TEXT SET WITH

SHARED READING

By: Deedra
Harris

SOL STANDARD
DII.2 The student will develop dance technique skills
and movement vocabulary, including strength,
fl exibility, coordination, endurance, balance,
replication, kinesthetic awareness, and selfevaluation.

TUTU MUCH
Emery, A. (2012). Tutu much. Victoria, British
Columbia: Lechner Syndications.
Readability: 88.4
Suitability: This book is suitable for high school
students
Tutu Much is a book that tells the story of fi ve
teens from all over the country. These teens all
come from diff erent lifestyles and dance
backgrounds. They all attend a ballet summer
intensive which is physically and mentally
demanding. This book would be great for high
school students because it uses many ballet terms
and paints vivid pictures of dance scenes.

WWW.DANCEADVANTAGE.NET
Suzanne, N. (2015, March 21). The 5 Basic Dance
Jumps. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://
www.danceadvantage.net/basic-dance-jumps /
Readability: 70.8
Suitability: This website is suitable for children who
are in grade 6 and up
The Dance Advantage is a great website for students
to learn or study ballet movements and terminology.
The website thoroughly explains things such as the
fi ve basic jumps of ballet. The readability is easy
enough for students who are in 6 t h grade and up.

GIRAFFES CANT DANCE

Andreae , G., & Ree s, G. (201 2). Giraff e s can't d anc e . N e w York,
N ew York: Scholastic.
Readability: 8 3.7
Suitability: Gir aff e s Can t Dance is a picture book appropriate
for e le men tary school stude nts ag ed 5 to 1 0 years old .
Gir aff e s Can 't Dance is a touching tale of Ge rald the g iraff e ,
who w ants noth in g more than to dance . With crooke d kne es
an d thin legs , it's harde r for a giraff e than you would think.
Ge rald is fi nally able to dance to his own tune w he n h e ge ts
some en cou raging words from an un like ly frie nd . I be lie ve this
book is a g reat way to introdu ce dance to little kids. It is also
e ncouraging for those who may s uff er from low confi de nce .

ANGELINA BALLERINA
Holabird, K., & Craig, H. (2008). Angelina ballerina.
New York, New York: Viking.
Readability: 65.9
Suitability: Angelina Ballerina is suitable for
elementary children.
Angelina had trouble with cleaning her room, coming
downstairs when asked and going to school because
she was always dancing around her room. Her
mother decided to put her in ballet class to fi x the
problem. Angelina began cleaning her room and
coming downstairs because she wanted to go to
ballet class. This book is great for elementary
students because there are pictures and words to
describe basic ballet positions.

ALLET KITTY: BALLET CLASS

Ford, B., & Williams, S. (2008). Ballet Kitty: Ballet

class. New York, New York: Boxer Books.
Readability: 85.7
Suitability: Elementary students
Ballet Kitty: Ballet Class illustrates three friends
taking their very fi rst ballet class together. What
I love most about this picture book is that it has a
male character. Most ballet books only involve
females. This book is a great way to show young
boys that it is okay if they do ballet as well.

DANCE DICTIONARY POSTER

Daydream. (2010). Dance Dictionary Wall Chart.

Central Park, New York. Daydream Education.
Readability: 49.6
Suitability: The poster is appropriate for high school
students because it includes all the terms that are
learned at the age of 14 and up.
This dance poster can be used for the classroom. It
displays many terms, defi nitions, and pictures of
choreographic elements. Since the poster is about
choreography, it is appropriate for high school
students because that is typically when dance
students begin to create dances of their own.

A COMPANY OF SWANS

Ibbotson, E. (2007). A Company of Swans. New York,

New York: Speak.
Readability: 75.4
Suitability: middle school students
A Company of Swans is a book I would give to
middle school kids. It tells the story of a girl who
goes against her fathers wishes and escapes the
man to whom she is supposed to be married off to,
to dance with a ballet company. The company
travels to the Amazon and performs famous ballet
works such as Swan Lake. The book describes the
movements and provides details about the famous
pieces.

FIRST POSITION
First Position [Motion picture on DVD]. (2012).
MPI
Media Group.
Readability: 94.3
Suitability: First Position is suitable for ages 10
and up
First Position is a documentary that follows a
few of young dancers. The documentary
shows the behind the scenes footage of what it
is like to do ballet at a young age. It also
shows the dancers preparing for a competition.
Because of the graphic images and blood that
is shown, I decided this documentary is
suitable for ages 10 and up.

WWW.DANCE-KIDS.ORG

The website for kids who love dance. (2003, January 1).
Retrieved
March 27, 2015, from
http://www.dance-kids.org/ luckydip/a-zofdance.html
Readability: 74.4
Suitability: This website is great for middle school students.
Dance-kids.org is a fun website for kids who love to dance.
The website includes games, pictures, information on
diff erent dance styles and technique, and other
information. The website is set up in a way that is easy for
children as young as 7 years old to operate, but because of
the level of diffi culty of information, this website is suitable
for students who are in middle school and up.

HEAD FIRST

Peters, J. (n.d.). Head First. Retrieved March 27, 2015,

from
http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/May-2009/Head-Fi
rst
Readability: 52.3
Suitable: This article is suitable for high school students
who are in 11 t h or 12 t h grade.
Head fi rst is an article that explains how the Alexander
technique helped a woman with her knee injury. The
article breaks down the four principles of the particular
technique to ensure proper alignment. Head First would
serve as a great way to introduce the Alexander
technique to students. I would give this article to 11 t h
and 12 t h grade students because of its low readability
and because the Alexander technique is a technique that
would only be taught to advanced level dance students.