Discovering Dance Elements

Overview

Lesson 1 of 4 in Move, Meaning, Message. Students explore body, space, time, energy and relationships through playful movement tasks, then work in small groups to create and share a short pattern using contrasting levels, directions and speeds.

Learning intentions

WALT…

• Identify and explore dance elements: body, space, time, energy and relationships.
• Use contrasting levels, directions and speeds in movement.
• Respond safely and respectfully to a partner or group.
• Use movement to communicate an idea, feeling or message.

Success criteria

• I can show high and low levels, different directions and fast and slow movements.
• I can copy, reflect and respond to another dancer.
• I can work safely with others and take turns leading.
• I can help create a short movement pattern with a clear contrast.

Curriculum links

• The Arts: Dance — developing and communicating ideas through the elements of dance.
• The Arts: Dance — exploring, rehearsing and performing movement sequences.
• Health and Physical Education: participating safely, managing space and respecting others.
• Refresh priorities: oral language, collaboration, creativity, confidence and reflection through purposeful learning.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Welcome and movement hook

Clear a safe dance space and seat students around the edge. Open with the movement hook slide and ask: “How can one movement show a feeling or message?” Demonstrate a tiny movement such as a slow, low curl and invite students to suggest what it might communicate.

2. 5–10 minutes – Warm-up: body and space

Use the next the body and space prompts to guide a travelling warm-up. Students move around the room without touching, changing body shapes, pathways and levels: stretched/small, straight/curved, high/low, forward/backward and sideways. Establish the freeze signal and reinforce safe spacing.

3. 10–17 minutes – Follow-the-leader: time and energy

In groups of five, students follow a leader around their own space. Leaders choose one action and vary its time and energy: slow/fast, smooth/sharp, gentle/strong, light/heavy. Change leaders every minute. Pause for quick partner talk: “What changed when the movement became faster or stronger?” Refer to the time and energy examples.

4. 17–24 minutes – Mirror and relationship work

Pair students, facing one another with enough space. Partner A leads slow hand, arm and whole-body movements while Partner B mirrors, without touching; swap after one minute. Finish with a “moving conversation”: A makes a shape, B responds with a different shape, and they continue for four turns. Invite students to notice how looking, copying and responding create a relationship.

5. 24–35 minutes – Small-group movement creation

Place students in five groups of five and distribute the group movement planning sheet. Each group creates a 15–20 second pattern containing:

• one high and one low level
• two different directions or pathways
• one slow and one fast section
• one clear energy contrast
• a beginning shape and an ending freeze

Encourage shared leadership: every student contributes one movement or idea. Circulate, model where needed and ask, “What is your contrast?” and “What might your movement communicate?” Groups rehearse twice.

6. 35–41 minutes – Sharing without solo performance

Invite groups to perform for one another, with half the class watching while half performs, then swap if time allows. Performers begin and end in stillness. Audience members watch for one chosen element and give feedback using the sentence stem: “I noticed… because…”

7. 41–45 minutes – Reflect and settle

Return to the reflection and plenary slide. Students complete the final section of the reflection box by drawing or writing one movement they used and naming a contrast. Ask two or three volunteers to share: “How did your group use movement to send a message?” Finish with calm breathing and a quiet stretch.

Resources

• the movement and dance-elements slide deck
• the group movement planning sheet
• Open floor space with clear boundaries
• Optional music with instrumental tracks and a pause function
• Whiteboard or large paper
• Timer
• Floor markers or cones
• Water access

Assessment

• Observe whether students safely use space, respond to partners and identify body, space, time, energy and relationship choices.
• During group creation, check each group’s planning sheet and movement pattern for level, direction, speed and energy contrasts.
• Use student explanations and reflections to assess whether movement choices are connected to a feeling, idea or message.

Differentiation

• Support students by demonstrating each element, using visual gestures for high/low and fast/slow, reducing the pattern to three required contrasts, and allowing them to contribute a repeated movement or ending shape.
• Provide a confident peer model, pre-teach the words “level”, “direction”, “speed”, “energy” and “pathway”, and use sentence stems for English language learners.
• For students needing sensory or movement support, offer a clearly marked personal space, seated or smaller movements, extra rehearsal time and the option to observe before joining.
• Extend confident dancers by asking them to repeat the pattern with a changed energy quality or to make the message clearer without using words.