Having a set of standards that pertain to a well-rounded curriculum is critical. But standards alone do not ensure a good curriculum.

That’s where Implementing the National Dance Education Standards comes in. The tools in this book will help you apply those standards as you motivate students through engaging experiences that make dance education come alive for your students.

The standards in this book are an outcomes-based version of the original seven standards created by the National Dance Association in 1994. The updated standards are also more action oriented—and the tools that the many experienced contributors provide will help you to more easily implement the standards.

The chapters guide you in using new benchmarks to reflect desired student outcomes at grades 2, 5, 8, and 12; you can also use these benchmarks as a framework for developing state standards and local curricula.

In addition, Implementing the National Dance Education Standards offers

• 32 ready-to-use learning experiences to incorporate in your lesson and unit planning;

• tables of learners’ developmental characteristics for four grade levels, based on learner domains (psychomotor, cognitive, and affective), along with their implications for your teaching; and

• a three-step, standards-based assessment cycle.

This resource also contains a CD-ROM with the updated standards, new benchmarks, developmental characteristics, and a blank template for planning of learning experiences. The CD-ROM contains the 32 sample learning experiences and assessment suggestions. You can print these standards, benchmarks, sample plans, and other materials as you need them, so you don’t always need to tote the book around with you as you plan and teach.

The book covers all you need to know in order to implement the standards. Besides the revised standards and the new benchmarks themselves, you’ll learn about the relationship between learners’ developmental characteristics and the benchmarks, and you’ll explore the impact that various teaching and curriculum environments have on learning. You’ll also delve into how to design, plan, and implement a standards-based dance curriculum; how to assess students’ progress; and how to make technology choices that strengthen the curriculum and challenge students’ learning processes. Each chapter includes overviews and summaries to help you focus on the key points. A glossary defines dance and educational terms, and references provide additional sources of information for you to consider.

With its wealth of practical tools, Implementing the National Dance Education Standards will help you stay on the cutting edge as you develop a comprehensive, standards-based dance curriculum—one that develops the whole child, engages students in developmentally appropriate learning experiences, and makes dance fun and exciting for every student.