St. Patrick's Day Lesson

St. Patrick's Day Dancing

 



Modified Irish Jig for beginners

Hello friends, it's time to break out some dance moves for St. Patrick's Day, but the Irish Jig can be very tricky for elementary students to perform. Here is a modified version that is easy enough for even small children to do. Have the class stand in a circle and use any Irish Jig or Reel music for this dance. If you have a lot of students, you can form 2 circles with one group on the outside and the other group forming an inner circle.

Section A of the music:

Count 1: Tap right to on the floor (in front of the body).
Count 2: Right foot touches left knee.
Count 3: Bring right foot back to regular standing position with feet slightly apart.
Count 4: Slide left foot over to your right foot.
Count: 5, 6, 7, 8 (turn, turn, turn, turn to do 1 full circle. 

(Repeat dance steps 1-8 until the A section is over).

Section B of the music:
Counts:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Class will do a slide-step to the left with their feet (looks like a side- gallop) called sashay.
Count 7: rest for one beat

Counts:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Class will do a slide-step to the right with their feet (looks like a side- gallop) called sashay.

Count 7: rest for one beat

(Repeat dance steps until the B section is over).

Continue doing the dance by alternating between the “A” section and the “B” section of the music until the song is over.

I like to have the class see a youtube performance before we do the modified version to get them excited about learning the Irish Jig. Leave a comment below to let me know what kind of things your class likes to do for St. Patrick's Day. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Want more fun activities and ideas for your class? Be sure to Sign-up by email on my side bar to claim a monthly freebie, teacher tips & tricks. I would love to hear what tricks you use or other thoughts you might have in the comments below. Enjoy!
Click on the pictures below.
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