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.

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.

This pack includes 4 easy to follow dance lessons that cover cave paintings hunter gatherers moving from caves to simple houses into the Iron Age with the creation of weapons (battles). Each lesson comes with a link to suitable music as well as hints and tips along the way to help you to keep the children on task and challenged. There is also a side column indicates the key skill for each section of the lesson. The lessons are in step-by-step form that require the teacher to simply ask questions & set tasks - this allows the children to be very creative & it is also a very inclusive way of working. If you require any further support please feel free to contact me at cpring@live.co.uk

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!

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 easy to follow lessons plans based on Eric Carle’s ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. Each lesson plan comes with a music suggestion & is written in step-by-step form with the associated skills for each section being clearly highlighted. The lessons are designed for the teacher to simply ask questions & set tasks to allow the children to respond creatively. The lessons could be amalgamated in a final lesson to create a short performance piece of three distinct sections. The lessons could link easily with topics such as Life Cycles, Change, Spring or even healthy eating!

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.

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

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.

A wide selection of warm up activities suitable to get the children moving in a fun and engaging way. The warm ups would suit Dance, Drama or PE activities.

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.

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.

3 dance lessons using the story of Rama & Sita as the stimulus for creative movement ideas suitable for dance or drama. Each lesson comes in a step by step format to help the teacher structure the work, there are hints and tips along the way & the key skills for each element of the lesson is identified in a column on the side. Suggested music is also included which is easily accessible via iTunes or Youtube. The lessons can be amalgamated to create a performance piece covering the whole story. Each lesson has been written by a dance specialist - if you require any extra help or advice please feel free to contact me via the email address on the notes.

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.

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.

3 lessons aimed at upper ks2 or ks3 that introduce the students to the Lindy Hop and how it connected with other dance styles of the time. Each lesson includes some taught movement material which is then developed to enable the students to have some creative input and problem solving opportunities. Each lesson plan comes in a clear, step by step form with hints & tips along the way as well as an identification of the skills involved in each section of the lesson. Further to this there is a suggestion of music that you may wish to use (easily available via iTunes, Spotify, YouTube or many other platforms. In order to further support learning I have include links to examples of Lindy Hop/Swing Dance fromYoutube.

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.

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 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.