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

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.

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

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

Creative & active dance lessons ready for fireworks night! Each comes with suggested music & step by step tasks for the teacher to set to allow the children to devise their own responses. The lesson on bonfires uses ribbons or pieces of material & would work with ks1 or lower ks2. The Guy Fawkes lesson uses the story of the attempt to blow up Parliament & is more in line with upper ks2, it uses the rhyme ‘Remember, remember the 5th of November…’

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.

Looking at pre-war dances such as the waltz & the factors that influenced this dance style, then how & why this rapidly changed during the war years to move towards dances like the Lindy Hop & Jive. The pack combines research tasks, practical tasks & information. Would suit upper key stage 3 or 4 students & the written/research tasks might be useful as a way of including students who are injured & unable to participate.

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!

Suitable for y2 and above, these lesson plans use the shapes that candles are often in as well as melting & setting. 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. The lessons come with suggestions for suitable music & could complement themes such as Festival of Light, Changing States, 3D Shapes or Light & Dark. 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.

Suitable for upper KS1 or lower KS2 this dance lesson uses the London Underground map as a stimulus to get the children travelling & stopping, passing through each other, following, connecting and separating. A highly creative lesson that will have the children busy and stimulate their imagination. Includes a suggestion for suitable music.

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.

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.

Four lessons for KS2 students using the theme of Tribal Dance - linking to the Haka and African dance. The lessons come in a simple step-by-step format with the first exploring different formations & analysing the types of action typically found in traditional tribal dances like the Haka. The following lesson uses Question & Answer to communicate the competitive situation. The third lesson uses contrast and complement to create a battle & the final lesson reflects celebratory dances of Africa. All the lessons come with a suggestion for the music that could be used and they can be linked to create a narrative dance. There are links to examples on YouTube to help you illustrate the cultural links - but the lessons do not require the teacher to dance - but please feel free to do so if you feel confident!

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.

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!

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.