Five creative dance lessons for KS2 children based on the Tudor themes of The Battle of Bosworth, The Spanish Armada, Tudor Houses, The Tudor Rose and Jousting. Each lesson is in a step by step format but simply asks the teacher to set creative tasks for the children - so you don’t need to dance a step yourself! The work helps to embed their knowledge and understanding of the topic as well as develop their physical and choreographic skills. Each lesson comes with a suggestion for the music you might like to use - there is an iTunes link on the sheet to help you access it quickly & easily. The lessons can be performed in any order & you don’t need to complete them all.

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

This pack includes 4 dance lessons for KS1 or lower KS2 based on the poem ‘Learning to Fly’ by Kenn Nesbitt. Each lesson focuses on one verse and 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. An additional lesson could easily be added consolidating the themes and ideas from the previous lessons.

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.

Aimed at pre-school and early years students. Simple rhymes to familiar tunes. Many of the rhymes focus on specific body parts and have clearly related actions, e.g. "Feet can take you for a walk & feet can make you hop; Feet can slide when on the ice or feet can make you stop..." There are 9 rhymes in total, so hopefully you'll find some to suit your needs.

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.

A bag of resources aimed at those who have been asked to deliver creative dance but really have no idea where to start! Each idea starts with a creative introduction & then is followed up with a selection of ideas for you to select from to suit your group/theme/ages of the children. The lessons require the teacher to be the 'task setter' through verbal instructions only - feel free to dance if you want to, but it isn't at all necessary. Each idea has been tried & tested with a range of groups & comes with a suggestion of the music you might want to use, but they are very flexible & will match with a wide range of accompaniment. Once the students have created their responses it is then simply a matter of piecing them together like a jigsaw... there are no wrong or right answers - so either follow your instinct or ask the group to decide how they can structure this best (after watching each others work).

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 4 step by step creative dance lessons suitable for KS1 or lower KS2. Each lesson links to ideas from a poem ‘Under the Sea’ and enables the children to explore a wide range of actions & physical skills. The lessons come with music suggestions that are easily accessed through the internet, alternatively feel free to add your own choice. The lessons are written with the non-specialist in mind & hints and tips are included to help you to create a positive working environment without having to dance a step yourself! Lesson 1 looks at swimming, limpets and coral reefs; Lesson 2 links with octopus, jellyfish, starfish & dolphins; Lesson 3 uses sharks, sea snails and hermit crabs & Lesson 4 explores building sandcastles, gathering shells & paddling/splashing in the sea & these can be performed in any order.

For KS1 & KS2 teachers delivering dance. The document looks at the skills that I would be hoping children would achieve by the end of each academic year - I’ve broken them down into Physical Knowledge; Physical Skills; Creative/Choreographic Skills and Interpersonal Skills. The overview spans from nursery to Y6.

Aimed at the person in school with responsibility for writing the PE Policy. A simple prompt and guide to help you compile a useful document that covers the bases and ensures that you have considered the key points.

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 based on ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ by Julia Donaldson. The lessons allow the children to create their own movements based on ideas from the text & each section of the lesson focuses on a particular (identified) skill such as balance, control, sequencing or travelling. The lessons could be amalgamated to create a short performance piece & music suggestions are included with each lesson plan.

I have delivered many, many dance cpd sessions over the years & the common question is ‘where do you find your music?’ So I have put together a list of my regular ‘go-to’ pieces, complete with the name of the artist, a direct link to that song on iTunes & themes that I think they could match with. This is obviously not a complete list but it is a really good start and I recommend building up your own library of 'music for dance - it makes finding suitable music so much quicker! But if I can give you one piece of advice when finding music for dance… don’t look for the perfect piece of music (it doesn’t exist!) - just look for a good match - then stop looking! Another tip - a good place to start are film scores - they’ve been written with a visual image in mind - doing The Romans? Then something on the score of ‘Gladiator’ will probably suit. This is mainly aimed at KS1 & 2, but a good piece of music doesn’t have age boundaries… I hope you enjoy them.

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

3 creative dance lessons based on the story of Owl Babies by Martin Waddle. The first lesson covers the nest & could link to animal habitats, the second uses the idea of the owl babies coming out onto their various branches whilst waiting for their mother & uses the difference of the branch, the twig & the old ivy. The final lesson looks at the mother flying & returning to the nest. Each lesson comes in a step by step format & requires the teacher to simply ask questions & set tasks to allow the children to respond creatively. There are hints & tips along the way to assist, as well as a column indicating the key skill in each section of the lesson & a link to suitable music. If you require any further help please contact me at cpring@live.co.uk