I have been teaching for twelve years, I have a method for putting together a lesson and have really perfected how to plan lessons efficiently. Read below on how to plan each portion of class, and click here to get the dance teacher lesson planning kit.
*Dance Teachers!* Also check out this dance lesson planning pack!
7 Steps to Plan a Dance Lesson
Step 1. Know your GOALS. Is your goal a recital dance? Competition ready? Do you have specific steps you want your dancers to know for their pieces? To move onto other levels? Once you establish your goals for the class, you can work on the goal for the specific lesson.
Step 2. Warm up. What is important for your dancers to warm up to be successful in class? 50 jumping jacks would not be beneficial for my creative movement dancers working on pathways. Decide on the length of your warm up based on the length of your class and the age of the students. Do you need your students focusing on strength or endurance? Is your warm up in a specific style or are you trying to get your students ready to leap and turn? These are all important things to consider.
Step 3. Stretch. Next decide what is important to stretch. Remember holding deep stretches for a long time is not beneficial to your dancers warm up. Dynamic stretching will be most effective, so your dancers are able to jump and move quicky.
Step 4. Center. Do you have center combos you want your dancers to work out or a pirouette combination? This step can be skipped or substituted as the choreography portion of class.
Step 5. Across the Floor. When thinking about across the floor, make sure you are sticking to your goals and what you want your dancers to accomplish. The same across the floor week after week can be boring and leave your dancers stagnant. Think about your goals and ways to challenge your dancers by adding in different directions, pathways, and skills.
Step 6. Choreography. This section of class can be your recital, competition piece or a combination. But be conscious of what you do before this portion of class. If you have a challenging trick or step try to introduce parts of it throughout class. This will give you more time during the choreography portion to learn actual choreograph instead of breaking down a new skill.
Step 7. Cool down. Your cool down will vary based on the style or age group. This can be a time to give your dancers some deep stretches if they are done for the night. Or if you teach the younger kids, I like to use some short breathing songs, my preschoolers favorite is Hot Chocolate by Kira Wiley.
Your goals are key to planning your dance lesson. Let them guide you to make sure you are being an effective dance teacher. Keeping data and tracking your students progress is also important. Use these skill trackers to make sure you are being an effective teacher.
More Dance Teacher Resources!
Looking for other dance teacher resources? Check out these below:
The Perfect Dance Competition Checklist
Amazing Preschool Dance Songs
April Creative Movement Lesson Plan FREE
Dance Goal Planning
