Farm Movement

Overview

In this 90-minute lesson, students explore simple movement and coordination through farm-themed obstacle-course games. They practise working together, making choices about safe movement, and noticing how their bodies can follow shapes and directions.

Learning intentions

• Students will perform coordinated movements (jump, step, crawl, balance) safely through a simple obstacle course.
• Students will move in response to simple cues (sounds, teacher signals, and visual markers).
• Students will communicate ideas about what their dance/movement looks like and how it can show an idea (e.g., “careful farmer”, “fast animals”).
• Students will show teamwork by taking turns and following shared rules.

Success criteria

• I can move through the course using control (not rushing, watching where I go).
• I can follow simple directions and cues to start, stop, and change movement.
• I can take turns and help my partner with a safety job.
• I can describe or show how our movements match an idea (for example, slow/careful or quick/active).

Curriculum links

• Creative Arts — Students compose and perform dance using shapes and movements to communicate ideas, and describe ways that dance conveys ideas.
• Mathematics — Students recognise, describe and represent shapes including common polygons, used as visual markers for directions.
• Mathematics — Students create and recognise halves, quarters and eighths as part measure of a whole length, used when counting steps/sections of a course.
• Mathematics — Students use the structure of equal group to solve multiplication problems, used in “equal groups” turn-taking challenges (e.g., 2 by 2).

Lesson structure (90 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Welcome and warm-up. Teacher sets farm-themed safe space boundaries and plays a farm sound (e.g., rooster/animals) to cue movement; students practise: march, tiptoe, and “tractor slow/fast” starts and stops on signal.

2. 10–25 min · Movement mirror game (coordination + cues). Teacher demonstrates one movement sequence (step to a shape marker, clap, turn, balance) and models “freeze” clearly; students copy in pairs, taking turns leading for 10–15 seconds each.

3. 25–40 min · Shape-based directions (2D markers). Teacher places large 2D shape cards on the ground (square/rectangle/triangle/circle) and assigns each card a movement: e.g., square = jump, rectangle = crawl, circle = spin once, triangle = balance like a scarecrow. Students move from one shape to the next based on teacher call-outs and teacher-held visual cards.

4. 40–70 min · Obstacle course (farm items + teamwork roles). Teacher explains the course and safety rules: one-way flow, stop when the “freeze” call happens, and stay behind the start line. Students rotate through the course in pairs with roles: “Mover” and “Coach/Safety Spotter” (coach watches feet/space and reminds about the safe rule). Course example (simple and adaptable):

• Start line → step over “feed sacks” (pillow/beanbags)
• Crawl through “gate” (tunnel/cardboard frame or low hoop)
• Balance on “log” (tape line or foam beam)
• Jump between “hay squares” (taped squares)
• Finish at “barn” (spot) and do a freeze pose. Teacher prompts for coordination: “Can you land quietly?”, “Can you balance for three counts?” counting together as a class (lightly using halves/quarters language: “two steps to half, then two more” on the course segments where possible).

5. 70–82 min · Movement performance (idea + shapes). Teacher sets a short “dance task”: students choose one idea and show it with movement shapes. Options: “careful farmer”, “hungry animals”, or “busy worker.” Students perform for 10–20 seconds as a pair, using the shape markers they practised (e.g., stand on square for “careful”, circle for “quick”), then teacher asks: “What idea do your movements show?”

6. 82–90 min · Cool-down and exit check. Teacher leads slow breathing and gentle stretches. Students do a quick check: each student gives one answer—“I used (jump/crawl/balance) and it was for (careful/fast/busy).” Teacher records who can follow cues, control movements, and take turns.

Resources

• Cones/tape for boundaries and start line
• Large floor shape cards (square, rectangle, circle, triangle) or printed shape mats
• Farm item props: beanbags/pillows as feed sacks, hoops/tunnels, foam beam/tape line “log”
• “Hay squares” tape markers
• “Barn” finish spot marker
• Timer or music track for turns
• Visual cue cards for “start”, “freeze”, “go”
• Small checklist cards for teacher observation (turn-taking, safety cue response)

Assessment

• Observation checklist during the obstacle course: safe movement, ability to follow “start/stop/freeze” cues, controlled balance/jumps.
• Pair role evidence: students can explain or show what the “Coach/Safety Spotter” does and take turns.
• Quick oral response in the final minutes: one sentence or gesture describing the idea conveyed by their movement.

Differentiation

• Support: use fewer course elements for a student who needs simpler tasks; allow extra practice passes; provide visual cue pictures for “freeze/start”.
• Support for speech/EAL/SEN: accept gestures and single-word responses; give sentence starters like “I am (careful/fast/busy)” and “I used (jump/crawl/balance)”.
• Extension: add a second cue—students must use a specific movement when they land on a particular shape; challenge teams with “equal group” turn rounds (e.g., two turns each) before switching roles.
• Coordination support: widen balance area and reduce jump distance; encourage “quiet land” rather than height or speed.