Diane Louise Jordan has the first of three dance sessions inspired by the sea.
1. Ocean motion
This first session of the Oceans unit introduces a sense of place, drawing on the children’s memories or imagination of thesea and seashore. It engages the children through their senses with activities that encourage them to smell, listen, see and feel. This includes collecting shells and exploring the contrasting shapes with their own bodies. Through movement and composition the children appreciate the size and strength of the sea from low, gentle ripples to higher, stronger waves and the action of ebb and flow on the beach.
Resources
Download the audio for this dance session as an mp3 file.
Guidance on using the dance sessions in this unit with your group (pdf)
Lesson summary
Warm-up: sense the sea. Sense the sea by smelling the salty breeze, listening to the sound of the seagulls and feeling the sway of the water.
Pebbles and shells. Walking on the beach and then making strong shapes on different levels to express the shells and pebbles collected.
Ripple and sparkle. Rising and falling of hands, arms and legs, lying down, beginning with a gentle dynamic on a low level.
Waves. Rising and falling of the whole body, moving from low to high and using a stronger dynamic as the waves swell and break.
Ebb and flow. Rising and falling whilst travelling, running forwards and walking backwards using contrasts of gentle and strong. Children work in 5 groups.
**Cool sown: sense the sea.**Repeat of the opening sequence whilst reflecting on the strength and gentleness of the sea.
More units from KS1 Dance: Time to Move
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A traditional harvest. collection
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Dinosaurs. collection
The three dance sessions take a variety of approaches to the topic of dinosaurs.
