Overview

Unit: Dancing Through Our Stories (Lesson 6 of 15)
Duration: 45 minutes
Year Level: Year 3
Class size: 30 students

---

Learning Area and Curriculum Alignment

This lesson supports the The Arts Learning Area - Drama Strand of the New Zealand Curriculum, specifically focusing on Drama – Developing Ideas and Communicating and Presenting for Year 3 students (Levels 2-3). It embraces key competencies such as Relating to others, Participating and contributing, and Thinking.

Curriculum references:

• Learning Area: The Arts (Drama)

• Level: 2-3 (Year 3)

• Strands:

  • Developing ideas: Explore and develop ideas in dramatic contexts.
  • Communicating and presenting: Present drama to an audience, experimenting with voice, movement, and interaction.

• Key Competencies:

  • Relating to others: Working collaboratively in pairs to explore movement and story.
  • Participating and contributing: Engaging in partner work and sharing creative expression.

• Achievement objective(s):

  • Students participate in improvisation, story drama, and role play to explore and communicate ideas and feelings.
  • They use movement, gesture, and voice to express ideas, feelings, and experiences.

---

Learning Objectives

WALT (We Are Learning To)

• Explore and express relationships through movement and dance with a partner.

Success Criteria

• Students can perform simple coordinated movements with a partner showing different types of relationships (e.g., friendship, caring, disagreement).
• Students demonstrate awareness of their partner's movements and respond appropriately.

Differentiation

• Support: Guided partner work with clear, simple movement prompts and pairings that suit students’ social and motor skills.
• Extension: Students create a short duet that tells a clear story or relationship using dance movements.

---

Materials and Space

• Open space suitable for movement (classroom cleared, hall, or outdoor area).
• Music player with selected music tracks related to storytelling or moods.
• Visual aids/posters depicting types of relationships or emotions (optional).

---

Lesson Outline (45 minutes)

Time	Activity	Description
5 mins	Warm-up

• Engage students in full-body stretches and simple movement games to prepare for dance.
• Use music to establish rhythm and energy.

| 10 mins | Introduction to Relationships in Dance |

• Teacher explains WALT: Explore relationships through dance.
• Discuss different types of relationships (friends, helpers, disagreement) and how these can be shown through bodies and space.
• Demonstrate simple examples of mirrored movements, complementary movements, and contrast.

| 15 mins | Partner Movement Exploration (Guided Task) |

• Students pair up (guided pairing to support social comfort).
• Each pair practices performing simple key movements:
  • Mirroring each other’s actions.
  • Moving towards and away to show connection and distance.
  • Using hand gestures or body shapes to show agreement or disagreement.
• Teacher circulates to model, support, and encourage interaction focusing on communication and safety.

| 10 mins | Extension: Create a Short Duet (Optional) |

• Invite pairs who are ready to create a brief dance sequence (1-2 minutes) that tells a story about their relationship (e.g., friendship, helping, upset and reconciliation).
• Share a few duets with the class to celebrate creativity.

| 5 mins | Cool-down and Reflection |

• Gentle stretching.
• Group circle discussion with prompts:
  • How did it feel to dance with a partner?
  • What did your movements say about your relationship?
• Reinforce key vocabulary and concepts learned.

---

Assessment / Reflection

• Formative assessment through observation of students’ ability to work cooperatively with partners and express relationships through movement.
• Check for success criteria: coordination, engagement, and communication of relationships.
• Use reflective questions at end to assess understanding.

---

Teaching Considerations

• Safety: Emphasise personal and spatial awareness to avoid collisions.
• Cultural responsiveness: Encourage expression of cultural stories or relationships relevant to students’ own backgrounds.
• Inclusion: Adapt movement prompts for students with physical limitations or social anxieties by providing seated or simplified movement options.
• Language support: Use clear, simple language and visual cues; demonstrate actions along with verbal directions.

---

Links to Curriculum Documents

• This lesson supports the Year 3 Drama curriculum focus on communicating and presenting and developing ideas, enabling students to explore ideas and relationships through dramatic movement .
• Emphasises key competency Relating to others and Participating and contributing through cooperative partner work in drama and dance contexts .

---

Summary

This lesson uses partner dance to explore and express relationships, fostering students' ability to communicate non-verbally, work cooperatively, and build narrative and physical confidence in drama. The lesson is scaffolded for diverse learners while providing creative extension for advanced students, fully aligned to Year 3 New Zealand Curriculum Drama objectives and key competencies.