Dance - Lesson 2

In the second dance lesson for nursery-aged children, the aim is to engage the young dancers in using large muscle movements to manipulate ribbons creatively. The learning objectives are clear: children are expected to explore a variety of movements with a ribbon and to learn how to use different levels and directions in their dance. The key vocabulary for this lesson includes terms like 'ribbon', 'smooth', 'flow', and 'copy', which help to describe the graceful actions the children will be performing. The equipment needed for this lesson comprises ribbons on sticks, background music of the teacher's choice, and hoops to add an element of fun and structure to the warm-up exercises.

The lesson begins with a five-minute warm-up where children travel around the hall, engaging in different movements such as skipping, running, or hopping, and respond to colour cues from the teacher to gather at hoops of the corresponding colour. This not only gets their hearts pumping but also prepares them for the main activity, which lasts 20 minutes. During this time, the teacher demonstrates ribbon dance movements, and the children are given ribbons to experiment with, creating their own dance patterns to the background music. This improvisation session allows for assessment of the children's ability to use large muscle movements and their creativity. The lesson concludes with a cool-down where the ribbons are collected, and the children participate in a dynamic rendition of the song 'head, shoulders, knees, and toes', further enhancing their physical coordination and memory through repetition and variation in speed.