Dance - Lesson 1

In the initial lesson of a Year 3 dance series, students are introduced to the vibrant world of cheerleading. The lesson's objective is for pupils to learn and perform simple cheerleading arm positions and basic movement actions. The success of the lesson is gauged by the students' ability to explore, repeat, and link a range of actions with coordination, respond to a beat with music, and work in groups to select and create a short dance phrase using the learnt arm positions. Essential vocabulary such as "phrase" and "stance" is introduced, and the session is well-equipped with gymnastic mats, marching music, percussion instruments, and colourful pom-poms to aid the learning experience.

The lesson is structured into three main parts: a warm-up, the main activity, and a cool-down. During the warm-up, students engage in activities that involve copying beats with their bodies, using movements like stamping feet, clapping, and hopping. The main activity delves into cheerleading, where students discuss the purpose of cheerleading and observe different stances and arm positions, such as the 'Tabletop', 'High V', 'Low V', 'Diagonal', 'Touchdown', and 'Low Touchdown'. They practice these positions to music, with opportunities for pupils to lead and command the class. The cool-down session includes a repeat of the beats activity with variations and stretches on gymnastic mats, promoting relaxation and reflection on the physical activity undertaken.