Children love to observe, explore, learn, and create. Elementary Dance Education helps them do all four. And it does so in a unique way, shaping its movement activities around nature themes. In fact, all of the learning experiences are based on different aspects of nature, as the text intertwines children's innate curiosity and observation skills with the processes of scientific inquiry and artistic creation. Elementary Dance Education helps teachers develop the instructional skills they need to incorporate dance into their curricula, providing over 70 movement activities and exercises for students in grades K-6. The activities, which stimulate children's minds and bodies through the process of collaborative dance creation, include variations for younger and older students. Ideas are offered for partner or small-group explorations, making the activities more inclusive and appropriate for each age group. Another unique feature of this book is the original music accompanying it. Teachers have access to 90 minutes of dynamic sounds, rhythmic percussion, captivating electro-acoustic compositions, and gentle atmospheric selections, delivered through HKPropel, to accompany the learning experiences. The compositions support students' movement explorations, conveying a range of images and emotions and inspiring a variety of responses. In addition, Elementary Dance Education offers the following: Discussion questions for each exercise, prompting in-class discussion and student exploration; the questions come with sample answers or ideas to encourage student responses and spur a fruitful discussion 75 photos and several diagrams to illustrate positions and poses and stimulate ideas for the movement exercises Journal prompts, tailored for older and younger children, to give students the opportunity to respond and reflect on the learning experiences Video links (provided in HKPropel) to help illustrate concepts and exercises, offer examples, or encourage students to watch for something specific in an activity The book's first chapter introduces the basic elements of dance; the remaining seven chapters offer movement exercises in various areas of nature: plants, animals, water, earth, sky, people, and other wonders. This book is a rich and easy-to-implement resource not only for elementary dance educators and physical educators but for classroom teachers as well. The exercises in this book use a template for movement discovery in which students will observe, explore, create, and share. This template "can be applied to all areas of the curriculum," says author Janice Pomer. "It's an invaluable tool for student engagement, satisfying children's capacity to watch, wonder, move, interact, discover, and share." Elementary Dance Education will promote children's creativity and curiosity, engage and challenge their minds and bodies, and help them learn to appreciate and support each other as they work together exploring, creating, and sharing their ideas and insights about the natural world through dance. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is included with all new print books.

"Dance Composition: An Interrelated Arts Approach "helps students investigate dance movement from a multidisciplinary perspective--something that no other dance text or package does.

This interactive package contains a book, music CD, and companion Web site with these features:

- 28 improvisational exercises that provide perspective on the shared characteristics among the arts for inspiration and motivation for dance making

- 6 in-depth interviews and 24 arts connections that highlight artists from disciplines and cultures around the world

- 3 independent dance projects that encompass numerous elements: music, composition, story adaptation, costumes and props, artist's statements, and reflections on the creative processThe exercises examine traditional and contemporary art forms from around the world and explore ways to physically interpret what is heard, seen, spoken, and emoted through movement experimentation. Through these exercises, students observe a concept, explore it by working independently and watching others, and reflect on it with others. They then create and present a choreographic work based on their explorations and reflections. The choreography is discussed in a final group reflection and personal journal entries in which students can document their findings for future use. The interviews and arts connections will expand students' vision and appreciation of artistic commonalities that exist among dance, music, theater, visual arts, and literary arts.

The music CD, which is bound into the book, contains original compositions that enrich dance exercises and movement exploration assignments. Created by percussionist and electroacoustic composer Barry Prophet, the selections cover a range of styles and dynamics, including rhythmic percussion, jazz, world music, minimalist soundscapes, and textural atmospheres.

The illustrations and photographs in the book provide a starting point for artistic awareness of elements common among the arts. Many of these visual images are available on the companion Web site. To help students and teachers incorporate technology in their creative process, this Web site also provides access to music software, instructions on creating computer-assisted music, a journal entry handout for each activity, self-assessment handouts, and rubrics.

No other art form interacts so pervasively with the other arts than dance. "Dance Composition: An Interrelated Arts Approach" will help students from secondary school through university levels create artistic work that inspires and empowers both performers and viewers.