Dance - Lesson 5

In Nursery Dance Lesson 5, the learning objectives are centred around children performing movements linked to specific vocabulary. The success criteria for the lesson include pupils being able to follow the leader around the room, mimic movements, and interpret repeated actions from given vocabulary. The key terms for the session include 'through', 'under', 'over', 'copy', 'follow', and 'lead'. To facilitate this lesson, the story 'We're going on a bear hunt' by Michael Rosen is used as a resource. The warm-up activity involves a playful traffic light game where children pretend to be cars, responding to colour cues from the teacher – green for run, yellow for walk, and red for stop – to help them get ready for the main lesson activities.

The core part of the lesson spans 20 minutes, where children are encouraged to follow the teacher, who acts as the leader, and copy actions tied to the narrative of the 'We're going on a bear hunt' story. As the teacher reads aloud, they guide the class around the hall, performing actions that correspond to different parts of the story, such as raising hands in a claw shape for 'bear' or moving arms side to side to mimic 'long grass'. These actions help children associate specific movements with the vocabulary. To enhance the experience, the teacher may incorporate physical props like benches and tunnels to represent going 'over', 'under', and 'through'. The lesson concludes with a cool down where children, spread out in the hall, are instructed to imitate trees in a windstorm, starting with vigorous arm movements that gradually slow to stillness, ready to end the session.