3 step by step dance lessons for KS1 based on the Traditional Tale of The 3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf.
Each lesson plan is based around the building materials used in the different houses, so lesson 1 looks at the softness of straw; lesson 2 uses the structure & qualities of different types of wood and the final lessons considers the effects of the shapes and subsequent strength of the bricks when they bond together.
The lessons allow the children freedom to respond to the ideas in their own way, thus being very inclusive, whilst the story is used to give structure to the lessons and allows you to identify high quality work.
Hints and tips are given along the way to ensure successful delivery, to the side is a column that identifies the skill that the children should be working on in each section and their is a suggestion of the music (plus a link) you may wish to access to speed up your planning time.
If you would like any further support regarding teaching dance please feel free to contact me at cpring@live.co.uk
Many thanks
A step by step guide to enable those who lack confidence in delivering dance.
The lesson is clearly structured but allows the children to be fully active throughout the lesson, creating their own movement in response to ideas from the story. The plan includes a guide of what you hope to see for each element of the lesson to help you to assess the children and develop their skills.
There is a short of list of music that would suit this lesson for you to select from.
This lesson would fit with themes such as Traditional Tales or Forests.
A series of 5 detailed lesson plans suitable for key stage one, that take inspiration and ideas from Mick Inkpen’s lovely story.
Each lesson allows the children to create their own movement ideas so the teacher is free to guide, observe, describe and enjoy.
The lessons are themed around the story & follow the narrative, they are ~
Lesson 1 - Penguin Small watched his friends plop into the ocean & swim away
Lesson 2 - The polar bears were in a terrible mood
Lesson 3 - The island was a wonderful place
Lesson 4 - All night long the storm blew
Lesson 5 - I can fly! I can fly!
3 Dance lessons suitable for upper KS1 or lower KS2 based on the Kenneth Greene novel The Wind in the Willows.
Each lesson is creative & simply requires the teacher to ask the children questions to inspire them to move - all of which are laid out in a simple step-by-step format.
The first lesson uses the idea of the river, it’s bank & the plant life often found in such settings. The second lesson uses Mole’s spring clean as a starting point, this is developed into partner work as we introduce Ratty & their journey down the river. Finally we meet Toad in the episode with this motor car & travelling haphazardly along the country lanes.
Music is suggested for each lesson which is easily accessed via the internet, but feel free to add your own!
The lessons are designed to keep the children moving throughout the lesson & to develop their own ideas.
10 dance lessons based on the lovely, lovely ‘Ice Monster’ by David Walliams.
The lessons are written in a clear step by step format to allow the teacher to simply ask questions to prompt ideas and actions from the children. The plans come with a guide to the skills for each section of the lesson and a link to suitable music. Hints & tips are included to assist you in delivering a successful lesson.
Whilst there are 10 lessons, you do not need to complete every one… they follow the narrative so you can easily jump to the lesson that complements the work you are covering.
The lessons are very active, encourage group working & problem solving and have opportunites for the children to watch and feedback on the work of others.
Four creative dance lessons suitable for upper ks1 or lower ks2 based on Jill Tomlinson’s story ‘The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark’ .
The lessons focus on Fireworks, Campfires, Stars and The Black Cat
These lessons have been written with covid 19 restrictions in mind & whilst still allowing the children to work together they do not require physical contact, limit travelling around the space and the activity level is moderate & sustained rather than high impact.
Each lesson follows a simple step by step format where the teacher is simply required to ask questions to stimulate movement ideas in the children; there are hints & tips along the way to guide the teacher how long each task might last & what they can do to further support learning. Further to this the skills that each section of the lesson focus upon are noted in a column on the right.
Each lesson has a suggestion of a piece of music that would suit - there is also a link to iTunes - but the music should be easily accessible on other platforms such as YouTube or Spotify.
The lessons can be performed in any order & you do not need to cover all of them.
4 dance lesson plans covering the themes of The Ancient Greeks; The English Civil War, The Magna Carta & The Houses of Parliament.
Each plan enables the teacher to deliver the lesson simply by asking questions & setting creative tasks for the students - this encourages imaginative responses, high levels of engagement, opportunities for students to work together, share ideas, analyse and evaluate.
The lessons are written in a clear formula & include hints & tips along the way as well as the key skill of each section being identified in the right hand column.
This method of working is very inclusive of children with different physical abilities and levels of experience.
4 dance lesson plans covering the themes of Inheritance, Variation, Charles Darwin & Endangered Species.
Each plan enables the teacher to deliver the lesson simply by asking questions & setting creative tasks for the students - this encourages imaginative responses, high levels of engagement, opportunities for students to work together, share ideas, analyse and evaluate.
The lessons are written in a clear formula & include hints & tips along the way as well as the key skill of each section being identified in the right hand column.
This method of working is very inclusive of children with different physical abilities and levels of experience - it also includes an I-Tunes link for suitable music - the tracks suggested would also be available on other platforms such as Spotify or YouTube.
4 dance lessons aimed at ks2, based on the book ‘Ariki and the Island of Wonders’ by Nicola Davies focusing on ~
Leaving Turtle Island
A Storm at Sea
The Wonders of the Island
Danger on the Island
Each lesson plan is written in a detailed, step by step approach where the children are encouraged to work creatively and often co-operatively, this also assists with inclusivity and allows students to work at their own level. Hints & tips are included along the way to help you sustain the pace of the lesson, as well as a guide to the skills being developed in each section.
