Home›Lesson Plans›The Arts›Dance · Grade 3

Dancing Feelings

Third graders learn that dance can express feelings without words — exploring how the way you move (energy, speed, size) can show happy, sad, powerful, calm, or scared.

Grade 3Expression40 minutes1 class periodArtistic ProcessExplicit teaching4 StandardsNCAS
Start the Lesson
Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Express feelings in dance.
  • ✓Match feelings to movement.
  • ✓Use energy and speed.
  • ✓Tell a story with dance.
Essential Question

Without saying a single word, a dancer can make you feel their joy or their sadness. How do dancers use movement to show a feeling?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Match It · Interactive

Match the Feeling to a Movement

Project this and match each feeling to how you might dance it — tap a feeling, then tap the movement.

💃 Match each feeling to how to dance itTry it
Feeling
How to Dance It
Now tap how to dance it!
The Lesson · Artistic Process (Warm-Up · Explore · Create · Perform · Reflect)

40 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Dancing Without Words

5 min

A dancer can show a feeling without words — how?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Dance a feeling silently.
  • Ask what they felt.
  • Warm up.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Watch.
  • Guess.
  • Warm up.
2

Explore — Explore Feelings

9 min

Students explore.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Match the Feeling.
  • Match each one.
  • Try the movements.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match.
  • Try them.
  • Explain.
3

Create — Create

13 min

Students create.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Dance a happy feeling.
  • Dance a calm feeling.
  • Change your energy.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Dance happy.
  • Dance calm.
  • Change it.
4

Perform — Perform

8 min

Students perform.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Perform a feeling.
  • Have others guess it.
  • Give kind feedback.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Perform it.
  • Let them guess.
  • Be kind.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students respond.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a feeling you danced.
  • Explain the movement.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Explain it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the National Core Arts Standards (Dance).

NCAS
DA:Cr1.1.3

Create movement that expresses an idea or feeling.

NCAS
DA:Pr6.1.3

Perform dance expressively.

NCAS
DA:Re8.1.3

Interpret meaning in a dance.

NCAS
DA:Cn10.1.3

Connect dance to personal feelings.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Feeling + movement cards.
  • Sentence frame: “To show ___, I move ___.”
  • Demonstrate a feeling.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with happy and sad.
  • Show one feeling.
  • Copy the movement.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Dance a feeling story.
  • Change energy for the same move.
  • Choreograph a mood.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🎵Mood music
  • 💻Match the Feeling to a Movement
  • 👟Open space
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

expressionshowing a feelingfeelingan emotionenergyhow a movement feelssmoothflowing and gentlesharpquick and suddenstrongpowerful and forcefulgentlesoft and lightinterpretto understand a dance’s meaning
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How might you dance a HAPPY feeling?
Bounce and move lightly with big, energetic movements.
QUESTION 2
How might you dance a CALM feeling?
Move smoothly and gently, with flowing movements.
QUESTION 3
Can dance show a feeling without words?
Yes — the way you move shows the feeling.

Reflect: dance a feeling.

Have students pick a feeling and dance it for a family member to guess — no words allowed! A printable dancing-feelings sheet is in the Arts library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Dancing FeelingsFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Dancing FeelingsQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Dancing FeelingsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: energy, expression, feeling, gentle, interpret, sharp, smooth, strong
  1. powerful and forceful
  2. soft and light
  3. flowing and gentle
  4. to understand a dance’s meaning
  5. quick and sudden
  6. an emotion
  7. showing a feeling
  8. how a movement feels

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How might you dance a HAPPY feeling?
  2. How might you dance a CALM feeling?
  3. Can dance show a feeling without words?
Answer key — Part A: 1) strong · 2) gentle · 3) smooth · 4) interpret · 5) sharp · 6) feeling · 7) expression · 8) energy
Part B: 1) Bounce and move lightly with big, energetic movements. 2) Move smoothly and gently, with flowing movements. 3) Yes — the way you move shows the feeling.