Tilda Teaches Mash-ups Teaching Notes

Synopsis

Tilda is super excited – her class is performing a mash-up dance with three difference dance styles at their upcoming school concert, and her teacher Nico has asked Tilda to teach the dance moves to some of her classmates. It’s her first real teaching job! Unfortunately, Nico has also asked Tilda to introduce her class at the big concert, which is making Tilda very nervous. Tilda runs her dance classes at lunchtime, teaching line dancing, hip hop and modern dance to her friends Binky and Harry, followed by a mash-up masterclass to an even bigger group of friends. Tilda is so busy teaching her classes that she doesn’t practise her concert speech the whole week, and the night before the concert she is forced to admit that she is suffering from stage fright. With Mum’s help, as well as some great strategies like using mantras to stay calm, Tilda is able to learn her speech in time for the concert. Even though she has a couple of little slip-ups, Tilda says her speech and her class gives a knock-out dance performance at the big concert. Tilda reflects on her week, and then wonders what dance challenge she should take on next!

Tilda is so excited when her teacher asks her to run Mash-up Dance classes to practise for the school concert. It’s Tilda’s first REAL teacher job! But there is one thing she isn’t so sure about. Tilda has also been asked to give a speech at the concert. Now Tilda is feeling enthusiascared — that’s right, enthusiastic and scared! What if she messes up her speech? Will the concert be a master mash-up or a master disaster?

Have you ever performed in a big concert? How did you feel before you went up on stage? How did you feel afterwards?

Discussion Questions

Chapter 1

• Why does Tilda make a lesson plan at the beginning of the week?

• Tilda is super excited to dance at the BIG concert. What would you like to do if you were performing in a concert?

• Why has Tilda been too busy to practise her speech? Do you think she really didn’t have any time? 

Chapter 2

• Tilda says the line dancing song is a bit of an ear-worm. Do you know any other songs like that?

• What is muscle memory? Can you think of anything you do that your muscles remember all by themselves, without having to think about it?

• Why does Tilda feel like butterflies are line dancing in her tummy?

Chapter 3

• What does Tilda mean when she says that Harry is a speed demon?

• Have any of your teachers ever done team teaching? Why do you think it’s a good teaching strategy?

• Put on some hip-hop music and have a dance. How does it make you feel? Why do you think it makes Binky worried?

Chapter 4

• Why does Tilda start today’s class with deep breathing?

• Have you heard of mantras before? What do you know about them?

• Put on some slow, peaceful music and have a dance. What kinds of movements do you do? How does the music make you feel?

Chapter 5

• Why do Tilda’s cheeks get hot when everyone turns to look at her? Have you ever felt like that?

• Why doesn’t Tilda want to say her speech for her friends?

• Why does Tilda often think about the way her voice sounds when she’s teaching? Find a partner and try saying the same sentence using two different ways of speaking – does it make a difference to the way your partner feels, if you use a happy voice or an angry voice? How about a sad voice or an excited voice?

Chapter 6

• Tilda uses brainstorming to think about why her speech practice isn’t working. Have you ever tried brainstorming before? What did you brainstorm about?

• What are some of the helpful tips Mum gives Tilda for her speech?

• What makes you feel nervous? When you feel like that, what makes you feel better?

Chapter 7

• Why doesn’t Tilda have to think about the dance moves during the BIG concert?

• What do you think would be a good costume for Tilda’s mash-up dance?

• What does Tilda mean when she says ‘The crowd goes wild’?

Chapter 8

• Can you think of some dance styles that would be fun to mash up?

• Tilda was worrified about making a mistake in her speech. Why does she feel like it’s OK to make mistakes now?

• What do you think was the most important lesson Tilda learned this week?

Activities

Make a Speech!

Write a short speech about a subject that you’re passionate about. Maybe you could teach your class about something you love, or you could try to convince them to take action about an important issue. Practise your speech using some of Tilda’s strategies, and perform it for the class. Did you have stage fright? How did you feel?

A Big Brainstorm!

In Tilda Teaches Mash-ups, Tilda used brainstorming to figure out why her speech practice wasn’t working. Brainstorming can be used for lots of different things…it’s a great way to think up new ideas, or to see how much you know about something. Do a big brainstorm as a class. Maybe it could be about ideas for a story, or how many different sports you can think of, or how you could solve a problem at your school. See if you can fill a whole page with ideas!

Team Teaching Time!

Tilda does some TEAM teaching with Binky and Harry – as Tilda says in her Weekly Report, ‘Sometimes two teachers are better than one!’ Find a partner, and together think of something fun that you could teach your friends. It could be a new song, some words in a different language, or even a dance – get creative! Make a lesson plan and practise together how you will teach it. Then start teaching – maybe you could teach it to another pair of team-teachers, or to a small group of students, or even to the whole class!