we had the students answer comprehension questions in their journals. 

• What was Teresa’s hobby? 
• Why did Teresa have to leave her country? How did it make her feel? 
• What did people begin to call Teresa? Why? 
• Who sent Teresa a letter and asked her to play piano for them? How did they react? 

    We had been informed that the students do a more advanced level of writing in their core classes, so we implemented longer responses to help continue building this skill for them. Instead of having them write 2-3 basic sentences, we asked them to expand their thinking with evidence and citing the evidence directly from the story. To support more writing from them, we provided each student with identical sentence strips that were individualized to our questions. These sentence strips were more sentence starters to help them with writing more than two sentence responses. These included phrases like "People began to call Teresa ... because ..." or "The evidence can be seen on page..." These supports helped them to be more successful with their writing and was easier to digest than previous sentence starters we have offered. Me and my co-teacher swapped students from last week and each sat with them one-on-one while they answered their questions. This is to help not only monitor but support them to ensure that they were understanding the task at hand. One student even asked us, "Will you guys be helping us?" and was relieved when we told him yes, reinforcing that they need and want the support we can offer. 

    After our journal questions, we gave them a movement break. Originally, we had planned to do a Dance to the Rhythm dance break, but we were having technical difficulties. The students had asked us earlier if we could play Statues so to keep with time, we switched our movement break and listened to the student's suggestion and played Statues. At the end, we were able to get the video working but had to move onto the next part of our lesson so we gave the students an option; If they finished their work in a timely manner, we could do two activities (our planned closing activity and the Dance to the Rhythm) at closing as opposed to our usual one. I noticed having this incentive helped the students stay more focused and on task during the rest of the lesson. 

The next activity we did was having the students create a Frayer Model using one of our vocabulary words for the day. We had an anchor chart that gave them examples as to what can be put in each box of the Frayer Model, as well as a teacher model using our vocab word musician. After going over the chart and our example, we each sat with a student and helped them make their own Frayer Model. They chose to use the words battle and rhythm. After completing their models, we gave them a chance to share them out loud to one another. 

    Once the students were done sharing, we moved onto having them create a Diamante poem using the vocabulary word in their Frayer Models. We had an anchor chart that explained what a Diamante poem was, and the rules that were involved. We went over them one line at a time, having them complete each line together as we went. As they filled them out, we sat with the students to help them come up with ideas and to make sure that they were following the correct format. One student very much enjoyed that it made a diamond shape and asked if she could trace the diamond around her poem. We said absolutely, and the other student followed in her lead. I noticed that certain parts of the poem, specifically the adjectives, seemed to be a little tricky for the students. The one I had specifically had a hard time with coming up with ideas and words. After some support, he was able to complete the poem successfully. Afterwards, we had the students read their Diamante poems to us. 

    Lastly, the students did finish in a timely manner, so we allowed them to have two ending activities. We started with the short Dance to the Rhythm video. We set the norms that we need to stay within our own space bubble, and we need to have safe bodies, so we do not bump into each other. After we did our original closing activity called Pass the Beat. This activity starts with one person making a beat of some sort. Clapping their hands, snapping their fingers, patting their legs, etc. Then, that first person continued their beat while the next one chimed in with a beat of their own. This then went on until everyone had a beat going and the circle had a little song made. The noise level had gotten a little rowdy the first time we tried, and one of our students suggested we make our beats a little quieter, so we do not disturb others. I said that is a great idea, and the second time around the noise level was under control. We finally wrapped up the lesson and told them that while we won't see them next week because of Veterans Day, we will see them the following Tuesday. They were very upset that they had to wait so long in between and told us that they will miss us in the meantime. We said that is very sweet, and we will miss them too! 

The SLO's for this activity were: 

Tier 1

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to define and identify vocabulary with differentiated core support by completing an interactive journal entry chart together and a Frayer Model activity independently or with a peer with 95% accuracy. 

Tier 2

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to define and identify vocabulary with targeted support by completing an interactive journal entry chart and a Frayer Model activity with personalized one-on-one support from the teacher with 85-90% accuracy. 

Tier 3

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to define and identify vocabulary with intensive support by completing an interactive journal entry chart and a Frayer Model activity with concentrated one-on-one support from the teacher with 80% accuracy. 

    The student met the objectives for this lesson, and this can be shown through their journal responses and Frayer Models. The students were able to complete these activities with a "peer" (the teacher supporting them) with 95% accuracy. 

    From this lesson, I learned how powerful it is to use storytelling and creativity to help students make deeper emotional and academic connections. Dancing Hands wasn’t just about vocabulary or comprehension, it was about understanding perseverance, culture, and expression through music. I learned that when lessons connect to human experiences, students engage more meaningfully, even with challenging vocabulary or new content. I also noticed how using music and rhythm as themes brought a different kind of energy to the classroom; it encouraged participation, laughter, and confidence. Another big takeaway was realizing how small details, like giving students individualized vocabulary cards or allowing them to decorate their work, can make the learning process feel more personal and accessible. This lesson showed me that even in structured literacy instruction, there’s room for joy, movement, and creative thinking that supports both comprehension and emotional growth.

    This experience helped me see the kind of teacher I’m becoming, someone who values connection, flexibility, and student-centered learning. I learned that I want to create a classroom where students feel comfortable expressing themselves and where learning is active, not passive. I’ve realized that my teaching style naturally leans toward collaboration and responsiveness; I like learning alongside my students rather than just talking at them. When things didn’t go perfectly, like when our technology failed, I saw how important it is to handle those moments calmly and with humor. That not only helps the lesson continue smoothly but also models problem-solving for students. This experience strengthened my belief that being a good teacher isn’t about perfection, but about being adaptable, reflective, and empathetic. I want to keep growing into an educator who balances clear academic expectations with warmth, creativity, and respect for students as individuals.

    Moving forward, this lesson will definitely influence how I design and deliver my instruction. I plan to continue building lessons that mix structured supports with creative expression, things like poetry, rhythm, and art that make abstract skills more concrete. I’ll also plan for more scaffolds that students can physically hold or refer back to, like vocabulary cards or anchor charts, because I’ve seen how much those help build confidence and independence. Another goal is to improve how I pace lessons and transitions, making sure there’s enough time for reflection without losing momentum. I also want to keep offering choices and incorporating student feedback, because when students feel like their opinions matter, they become more motivated and invested. Finally, I’ll continue building strong relationships through small, personal gestures and positive communication. This experience reminded me that great lessons are about more than content, they’re about connection, creativity, and creating moments that students will remember.