Teaching dance in elementary school can be a joyful, fun, and creative experience, but let’s be real: it can also feel overwhelming without a clear framework. That’s why the 5 Elements of Dance Body, Action, Space, Time, and Energy is such a great tool. They offer structure, flexibility, and a language both you and your students can grow with. Scroll all the way down for a free downloadable lesson plan template.
In my previous article, The 5 Elements of Dance: A Simple Framework for Powerful Movement in the K–5 Dance Classroom, I broke down each element in detail. In this post, we’re taking it a step further, how to use those elements to plan meaningful, effective dance lessons for kids.
Why the 5 Elements Make Planning Easier for K–5 Teachers
If you’ve ever sat down to write a lesson plan and thought, Where do I even start?, you’re not alone. That’s where this framework comes in. It simplifies the creative process by breaking movement into bite-sized concepts.
Each of the 5 elements becomes a building block. Whether you’re creating a single lesson or mapping out a unit, you can mix and match the elements to:
- Introduce movement vocabulary
- Scaffold learning across grade levels
- Assess student understanding in creative ways
A Quick Refresher: What Are the 5 Elements of Dance?
Before we dive into lesson planning, here’s a snapshot:
- Body – What body parts are moving? Are we isolating or coordinating?
- Action – What kind of movements are we doing (e.g., jump, twist, freeze)?
- Space – Where are we moving? Are we using pathways, levels, or directions?
- Time – How are we moving in relation to tempo, rhythm, or beat?
- Energy – What qualities or dynamics are we using (e.g., sharp, smooth, strong)?
➡️ Want to go deeper? Read the full breakdown here.
Lesson Planning with the 5 Elements (With Examples!)
You can structure your dance lesson using each of the 5 elements as a focus area. Here’s how that could look in a 30–40 minute dance class for grades K–5, you can add more complicated activities the older the dancers are.
🔹 Warm-Up: Full-Body Exploration
Focus: Body
Paragraph Block:
Prompt students to explore different body parts one at a time: head, shoulders, elbows, hips, etc. Then combine them into full-body sequences.
Add a twist: Use call-and-response (you name the part, they move it). This builds body awareness and classroom community.
🔹 Activity 1: Action Word Freeze Dance
Focus: Action
Paragraph Block:
Choose 5–6 locomotor and non-locomotor verbs (leap, twist, bend, stretch, reach, slide). Call them out or write them on cards. Play music and call one out every 10 seconds. When the music stops, everyone freezes in a shape.
Pro tip: Ask students to describe their movement using the correct verb vocabulary afterward.
🔹 Activity 2: Shape the Space
Focus: Space
Paragraph Block:
Lay down cones or tape lines to create pathways (zigzag, circle, straight line). Have students travel those paths using different levels (high, medium, low) and directions (forward, backward, diagonal).
Challenge: “Can you move in a zigzag low to the ground while moving backward?”
🔹 Activity 3: Time It Out
Focus: Time
Paragraph Block:
Use a drum or clapping to control tempo. Ask students to repeat the same phrase slowly, quickly, then with a steady beat. Layer in counts of 8 for musicality.
Cross-curricular tip: Connect this with math by counting beats and identifying patterns.
🔹 Activity 4: Energy Walk
Focus: Energy
Paragraph Block:
Call out or post different energy qualities light, strong, sharp, smooth. Ask students to move across the floor using that energy to guide their body.
Classroom tip: Let students come up with their own energy words and act them out.
Cross-Curricular Connections
Paragraph Block:
Dance is more than just movement, it’s a bridge to other subjects:
- Literacy: Have students choreograph based on a character’s emotions or journey in a story.
- Science: Explore concepts like gravity, force, and anatomy through dance.
- SEL: Use energy and space to express feelings and build empathy.
Looking for a full cross-curricular lesson idea? Check out How to plan a cross-curricular dance lesson.
How to Differentiate for K–5
Paragraph Block:
- K–1: Use animal movement, stories, and call-and-response to keep things simple and fun.
- 2–3: Introduce simple choreographic tools like repetition and contrast.
- 4–5: Encourage students to create their own short phrases using all 5 elements and reflect on them in journals or class discussions.
Free Download: Weekly Dance Planning Template 🎉
Want to organize your dance class using the 5 elements?
It includes:
- A spot for your objective and element focus
- Sample prompts
- Room to jot down music choices, SEL tie-ins, and assessments
Final Thoughts
Using the 5 Elements of Dance as a lesson planning tool brings clarity and creativity to your classroom. It helps you move with intention—and gives your students a deeper connection to dance as an expressive art form.
Looking for more resources? Check out:
👉 Affirmations for Preschool Dancers
👉 Tips for Beginner Dance Teachers
👉 The Nutcracker Season Is Here: A Resource Guide
Happy Dancing!
Taylor B.
