Dance - Minibeasts - Lesson 3

In the third lesson of a Reception class dance series themed around minibeasts, young learners are encouraged to explore movement and creativity through the intriguing world of the dung beetle. The lesson's learning objectives are for children to use their arms to form shapes, with success criteria including the ability to work in pairs and create shapes with their bodies. The key vocabulary introduced includes terms like 'wide', 'contact', 'roll', and 'space', ensuring the children are familiar with the language of movement. Resources required for the lesson include minibeast posters and music recommendations, which help to set the scene and inspire the children's imaginations.

The lesson is structured into a warm-up, main activity, and cool down, each lasting about 10 minutes. The warm-up involves a 'follow the leader' game where children copy the teacher's movements and take turns leading. In the main activity, children pair up and use improvisation to mimic dung beetles hiding and climbing behind rocks, eventually using arm shapes to represent rolling dung balls. The lesson culminates in a small dance routine that combines the movements learned. For the cool down, children engage in movement exercises while pretending to be different minibeasts, followed by stretching and relaxation techniques. This imaginative approach to dance helps develop not only physical coordination but also social skills and creative expression.