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

A key stage one resource where the 4 lessons encourage the children to explore and develop their own movement ideas (you don’t have to dance a step - unless you want to!) Each lesson comes in a step by step format with notes and prompts for you to ensure the children are developing their skills - and each lesson also comes with a recommended piece of music that is easily accessed via the internet. Lesson One includes Autumn leaves falling & bonfires with curling smoke. Lesson Two uses the angular shapes & sudden actions of Jack Frost. Lesson Three is the swirling patterns of snow, gusting and settling. Lesson Four looks at travelling through the snow & links with arctic explorers such as Scott of the Antarctic. Each section of the lesson has a clear aim, these might involve physical skills such as balance or control; performance skills such as projection or focus; teamworking skills such as cooperation or giving feedback; or choreographic skills such as mirroring or strucutring their work.

Four creative dance lessons covering the key steps in the process of chocolate making. Lesson 1 covers the pods growing on the trees & how they are harvested and fermented. Lesson 2 looks at drying, transporting & roasting. Lesson 3 looks at the winnowing process Lesson 4 covers grinding, mixing & refining the chocolate. Each lesson gives the children endless opportunities to decide how they will respond to the tasks which makes the lessons very inclusive of different abilities and levels of experience, whilst requiring the teacher to simply set the tasks (verbally) & give feedback. There are opportunities for team working and for groups to observe and give feedback. These lessons are very much written with the non specialist in mind, they are in a clear step-by-step format with hints along the way, they also include a suggestion for music that will suit, but please feel free to add your own choice.

This resource uses themes and ideas linked directly to David Walliams wonderful novel ‘Gangsta Granny’. Each lesson comes in a clear, easy to follow format where the children respond to tasks (rather than learn patterns of steps) that make the work creative, inclusive and easy for the non-specialist teacher to deliver successfully. The links to the text are clearly identified, thus consolidating their understanding of techniques used in literacy lessons. There are also hints and tips along the way to assist classroom management, and the skills for each section are shown in a side column - not forgetting a music suggestion for each lesson (with a direct link). There are 16 lessons in total - these are for you to select from (you don’t need to complete all of them!), or if you were thinking of putting on a whole school performance you might split the sections between a number of classes.

These 3 dance lessons cover themes of plate tectonics & how this affects Japan, Mount Fuji (volcanoes), The painting The Great Wave & tsunamis as well as the Japan being known as ‘The Land of the Rising Sun’ & its flag. All lesson plans are written in a step by step format taking you through the lesson logically, but with the focus being on the children generating the movement ideas rather than you teaching them ‘steps’ for them to recreate. With each section of the lesson there are hints and tips along the way regarding how to structure sections, or things to look out for… the key skill(s) of each section is also identified. There is a suggestion of the type of music you might use & a link to it… this is purely to save you time… feel free to select other music that you might prefer or think more suitable for your group. The lessons can be delivered in any order & they could be amalgamated at the end to create a ‘Japan’ dance.

A one-off dance lesson linked to the music ‘Dance Macabre’ by Saint Saens’. The dance is very closely linked to the structure of the music starting with the clock chiming 12 followed by footsteps & uses the typical ghoulish characters of skeletons, ghosts, witches, spiders and black cats. Each ghoulish character has a different movement quality, e.g. skeleton is stiff and angular, the ghost is light & floaty etc… As the music changes from one section to the next the children change from one character to another, thus all of the children are active all of the time. The teacher notes indicate when the sections change in minutes & seconds - most systems are able to show these as part of their display. The dance lasts approximately 2 minutes & it resolves itself by the children realising they are looking at a fancy dress party - thus hopefully not giving anyone nightmares!

Aimed at EYFS children. A simple rhyme covering travelling in a car, on a bike, on a train or in a plane. Each comes with an obvious associtated action, such as miming using a steering wheel for driving - but this is complemented with a different aspect, in ‘cars’ levels are incorporated. The rhyme can be used as a stand alone activity or ‘filler’; but with each of the 4 verses there are notes on how the actions can be explored and developed. This will suit a wide range of instrumental tracks such as ‘Walking With Elephants’ by Ten Walls; ‘Belfast’ by Orbital; ‘The Baby Elephant Walk’ by Henri Mancini; ‘Axel F’ by Harold Faltermyer.

Three easy to follow dance lessons written with the non-specialist in mind. Each lesson plan comes in a simple step by step format that keeps the children very active & encourages them to use their imagination & creativity throughout but requires the teacher to simply ask questions & set tasks. The lessons can be delivered in any order & they cover ‘The London Underground’; ‘The River Thames’ and ‘Big Ben’. Each lesson comes with extra ideas that can be used if there is time in the lessons, alternatively the lesson could be repeated & these extra tasks could be used to progress the theme. The lessons come with suggestions for suitable music - these are easily accessed through the internet & will complement the movement ideas & style.

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.

Making a Move is an easy to use collection of 30 dance ideas for the primary teacher. They allow non-contact, socially distanced physical education, interaction with peers and contains creative, curriculum support as well as well-being enhancing content. Each plan is in an easy step by step structure where the teacher simply asks questions to enable the children to generate movement ideas. The skills of each section are identified to aid with assessment & progression, as is a suggestion of suitable music – just hover your cursor over it for an embedded hyperlink. The lessons are ‘stand-alone’, yet include ideas for differentiation that could be used to develop the work over several sessions. These dance lessons enable children to… • Respond creatively & expressively to ideas • Work collaboratively without contact • Consolidate learning in other subject areas • Make learning active and engaging • Include children of different ages, levels of experience or physical ability

5 easy to follow dance lesson plans covering the themes of candles, crackers, Christmas pudding, stars and snow/frost. Each lesson plan is in a step by step format with the skills & knowledge being highlighted in the right hand column. The lessons are creative and inclusive - using a task based approach to allow the children to develop their choreographic skills as well as their physical and performance abilities. The tasks that the children perform are written in bold, with teacher hints & tips below in italics. At the bottom of each plan is a suggestion for a suitable piece of music along with a link. Other music would work just as well - so feel free to try other pieces - this is purely intended to speed up the planning process.

4 creative dance lesson plans for ks2 covering the story of ‘The Selfish Giant’ by Oscar Wilde. These focus on The Giant returning to his castle & building a wall to keep the children out. The garden in its Winter state - snow - frost - wind & hail. Children re-entering through a gap in the wall. Lifting the small child into the tree & spring returning. 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.