Supporting national curriculum Dance activities for primary schools with Arts Award Discover

Growing through dance & movement

Arts Award Discover enables students to gain a recognised award for dance activities, as well as aligning with Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2) learning objectives.

From expressing ideas, thoughts and feelings through movement, to learning about different cultures, and maintaining a healthy body and mind, dance is a powerful tool in the classroom, and the possibilities are endless when it comes to exploring dance with primary school groups through Discover.

Children dancing with streamers

How does Arts Award Discover work with KS1 and KS2 dance?

Discover can act as a basic introduction to dance – it isn’t a skills-based assessment, as dance techniques and physical ability aren’t taken into consideration. Teachers don’t have to be dancers to lead a dance-themed Discover project, and Trinity provides teaching resources to help with delivery. 

Whether it’s a whole-class activity, delivered in small groups or to individuals; whether your students have dance experience or are newcomers; no matter the abilities and needs of the children – dance can and should be accessible to everyone. And this is possible with Discover, which supports students to go on their own journeys through dance. 

Discover enables learning about cultural dance which can be connected to History, Geography, Music, Visual Art, Drama and cultural projects; offering the perfect opportunity to plan visits from local dance groups or a cultural dancer. Discover can also be used to support dance offered through PE lessons, and schools can use PE and Sport Premium to help fund visitors and trips.

'The children were really pleased with the [dance workshop] experience and I was delighted to be part of facilitating an opportunity for them to work with a professional dancer and to express themselves through dance.'

Teacher, St John’s Walworth School, London

 

 

Child dances dressed as a fairy
Little boy dancing with streamer

Primary dance KS1 and KS2 activities that work with Arts Award Discover

Arts Award Discover can be used to complement the national curriculum KS1 and KS2 objectives, and gain recognition for this learning. Discover can encompass dance activities such as:

  • An end-of-year show. Dances that are worked on as part of school performances can count towards Discover.
  • Differentiation opportunities. Such as chair-based dancing being used for different physical abilities and available spaces.
  • Cross-curricular projects. Learn more about science, technology or maths by creating body shapes to illustrate processes and concepts.
  • Explore where dances come from. Look at dance across time and place to discover more about different cultures.
  • Emotions and feelings through dance. Ask students how they feel when they dance. Explore how a range of music genres makes them dance differently.
  • Research famous dancers. Find out about their training and lives to look at dance from a world-of-work perspective.
  • Expression through dance. Dance can be used to communicate messages, and respond to and reflect on ideas as personal development.
  • The record of learning. A requirement for Arts Award; this might be captured through dance, instead of creating a written or spoken response.

‘We took the dance sequence into the colour wheel garden at The Horniman Museum and I felt confident dancing in front of people visiting the museum.’

An Arts Award Discover student from an SEN School

 

Three boys dancing with arms

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