1. Let’s Warm Up! All your questions answered…
How do I plan a warm up?
What movements can I use?
I am not confident in dance how can I lead a warm up?
How can I relate movement to the curriculum?
Which music is best to use?
I where do I start?
Fun and simple warm up ideas for movement based lessons to get minds thinking and bodies moving…
Written by Katie Vernon-Smith, with thanks to Stephen Mason, Alison Swann, Kit Smith and Kath Duhigg

2. Why warm up?
Warms ups are very important part of the lesson and can be changed and developed
according to your lesson and topic. There are several different ways of warming up which can
be varied each week to improve children’s movement vocabulary, fitness and motor skills.
Reasons to warm up:
Focuses the children for a physical lesson which can help with behaviour management
Physically warms up the children which prepares muscles and can help prevent injuries
Ideas for topics can be filtered into the session which the children can use later on in their creative work
A consistent start to the lesson each week
Parallel position
This is often a good solid starting position for children to stand
in to begin some warm ups. It helps with alignment and
focuses their attention where you would like it to be.

3. Contents Warm up exercise Why use this one? 1. The Flock 2. Countdowns
Uses the main muscles groups
Use of counts
Introducing different body parts
2. Countdowns
Uses the arm and leg muscles
Learn to keep regular counts with movement
Builds up stamina
3. Levels
Works the children’s stamina
Introduces levels
4. Pathways and Directions
Requires a high level of concentration & coordination
Increases spatial awareness
5. Travelling
Introducing travelling ideas
Working as a team
6. Call and Response
Good for concentration and listening skills
Using different levels, size and body parts
7. Ripple Runs
Developing ideas of travelling
Working together as a team
Building stamina
8. Magnets and Springs
To learn about the forces between magnets
Working together in par work
9. Music and other resources
Different ideas for music and how to use it
Useful vocabulary

4. 1. The Flock
Ask the group to spread out in the space so no-one is touching anyone else or anything around the edge of the room
Put the music on (if required) and ask the children to start walking around the space
Call out numbers and the children follow the actions that correlate to these numbers
Numbers and their actions
1 - rolling down for 8 counts and rolling up for 8 counts
2 - swing the arms in front and behind, bending the knees and keeping the feet in parallel
3 - stand with feet wide apart and reach out the arms side to side
4 - twitch! Any fidgeting movements as fast as possible
Use 8 counts for each action and change the order through out the exercise
How does this help us warm up?
These movements stretch muscles in the back, arms and legs
It is a good way of the children using simple counts with movement
It helps children become aware of different body parts which can be used when creating dances later in the session

5. 2. Count downs
Version 1
Ask the children to find a space in the room and spread out
Standing in parallel, shoulders relaxed shake out the hands with straight arms above the head for 8 counts
Shake the hands and arms out in front at shoulder level for 8 counts
Shake the hands and arms out to the floor for 8 counts
Shake the hands and arms out to the sides at shoulder level for 8 counts
Repeat this whole exercise with counts of four, 2 and then counts of 1 performing the exercise twice on this count
Version 2
Repeat the exercise, bending the knees in parallel in time with the music
How does this help us warm up?
This is a good way of warming up the muscles in the arms and also the legs in version two
This exercise also helps with keeping regular counts with movement
This is good to build up stamina

6. 3. Levels
Ask the children to spread out in the space not touching each other
Slowly mark through the movement first by taking a small step to the right
Step the left foot over the right foot, then step the right foot out to the side
The arms stay by the sides until the last step where the right arm reaches to the right side
Repeat on the other side by stepping on the left foot, cross the right foot over the left foot and stepping again on your left foot reaching the left arm to the left side
Repeat the exercise by reaching out the arms to the sides at different levels
High
Medium
Low
This can be sped up or slowed down depending on the ability of the children
You can also try and catch the children out as they try to guess which level you will try and reach for!
How does this help us warm up?
This works on the children’s stamina and pumps blood around their bodies preparing their muscles for movement
This is a good way of introducing the children to ‘levels’ which they can use their dances later on in the session

7. 4. Pathways and Directions
The class face the front starting in parallel position and copy the teacher working in unison (all
together) focusing on directions and pathways. You can lead by:
Directions
Travelling 4 x steps forwards
Travelling 4 x steps backwards
Travelling 4 x steps to each side
Focusing on quarter, half and full turns around the room (or 90, 180, 360 degrees)
Pathways
Walking, hopping, skipping, sliding in different pathways:
circle, zigzag, square, diagonal…
How does this help us warm up?
This requires a high level of concentration from the children who have to be alert throughout the exercise. A great warm up to get their attention.
To increase children’s spatial awareness and movements that can be used in creative tasks.

