If we want children to grow up to believe they can do anything and that they are not confined to certain activities which fit within gendered stereotypes, then we need to start changing how we talk about subjects like dance. Instead of worrying about the preconceptions of dance, let's take a look at some of the incredible benefits participating in dance can have for young boys.

Last week we announced our World Book Day 2020 selection for both our Bringing Books to Life dance workshops and our Story Explorer drama workshops. This is the first in a series of blogs taking a look at our selected books, what makes them so wonderful, and what activities you can do to explore the book in your classroom. First up we have The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

Each year we choose a special selection of books to focus on in dance and drama workshops during the World Book Day period, including one or two completely new workshop options. (This also means we get to spend some quality time in bookshops, which is an added bonus!)

We’re delighted to announce that our 2020 World Book Day choices are…

This year we have developed a series of complimentary CPD sessions for primary school teachers. Each workshop guides teachers through a series of tools and techniques they can apply in their own classrooms. Throughout the sessions we invite teachers to ask questions, to share their practise and experience. There are a few common questions that teachers ask about running their own performing arts lessons in their class.

How can we teach climate change to children in a way that feels productive, and not terrifying? Back in March our Creative Director Abi began working with a group of primary school teachers, environment experts and some of our most experienced drama facilitators to answer this exact question…

You’ve made it! Welcome to the final term of this academic year - we are that bit closer to the summer.
It may be the last term, but it is by no means least. There are plenty of upcoming events and occasions to celebrate. And we have put together a timeline of what there is to look forward to this term, as well as some suggestions on how to get involved!

“A smile is the universal language of kindness” - William Arthur Ward

A smile is our body’s way to communicate joy without language, much like a wave to say hello or a shake of the head to mean no thank you.

Without even thinking about it we are capable of communicating with so many people without uttering a single word.

In Part 3 of our Guide to Teaching Shakespeare, we look at getting children up on their feet and performing the bard’s work. From character statues to character creation, here are some exercises and activities that you can use in the classroom, differentiated for different ages.

You’ve told, read, re-read and re-told your story. Everyone knows what’s happening. (Finally!) Great.

Safe with an understanding of the overall story from a narrative version, it’s time to transfer your students’ knowledge to a script version and discover how Shakespeare really brought his stories to life.

Our advice when it comes to teaching Shakespeare in primary schools is to tell a story, break it down and get physical with it to bring the drama to life. In this blog series, we break down each of these points in turn to provide ideas and suggestions for how you can deliver them in our own classroom. To get us started, Part 1 focuses on telling the story.

Each year we have the joy of whittling down our World Book Day selection to just five phenomenal books for our Bringing Books to Life dance workshops. This year we selected five books, each with their own unique set of benefits for primary school students. We wanted to share with you why we love these books so much, and also some fun ways to explore them back in the classroom.

Inspiring children to bring books to life with dance is one of our favourite things to do at West End in Schools. Just last week we gathered some of the country’s most talented dancers in one room, to work through the choreography for our Bringing Books to Life dance workshops in primary schools. We spoke to a few of our regular West End in Schools choreographers to find out more about their work with us to inspire children to dance.

It’s sometimes hard to argue the ‘why’ for something as intangible as storytelling, let alone prove that the benefits are real. In a school context, especially compared to subjects such as science or maths, why should we spend time imagining something that was made-up instead of learning facts?

West End in Schools’ Literacy Musicals are created to inspire a love of reading and storytelling. Each one includes an original story and songs while featuring contemporary children’s books as part of its narrative. Ahead of World Book Day 2019 we spoke to the writer of the musicals, Craig Christie.

For World Book Day 2019 we are launching a photo and video competition giving schools to win a free pantomime for their school this December!

How do I teach a five year old to get inside the head of a character?
How do I get a class of children to think about their physicality and use that to present a different emotion/mood/age
How can I encourage them to speak clearly?

Full disclosure: There is no one, immediate answer to any of these questions. Instead, there are different components of drama which can be combined, structured and explored accordingly, session-by-session, to aid your students in creating the answers themselves. Plus, it’s super fun!

We are visiting schools across the country to celebrate Chinese New Year with a dance workshops based on “The Great Race”, the story behind the Chinese Zodiac. Not planned a dance workshop with us this year? Well fear not, there’s still plenty of ways you can get your class involved in celebrating!

Ease yourself into drama teaching by making it a regular part of your usual classroom activity first - and not an individual session at all.

Find or create appropriate opportunities in your day where you can spend approximately 20 minutes utilising drama activities in the classroom. This introduces a new concept to a class, gauges their likes and dislikes, and steadily builds your own confidence in delivery.

As with anything new, give yourself time to research, understand and prepare before jumping into your first drama session. My three instructions to you:

• Get involved

• Get online

• Get ready

Watching a narrative dance piece introduces to children what it means to communicate with their bodies, faces and gestures. It demonstrates how ‘dialogues’ can be shared without any spoken word, and how that itself may bring about whole new dynamics to ‘conversation’.