Sharing Dance Stories

Overview

In this 60-minute session for Year 1 and Year 2 students, the focus is on preparing and sharing dance stories they have created. Students will communicate their stories and emotions through movement, present to small groups, and reflect on their own and peers’ dances. This lesson supports their developing confidence, communication skills, and appreciation of others, aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh, specifically within The Arts learning area.

Curriculum Alignment

Learning Area: The Arts – Dance

Achievement Objectives (Years 1-2):

• Explore movement to express ideas, stories, and feelings.
• Share dance ideas and respond to the dance of others.
• Use movement to communicate meaning and emotions.
• Use simple performance skills to present dance to an audience.
• Reflect on their own and others’ performances to build understanding and appreciation.

Key Competencies

• Participating and Contributing: Sharing ideas in groups.
• Relating to Others: Showing respect when responding to peers.
• Thinking: Reflecting on personal and others’ dance stories.
• Using Language, Symbols, and Texts: Communicating their story and emotions through movement and verbal/oral explanations.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate understanding of their dance story by expressing emotions and ideas through movement.
2. Present their dance to a small group with increasing confidence.
3. Listen to and appreciate peers’ dance stories, providing friendly feedback.
4. Reflect on the experience of performing and viewing dance stories.

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Lesson Resources

• Open space for safe movement
• Music player with appropriate music (optional)
• Visual story prompts or puppets for story recall
• Reflection prompt cards with simple questions: “What did you like?”, “How did this dance make you feel?”
• Whānau/kaitiaki encouragement (optional: images or video of previous students sharing dance)

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Lesson Structure

1. Welcome and Warm-up (10 minutes)

• Begin with a gentle physical warm-up focusing on body awareness (stretching arms, legs, and gentle shaking of hands/feet).
• Count forwards and backwards in 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s from numbers between 1 and 100, integrating movement (e.g., stepping forwards/backwards in count sequences) to connect numeracy with dance.
• Briefly recap previous lessons about creating dance stories and using movement to express ideas and emotions.

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2. Preparing to Present (15 minutes)

• In pairs or small groups, students practise presenting their dance stories.
• Teacher prompts students to think about:
• What is your dance story about?
• What feelings or ideas do you want to show?
• How can your body movements help tell your story?
• Encourage use of different facial expressions, gestures, and movement qualities (e.g., fast/slow, big/small).
• Teacher models presenting a short dance story focusing on expressive movement and clear storytelling.

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3. Sharing Dance Stories (20 minutes)

• Organise the class into small groups (4-5 students each).
• Each student shares their dance in turn while others watch attentively.
• Encourage group members to respond with kind, positive feedback using sentence starters such as:
• “I liked how you showed…”
• “Your dance made me feel…”
• “I noticed you moved like…”
• Teacher circulates to support and guide positive, constructive feedback and encourage attention to the story and emotions communicated through dance.

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4. Reflection and Appreciation (10 minutes)

• Bring the class back together and invite 2–3 students to share what they liked about their own or others’ dance stories.
• Ask reflection questions:
• What was easy or hard about sharing your dance story?
• How did it feel to watch your friends’ dance stories?
• What did you learn about using movement to tell a story?
• Emphasise that dance is a way to share stories and feelings without words, appreciating everyone’s unique expression.

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5. Cool Down and Closing (5 minutes)

• Lead the class in gentle stretching and breathing activities to cool down bodies.
• Reinforce key messages from the lesson about sharing stories and respecting others’ creative work.
• Celebrate their effort and courage to present and watch dances today.

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Assessment and Feedback

• Observe students’ ability to express their intended story and emotions through movement during sharing.
• Note participation in giving and receiving feedback, reflecting respect and listening skills.
• Use a simple reflective rubric for teacher notes:
• Expresses ideas and feelings in dance (Emerging/Developing/Achieving).
• Shares dance with confidence (Emerging/Developing/Achieving).
• Listens and responds respectfully to peers (Emerging/Developing/Achieving).
• Anecdotal notes can guide teaching adaptations for future dance units.

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Teaching Considerations

• Create a supportive environment where students feel safe to take creative risks.
• Be mindful of cultural diversity and neurodivergence in expression and reception of dance stories.
• Use clear language, modelling, and visual supports to scaffold understanding.
• Integrate cross-curricular connections, especially oral language development and counting sequences in warm-ups.

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This lesson supports Year 1 and Year 2 students to build personal expression, confidence, and social skills through the joyful medium of dance, fulfilling the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum intent for The Arts and holistic development.

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If you would like a printable formatted version or additional variations for different class sizes or mixed-age groups, please ask!