A suggestion for suitable music is included, along with a link for iTunes - the music should also be available on other platforms such as Spotify & YouTube
In response to the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations I have devised a collection of lesson plans suitable for KS1 & 2 covering ideas such as ~
The Coronation Ceremony
The Royal Coach
The Commonwealth
Mount Everest
The Lambeth Walk
The Tower of London
The Crown Jewels
Castles
Many of the lessons include sufficient content for 2 or 3 lessons, so they can easily be divided into sections & each has a suggested piece of music.
4 creative dance lesson plans covering the history and geography of ‘South Africa’.
These focus on
The life of Nelson Mandela
Apartheid
Diamonds (covering the Anglo-Boer War)
The African continent (& it’s geographic features).
Each plan enables the teacher to deliver the lesson simply by asking questions & setting creative tasks for the students - this encourages imaginative responses, high levels of engagement, opportunities for students to work together, share ideas, analyse and evaluate.
The lessons are written in a clear formula & include hints & tips along the way as well as the key skill of each section being identified in the right hand column.
This method of working is very inclusive of children with different physical abilities and levels of experience - it also includes an i-Tunes link for suitable music - the tracks suggested would also be available on other platforms such as Spotify or YouTube.
4 dance lessons aimed at ks2, that cover themes and ideas covering ~
Moulding, Welding, Extrusion
Sellotape, Paint & Glitter
as well as 2 lessons based on the book ‘One Plastic Bag’ by Miranda Paul.
Each lesson plan is written in a detailed, step by step approach where the children are encouraged to work creatively and often co-operatively, this also assists with inclusivity and allows students to work at their own level. Hints & tips are included along the way to help you sustain the pace of the lesson, as well as a guide to the skills being developed in each section.
A suggestion for suitable music is included, along with a link for iTunes - the music should also be available on other platforms such as Spotify & YouTube
A step by step guide to enable those who lack confidence in delivering dance.
The lessons are clearly structured but allows the children to be fully active throughout the lessons, creating their own movement in response to ideas from the story.
The plans includes a guide of what you hope to see for each element of the lesson to help you assess the children and develop their skills.
There is a short list of suggested music that would suit this lesson for you to select from.
The lesson would fit with themes such as Traditional Tales.
Suitable for y3 and above, these three lesson plans use the structure of castle buildings and how they were attacked and defended. The lessons are creative and allow the children to devise their own movement material (rather than learning any step pattern) as a solo and in groups.
I would suggest that suitable music might be Phat Planet by Leftfield, Battle Without Honour or Humanity by Electric Samurai or Theme from the film The Matrix & these lessons could complement themes such as buildings, the middle ages or invaders.
I have assumed that lessons run for approximately 45 minutes, so you may well find that you have more than 3 lessons here if you hall time is less or that your children have little prior experience of dance.
Suitable for y3 and above, these two detailed lesson plans use seed dispersal methods to encourage the children to travel using a range of dynamics. The lesson on life cycles of plants encourages the children to develop their sequencing skills and movement memory whilst embedding their understanding of the process. The lessons are creative and allow the children to devise their own movement material (rather than learning any step pattern).
The lessons come with suggestions for suitable music & could complement themes such as our environment, life cycles, Spring, plants.
I have assumed that lessons run for approximately 45 minutes, so you may well find that you have more than 2 lessons here if you hall time is less or that your children have little prior experience of dance.
An easy to follow dance lesson suitable for upper KS1 or lower KS2 that uses cave painting to help the children generate shapes and actions. Does require the teacher to print off some cave painting images for the children to look at & use.
A very creative lesson that will allow the children to keep moving, be imaginative and develop their team working/choreographic skills.
Comes with a suggestion for suitable music.
Suitable for KS1 or lower KS2 this step by step dance lesson uses swings, roundabouts, slides & seesaws to get the children travelling, turning & raising/lowering. A highly creative lesson that allows all of the children to create their own actions & to keep moving for the duration of the lesson.
The plan comes with a suggestion of suitable music.
This pack includes 6 dance lessons aimed at Reception/year one.
Three of the lessons link to the book ‘Dinosaur Roar!’ by Paul & Henrietta Stickland.
Each lesson comes in an easy to follow step-by-step format, with hints & tips along the way & a clear indication of the skills they will be focusing on in every section of the lesson.
At the end of the plan there is a suggestion of a piece of music that will complement the lesson (with the link to Youtube) to make it easy to access.
The final lesson is a consolidation lesson - but the other lessons can be completed in any order - and you don’t have to do all of them!
Teaching The Tempest by Shakespeare? Want to bring it to life?
4 dance lessons based on key sections from the plot to help the children understand & recall the text more easily.
Each lesson comes in a step by step format that requires the teacher to set creative tasks (all included) to allow the children to develop their imagination and team working skills. There are tips and guidance along the way to help you anticipate any potential problems. Music is suggested with each lesson plan with a link to access it from either Youtube or iTunes.
The lessons could be further linked together to create a performance piece.
Three easy to follow dance lessons following the story of Goldilocks that allow the children to be very active and creative.
The first lesson plan follows Goldilocks travelling through the forest & entering the house.
The second lesson introduces the porridge and the chairs.
The third lesson has Goldilocks trying out the beds & the bears returning.
A final lesson could be added to amalgamate the whole story.
Each lesson plan includes suggested music (with a link to it), a column at the side that identifies the key skill for each section of the lesson as well as hints & tips along the way to help you identify good work and anticipate any possible problems.
The lessons are very inclusive as they ask the children to find their own way of moving, they also do not require the teacher to dance along - but to ask questions & describe what they see the children doing.