Grey Beard hit on a term I would like to expand on a bit: Decending Turn

Newbies are taught to maintain altitude when turning, but the next time you fly, try this:

At a normal altitude, make your turn from the downwind leg with more aileron and less elevator so the plane loses altitude as it turns. Note that you are not going to land, you are just "flying the box" like you normally do, but rather than holding a constant altitude, you are decending on your turns toward the runway, and then regaining altitude throughout the rest of the pattern.

In the video below, the first turn from the left is a decending turn to set up for a low pass over the runway. Then you will see the plane climb out afterward. The second turn from the left maintains its altitude to set up for a maneuver.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzPYwW7oEOI[/youtube]