Dance 3 - Lesson 6

In Year 5's Dance 3, Lesson 6, students are tasked with choreographing and performing a dance inspired by the flowing movement and characteristics of a river, using a poem as their creative stimulus. The learning objectives are clear: pupils should be able to craft a sequence of movements, collaborate effectively with their peers, draw inspiration from key vocabulary, and utilise performance techniques. The success criteria set a benchmark for the students to choreograph a dance, work well in a team, apply the vocabulary in their movement choices, and execute performance skills. Essential vocabulary such as 'canon', 'tempo', 'staging', 'directions', and 'levels' are introduced to guide their creative process. The resources provided for this lesson include river-themed poems and music which are integral to setting the atmosphere and aiding the pupils' imagination and movement.

The lesson is structured into three distinct parts: a warm-up, the main activity, and a cool-down. During the 10-minute warm-up, the class teacher leads the students through a series of movements that engage different parts of the body, followed by improvisation exercises responding to verbal cues. The 30-minute main activity is where the creative work happens; students circle up to recap their previous lesson and discuss the task ahead, which involves choreographing a dance that embodies the essence of a river. Music evocative of running water plays in the background while the pupils refine their routines, ensuring they have a clear start and finish, and navigate their movements to represent a bird's-eye view of a river's path. The session culminates in a performance where each group presents their choreographed piece. To wind down, a 10-minute relaxation exercise is conducted, where pupils lie down, close their eyes, and are guided through a meditation focused on breathing and the sounds of nature, allowing them to reflect on their surroundings and the lesson's activities.