D.E311

Weight-Sharing Improvisation

Students will work with a partner to improvise a short weight-sharing dance piece. Dancers will be assessed based on a provided rubric. Dancers will assess peers based on the Peer Assessment Checklist. Dancers will then self assess using the Artful Thinking Strategy—Connect/Extend/Challenge. Students should have had prior experience in improvisational weight sharing.

This assessment could be adapted to sixth and seventh graders. For grades six or seven, the teacher should assign the partners for the duets. For grade six, limit the weight sharing experiences during the improvisation to mutual weight sharing (i.e., pushing and pulling).

This item has been voluntarily field-tested by Michigan teachers with a non-representative sample of students.

Teacher Booklet

Download PDF Download Word Doc

Student Booklet

Download PDF Download Word Doc

This is an analytic rubric. The column on the left shows the dimension that is being measured in the student’s performance. The levels across the top row indicate the performance level in the dimensions. Occasionally all dimensions and performance levels are exemplified by multiple students in a single recording.

TEACHER SCORING RUBRIC

  • Dimension

  • Contrasting and Complementary Shapes

  • Taking and Supporting Weight

  • Transitions

  • Performance Quality

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

  • Students do not or rarely improvise a partner piece demonstrating visually interesting contrasting and complementary shapes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students partially improvise a partner piece demonstrating visually interesting contrasting and complementary shapes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students adequately improvise a partner piece demonstrating visually interesting contrasting and complementary shapes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students consistently improvise a partner piece demonstrating visually interesting contrasting and complementary shapes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students do not or rarely improvise a partner piece demonstrating visually interesting ways to take and support weight.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students partially improvise a partner piece demonstrating visually interesting ways to take and support weight.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students adequately improvise a partner piece demonstrating visually interesting ways to take and support weight.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students consistently improvise a partner piece demonstrating visually interesting ways to take and support weight.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students do not or rarely demonstrate effective transitions between shapes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students partially demonstrate effective transitions between shapes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students adequately demonstrate effective transitions between shapes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students consistently demonstrate effective transitions between shapes.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students do not or rarely perform with little or no energy, creating with little or no active engagement.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students perform with limited energy, creating with little active engagement.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students perform with some energy, creating somewhat freely with active engagement.

    N/A at this time.

  • Students perform with energy, creating freely with active engagement.

    N/A at this time.
Having trouble viewing videos?

Leave Feedback for this Assessment


What did you like? Did you need to revise anything? How could we make this assessment better?
Our Assessments are written by teachers for you, so your feedback is important to us!

Comments about items may be moderated and/or reposted in the blogs to aid item improvement and teacher learning. By leaving a comment, you agree that we can use your comment without attributing it to you.

Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date with all of our assessments.

Sign Up Now!