What do writing and dance have in common? They both have a six-trait rubric for assessment. Just like a good story, a good dance must have a hook, beginning, middle, end,  logical sequence, and a climax. Learners use a...

Dancers practice echoing through dance. They listen to a story "Flip and Flop" and then are put into pairs. One partner is Flip, while the other is Flop. Flip creates a shape by dancing, and Flop, the other student, echoes that shape by...

The upbeat song "I Like to Move It" from the movie Madagascar is just the ticket! Get your younsters up and moving. The basic steps in this dance are the grapevine, side step, squat, back step, jumps, jumping jacks, and marching in...

Second graders practice dance using different speeds of music and types of movement. In this dance lesson, 2nd graders view a clip of tap dancing and analyze the speed of music in coordinating with the speed of dance movements. Students...

A series of lessons about dance would be a great addition to your physical education class. Straightforward as well as creative, it teaches the basic skills of dance movement. A rubric helps guide the dancers to let them know what steps...

Fourth graders use dance moves to perform narratives. For this dramatic performing lesson, 4th graders use strong and soft movements to show what character's voice is portraying. Students also use movement to show the feelings in the...

Second graders study movements. In this dance lesson, 2nd graders draw patterns selecting one to represent through movement with their body.

Students make choices about dance elements and organize them in expressive ways. They plan and present dance works for a familiar audience. They identify dance elements in their and classmates work.

Fifth graders dance in different ways to show movement of states of matter. In this matter lesson plan, 5th graders make connected shapes with a partner, make flowing movements, travel rapidly, and more. 

Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...

Students analyze how repeated body movements and shapes can represent and extend patterns. In this pattern analysis lesson, students discuss patterns in dance, math, and everyday living. Students demonstrate a dance using a sequence of...

Learn two dances that your class can perform at a Cinco De Mayo school celebration. This is really an outline and would be better used if there were plans for how to teach the dance steps. The idea is good to teach the cultural...

Students demonstrate various patterns using dance. In this expressive arts lesson, students are led in a warm-up to demonstrate the AAB pattern, which includes spinning and jumping. Students are broken up into groups and perform several...

There are really only four basic moves in this line dance. Those dance moves are: grapevine, slide, marching, and then dipping and clapping. Each 8-count is repeated twice, for a total of a 64-count dance. The unique addition to this...

Fourth graders explore the music of Buenos Aires as they hear and then dance the Tango. They practice basic Tango rhythm, learn to sing the song, "Any Turkey can Tango," then practice a few Tango-riffic dance steps with a partner....

Learners perform a dance step in physical education class. They move to the beat of the music, counting eight beats to a set of movements. Students walk forward four counts and do two jumping jacks. They walk backwards four counts and do...

Students observe a dance interpretation about Harriet Tubman. In this art/social studies instructional activity, students explore how their emotions can be expressed through movement and create their own dance or dramatic interpretation.

Students are encouraged to enjoy dance, feel comfortable dancing, and perform a few simple moves to the beat of the music

Students practice counting to eight while listening to music, move to the beat of the music, and learn simple dance steps.

Students go through the experience of creating a dance. They use the correct vocabulary when creating the dance in writing. Students choreograph the steps needed to perform the dance in sequence. Then they perform the dance for final...

Second graders examine human body movements by measuring the choreography of a dance.  In this physical education lesson, 2nd graders participate in a creative dance which is based on specific movements of each limb, which students...

Students investigate the process and components present in a dance composition. They create their own composition for the purpose of recreating all he elements of a dance composition. The dance is written in a journal for the purpose of...

Students are introduced to the various career opportunities in dance. Using the internet, they research the educational requirements and starting salaries. They write a paper on the information they collected and share their statistics...

Students create a small group dance that addresses free-flowing techniques and transitions for in-class performance. This lesson meets state arts standards and includes rubric for assessment.