8. 5. Travelling
Travelling Is a great way to introduce linking movements together which can form a basic
dance. These travelling ideas can be developed to suit your topic and class.
Working in lines across the room trying to stay in a line in unison:
4 runs, two jumps (in parallel), 4 runs, two jumps
4 runs, 2 jumps, 4 runs, half turn, half turn
4 runs in a circle, jump forward, jump backwards, run forward
You can add in different travelling movements such as :
hopping
skipping
leaping
sliding
jumping
How does this help us warm up?
This is a fun way of getting children travelling across the space using different ways of travelling
A good way to get children to work with each other as a ‘team’

9. 6. Call and Response - Games
This is a good game is your want to let the children start exploring their own
movement skills which they can use later on when developing their own dances. Like
the warm up earlier in The Flock you call out a word and the children respond to it. This
example is taken from the topic of Bangladesh:
Island (small isolated shapes)
Mainland (wide and flat shape on their own)
Borders (children have to link up with 3 other children and create a border which can be straight, curved, wiggly…)
How does this help us warm up?
Good for concentration and listening skills
Using different levels, size and body parts

10. 7. Ripple Runs
In lines of 4 or 5, the back person comes to the front of the line travelling anyway they like down the left hand side of the line and stands in front of the person at the front of the line
As soon they are at the front (and not before!) the next person at the back of the line travels to the front
This continues until the whole group are at the other end of the room
This can be developed by the children linking body parts to each other when they reach the front of the line and by using different levels
How does this help us warm up?
This is a fun way of getting children travelling across the space using different ways of travelling
A good way to get children to work with each other as a ‘team’
This can also be turned in a race which is good for building stamina

11. 8. Magnets and Springs
This warm up game relates directly to the topic magnets and springs focusing on the
forces between magnets – push and pull and attract and repel.
The children have to be in pairs labelled A and B. When the teacher calls out repel the children have to run as far away from their partner as possible against the walls of the space.
When the teacher calls out attract the children connect a different body part to each other. E.g. elbow to knee, head to hip
By encouraging children to use different body parts in the warm up and games, will allow the children’s movement vocabulary to develop which they can use when creating their own dances later on in exploration and improvisation.
How does this help us warm up?
To learn about the forces between magnets from the magnets and springs unit of work
Learning to work together in pairs

12. Music
Music can be an important and useful tool in the warm up and can help create different atmospheres (energetic, calm, creative…) depending on what you would like to achieve.
It is a good when planning your warm up and games to decide what music you are going to use and plan it with your session. This saves time when you are teaching the warm up to know the track you are going to use and also if you are using counts you can be clear of them so not to confuse the children.
Often music can be played in the background to give the children ideas but not necessarily used to create a dance to.
Music should be used for a reason and not just played for the sake of it. The music should relate to the session (in counts, theme, creatively) and this will make the lesson more productive and allow the children to make links with sound and movement.
Music for Dance
Chillout compilation albums
Film soundtracks
World music

13. Useful vocabulary Body Parts head neck shoulder elbows arms wrists
Body Shape
big small
straight curved
Useful vocabulary
Body Parts
head neck
shoulder elbows
arms wrists
hands fingers
torso back
hips legs
Movements
jump turn
slide travel
hop skip
gesture stretch
twist bend
leap gallop
spin still
Levels
high
medium
low
Pathways
zigzag
curved
spiral
Directions
forward backward
sideways
Speed
fast
medium
slow
Force
strong
gentle
With others
copying/mirroring
leading/following
unison (performing the same movements at the same time)
canon (performing 1 after the other or at different times)
1 moving/1 still

14. Dance analysis card – what can you see in other people’s dances?
Pathways
zigzag
curved
spiral
Movements
jump stretch
turn twist
slide bend
travel leap
hop gallop
skip spin
gesture still
balance
Directions
forwards backwards
sideways
Body parts
head neck
shoulders elbows
arms wrists
hands fingers
torso back
hips legs
knees feet
ankles toes
Speed
fast
medium
slow
Levels
high
medium
low
Body Shape
small big
straight curved