Drama, Dance, Visual Art and Music Resources for Primary Schools

In a busy curriculum, the Arts are often side-lined. Yet, they are of huge value to students and are thoroughly enjoyed by many. The Arts stimulate creativity and develop imagination. They also are an engaging way to introduce and reinforce learning.

At Essential Resources, we want to make it easy for teachers to incorporate the Arts into their curriculum ­– even those who have little prior knowledge. To help, we have worked with experienced educators and authors to create a selection of music, drama, dance and visual arts resources for primary school.

Explore our Arts teaching resources to get your students Mad About Dance or involved in Music and More!

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How do you integrate dance in the classroom? 

Dance can be integrated into the classroom either as a whole unit or by adding individual activities. One of our dance resources for primary teachers, Mad About Dance, shows how dance can be a medium for a class inquiry into the solar system.

If you want to start smaller, you can think about what you are already doing in class, and then add a physical element. For example, students can use their bodies to create numbers when doing mathematics. While doing station-based activities, students can dance from one station to the next.

Dance in primary school can also be a tool for learning about cultural practices and exploring history.

Dance is simply a way of integrating movement into classroom learning. In doing so, it fosters creativity, motivation and agility.

What are the best dance resources for primary teachers? 

Here is a taste of the best dance resources for primary teachers:

Mad About Dance

A series of three dance resources that draw on the MAD model to create units, which encourage students to explore, express and think about issues.

The MAD model involves motivation, action words and images, and dance keywords.  

Dance Me a Poem

Immerse your students in expressive art experiences! This series of performing arts resources uses poems to explore dance, drama and music.

Dance Me a Poem includes 21 poems specifically written for children aged five to nine years. Some of the poems relate to common school topics, eg, the moon, while others are silly and purely designed to stimulate fun!

Dance and Drama Bites

Are you looking for bite-sized activity ideas to incorporate dance in your classroom? Then Dance and Drama Bites is the resource for you.

The dance activities focus on creative dance, as this gives children the most scope to create their own dance and express themselves. They can be done as a whole unit and as individual “bites.”

What is visual art in primary school? 

Visual art in primary school encompasses drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, textile arts and sculpture. The products of all these arts are primarily appreciated by what we can see.

The primary visual arts curriculum focuses on art, craft and design. Students use visual representations to communicate, challenge, and express ideas they can look at and share.

Check out our visual arts resources to discover how your students can create Art with Anything.