My Dance Tells Stories – Class 4 Arts Chapter 15 Notes & NCERT PDF

Introduction

Dance can tell stories. In this chapter children dance the Panchatantra story they read at the start of the book. They play animal games, dance another Panchatantra tale about pigeons and a hunter, and create bird flight formations, which the book calls the first step in choreography.

What's in this Chapter

Activity 15.1: Animal game. Everyone stands in a circle. The teacher calls out an animal and, with no time to think, everyone moves like it, using hastas learnt earlier. For "elephant", Sarpasheersha hasta can show the elephant's big ears and Simhamukha can show the trunk. For "monkey", jump and move like monkeys, and Mukula hasta can show a monkey's hands. Children can also invent their own hastas.

Activity 15.2: Guess my secret animal. In small groups, each child secretly chooses a wild animal. One child dances like it while the others guess, and everyone gets a turn.

Activity 15.3: The Hunter and the Birds. A pigeon led its flock with strength and wisdom. A hunter scattered rice to trap them, and when the pigeons came down to eat, he caught them in his net. The pigeons remembered their leader's words: if they all flew together, they could lift the net. They flew up into the sky with the net and escaped the hunter. Then a mouse helped them by cutting the net. The book's lesson is the strength of unity: working together as a team, we can overcome any hurdle.

Birds in action. Children imagine having wings: how big and wide would they be? They flap their arms like wings and add the head and neck movements they learnt earlier. Then, in three groups:

The groups then swap activities, and children can suggest other movements.

Activity 15.4: Bird flight formations. Birds often fly in flocks in patterns. Children recall and describe what they have seen. In groups, one group makes a "V" formation and another a round formation. They coordinate and synchronise their movements, then add a 4-beat rhythm. The book explains that creating formations and standing in structures is the first step in choreography, which helps in planning steps, and children will learn more in higher classes.

The teacher's note encourages picking more stories from the Hitopadesha and the Puranas for these activities.

Key Ideas

Words to Learn

Tips for Parents & Teachers

Common Mistakes