For anyone teaching the Ancient Greeks or Greek Myths here are 3 easy to deliver, creative dance lessons that will have your students active, fire their imaginations and develop their creative skills and team working. The first lesson uses the sailing ship crashing onto the island of Crete; the second explores the maze and the third lesson uses the theme of the battle. These could be developed further by being linked together to creative the narrative & then further still by being repeated in reverse order to show Theseus leaving the maze and returning home. The lessons come with suggestions for instrumental music that can be accessed through itunes or YouTube. If you require any further help or support I deliver inset to help your school devise and deliver high quality dance lessons linked to curriculum themes.

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.

For those of you who feel a little apprehensive about teaching dance I have tried something a little different. A power point that takes you through the lesson step by step by simply going from slide to slide & reading out the tasks for the children to do. (Alternatively you could project the tasks onto a whiteboard for them to work more independently). It is a creative lesson aimed at year 2, 3 or 4. The teacher just asks the children to ‘find a way…’ & it is up to them how they respond. I have suggested a piece of music to suit the lesson - but it would suit any gentle instrumental piece.

For KS2 students, the 3 lessons use movement to highlight and embed knowledge & understanding of the story. Can be used with or without music. Each lesson comes in step by step form to help teachers develop a logical progression to their work, there are also hints & tips to enable you to challenge and support the learning of your students.

Easy to follow step by step lessons that cover the ideas of pirate ships, setting sail over the seven seas, treasure maps and making shelter on a desert island. Each lesson allows the students to generate their own ideas & encourages the children to keep moving, be imaginative and develop their team working/choreographic skills. Comes with a suggestion for suitable music.

Suitable for lower KS2 these step by step dance lessons use themes from the story - the first looks at the Iron Man on the farm & eating machinery, the second is the arrival of the Space-Bat-Angel-Dragon & the final uses the battle. All are highly creative lessons that requires the teacher to simply ask questions & set tasks, which in turn allows the children to create their own actions & to keep moving for the duration of the lesson. The plans comes with a suggestion of suitable music.

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 assess the children and develop their skills. There is a music suggestion for each lesson. The lessons would fit with themes such as habitats, polar regions, winter; but individual lessons within the plan also look at explorers, winter sports, penguins & snow.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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!

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.

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 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 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.