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CLASSROOM VISIT – ELY SCHOOL DISTRICT – WITH MOLLY & MADDIE OLSON
“THE INTENTION OF TEACHER-TO-TEACHER OBSERVATION IS THAT IT BE A TOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND, IN TURN, FOR STUDENT LEARNING.”
DATE AND TIME:
Monday, November 10, 2025 (8:45 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
- 8:45 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. – Check in at the Main Office and meet up with the group (please bring photo ID)
- 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – Participants will first observe a lesson team taught by Maddie Olson and Molly Olson with the 7th grade Media Literacy class. Students will be working in groups and creating a dance combination through the process of using an algorithm with icons to represent the dance. They will be incorporating the idea of function and iteration (CS/math terms). Groups will practice and film their combinations.
- 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Mary Harding will present a lesson to participants on using stories and dance to support literacy goals in the classroom. She will also teach a lesson centered on PE dance standards.
- 11:30 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. – Sharing from Mary and Molly from the NDEO Conference about ideas that can be used in any classroom.
- 11:40 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. – **Spanish class dance break – the Spanish class will come in to show their favorite dance that helps them learn vocabulary.**
- 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Participants will prepare a lesson which incorporates dance to implement into their own classroom with support from Mary and Molly.
- 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Facilitated conversation and lunch with a debriefing session (lunch is pay on your own. Orders will be taken in the morning for lunch to be delivered to the school.)
- 1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Wrap up and leave
EVENT LOCATIONS:
LOCATION #1:
Ely School District – Media Center
600 E. Harvey St.
Ely, MN 55731
Parking: Free parking is available in the East Lot
Building Entrance: Enter through the Main building entrance. Please bring a photo ID as you will need it to check in
LOCATION #2 (Food + Facilitated Conversation):
We will be eating lunch in the Media Center. Lunch orders will be taken in the morning for delivery to the school from Boundary Waters Catering.
*Lunch is pay on your own. Participants are responsible for their own lunch cost.
ABOUT THE DAY:
This day is a unique opportunity to inform your teaching practice through peer observation and discussion and form stronger connections with dance and other teachers nearby. To accomplish this,
- We will observe Molly Olson and Maddie Olson teach a 7th grade Media Literacy Class. We will pay particular attention to how movement connects the learning. Think about your “Ah-ha!” and “I wonder…” moments.
- Following the classroom observation, Perpich Dance Education Specialist Mary Harding will facilitate a discussion of our observations and then introduce you to opportunities to connect our observations into practical implementation ideas focused on the Minnesota Academic Standards in Dance among other guiding principles and documents.
- Teachers will then plan strategies and lesson plans for your classroom, plus have a better understanding of how dance standards relate to the classes you teach.
DETAILS:
- The day is hosted by Mary Harding, Dance Education Specialist in Professional Development & Resource Programs at Perpich Center for Arts Education. There is no cost to participate. A certificate for 5 clock hours will be distributed at the end of the day.
- The maximum number of participants is 10. Registration will close when we reach that number.
- Questions? Email mary.harding@pcae.k12.mn.us
