Today in my Dance input we were introduced to many different possibilities of how to deliver a dance lesson. One which I particularly enjoyed was when we were left to move and sway freely, and at the shake of a symbol we struck a pose. I got thinking about how I could vary this and create a full lesson out of it.

I began to think of different types of dances and what poses you could take from each one. This lead me on to thinking about dances from all over the world, and imagining iconic poses that children would enjoy copying and would most likely find familiar. Some key moves I thought of was walking like an Egyptian, Chinese dancing, Hula dancing, Highland dancing and Flamenco dancing. Each of these dances have a varied and contrasting look.

To begin the lesson I will play music and ease the children in with warm up activities. These will include stretching and moving around the room. For this particular lesson I will need to make the children aware of different world dances. This could be done prior to the Dance lesson, perhaps in subjects such as Geography or RME. Once the children are warmed up I would put examples of different world dances on and encourage the children to think about poses they could extract from these dances. An example could be that of the photos above. I would give 5-10 minutes of practice time for the children to become confident in their poses. Next, I would put the children in groups of 3-4, encouraging them to share their poses with others in their group. The children can pick 2-3 of their favourite poses and create a sequence of each one. The groups could then present their dance to the rest of the class.  To conclude the lesson I would ask each child to find a space and I would provide instructions to cool down, such as lying down and stretching each body part sequentially. This lesson could be followed up by many subjects across the curriculum.

Outcomes which this lesson would cover from the Curriculum for Excellence are:

Expressive Dance

I can explore and choose movements to create and present dance, developing my skills and techniques. EXA 2-08a, in the way that they are choosing the dance moves they favour, practicing in groups, and presenting to their peers.

I have taken part in dance from a range of styles and cultures, demonstrating my awareness of the dance features. EXA 2-10a, in the way that the children are learning dances from different cultures.

RME

I can describe and reflect upon practices and traditions of world religions. RME 2-06c, in the way that the children can show dance traditions of religions and countries.

The learning intention of this lesson would be “To develop an understanding of different dances from around the world.”

The Success Criteria would be ” To observe dances from around the world, practicing poses from each dance and implementing them in a group performance.”

Assessment opportunities of this lesson would be observational. Each child could be assessed on their perception of poses that can be taken from the world dances, and the child’s ability to copy them. The child’s participation in the group task could also be observed as an assessment opportunity.

Prior knowledge would be very beneficial to this activity.  Although the children are given examples of world dances in this lesson, it would be helpful for the children to recognise each culture and perhaps even reasons they may perform these dances, such as for celebration. Children would also benefit from previous inputs on how to strike a pose, and hold it in synchronisation in a group.