‘Ireland in Schools’ Sefton Pilot Scheme Sefton Council

Dance scheme of work on Ireland

based on

Under the Hawthorn Tree

devised by
Yvonne Diaz
Waterloo Primary School

Week 1 Traditional Irish folk dance – Jig 2

Week 2 Support work/death of Baby Bridget /human crosses 3
Week 3 Wealthy landowners/peasant relationships – action/reaction 4
Week 4 Journey – unison/canon 5
Week 5 Create overall dance framework 6
Week 6 Performance/video/assess/evaluate 6
Lesson 1 Dance card 7
Lesson 5 Dance card 8

Conlon-McKenna, Marita, Under the Hawthorn Tree, O’Brien Press, 0-86278-206-6

This is the first of an award-winning trilogy, a gripping story of love, loyalty and
courage set in the time when Ireland was devastated by the Great Famine of the
1840s.

Three children, Eily, Michael and Peggy, are left to fend for themselves. Starving
and in danger of the dreaded workhouse, they escape in the hope of finding the
great-aunts they have heard about in their mother’s stories. With tremendous
courage they set out on a journey that will test every reserve of strength, love and
loyalty they possess.

There are also a Channel 4 film of the book, available on video from 4 Learning, and
a study guide (O’Brien Press, 0-86278-383-9) to both the book and the film. (The
other books in the trilogy are The Wildflower Girl, set in America (0-86278-283-X),
and Fields of Home ( 0-86278-509-X), set in Ireland.)
KEY STAGE: 2 YEAR: 6
DATE:
Learning Objective: to understand how phrases and sections are combined to create a dance
INTRODUCTION
Warm up
Teacher led
Bend and straighten
knees, bounce gently up
and down without
jumping
Rise on balls of feet,
then lower
Rotate alternate feet
Listen to music –
practise clapping and
foot tapping to 8 bar
phrases
Travel around room –
walk, jog, skip and gallop
to the beat
Change step and
direction on command
N.B. children to give lift
to their bodies – a’ light ‘
walk
RESOURCES
River Dance DVD/video
Irish jig CD
Task card
LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT: able to select combine phrases and sections to create a dance
CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS: History, Music, Maths
LESSON: 1/6
MOVEMENT
DEVELOPMENT
Follow-my-leader – in
two’s
explore different steps and
directions
Facing partner, practise
travel
towards/away/sideways
Turn a partner and turn
with a partner
Explore partner holds
Travel alone in and out of
spaces – find a new
partner
Show extract from River
Dance
DVD – chapter 11 (49min.
approx.)
Observe partner holds and
group formations
N.B. How is this music
different to the jig we have
been listening to?
Quicker tempo
Diaz, Dance ... Hawthorn Tree, 2
Irish – Under the Hawthorn Tree
APPLICATION
Compositional task
In groups of 4 or 6, explore
different group shapes –
circle, square, rectangle
Using ideas from movement
development, create a group
dance paying particular
attention to groups shapes
Performance/
Appreciation
Take turns to perform
Describe different group
shapes
QCA
VOCABULARY
phrase
CONCLUSION
Cool down
Teacher led
Slowly walk in and out of
space. When you meet
someone, hold and
slowly turn – either
together or one turning
each other
RECAP LESSON
Ask questions to assess
learning, e.g. what is the
difference between a
phrase of dance and a
section?
Were any sections
repeated?
How can we use our
dances from today in our
warm up next lesson?
KEY STAGE: 2 YEAR: 6 LESSON: 2/6 Irish – Under the Hawthorn Tree
DATE: (death of baby Bridget)
Learning Objective: to explore and improvise movement ideas
INTRODUCTION MOVEMENT APPLICATION CONCLUSION
DEVELOPMENT Teacher led
Warm up Composition task
Teacher led contact Mirroring the teacher
Pupil led work with stretching
Children have created Develop contact work Explore different ways to take actions
their own warm up based Stop and make eye and share body weight using
on lesson 1 (possibly a contact different body parts
follow-my-leader activity) Stop and make contact
with hands Performance/
Stop and lower partner
Appreciation
to floor (N.B. emphasise
we are taking our own
weight ) Describe one interesting
RESOURCES Another student comes action when the dancers RECAP LESSON
along and lifts them up share each other’s body
Irish jig (see lesson 1) Explore counter-balance weight. Discuss what they have
River Dance CD – track 4 With partner – push done in today’s lesson
- Lament hands together
Hold hands lower to floor QCA VOC. Ask children to think
using counter balance Exploration about relationship
Improvisation between peasants and
Talk about death of baby wealthy landowners for
Bridget in Under the next week
Hawthorn Tree.
Emotional/physical
support – funeral/human
crosses
LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT: able to explore and improvise movements imaginatively
CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS: PHSE, Literacy, History

Diaz, Dance ... Hawthorn Tree, 3

KEY STAGE: 2 YEAR: 6 LESSON: 3/6 Irish – Under the Hawthorn Tree
DATE: (landlords and peasants)
Learning Objective: to create and structure motifs
INTRODUCTION MOVEMENT APPLICATION CONCLUSION
DEVELOPMENT Teacher/pupil led
Teacher Composition
Whole body actions Teacher led In pairs, one partner
Bend, stretch, turn, Demonstrate mirrored In pairs, children to create an closes eyes and other
swing actions action and reaction motif. partner guides them
Shake patterns Using different levels and Ensure there is a clear start and slowly and carefully in
Shake hands high, low, body parts finish. Watch each other – and out of the other
left, right appreciation. pairs in the room
Shake legs forwards, In pairs, children to Join up with another pair and
backwards, sideways explore teach motif to each other. Put
two motifs together.

Then demonstrate action Performance/

and reaction
RESOURCES Show video clip of ‘Death
and the Maiden’ – Ballet
River Dance CD – track Rambert
3 from 2.25
Onwards Again, children to explore
Video – ‘Different Steps’
– Rambert Dance
Company Talk about relationship
between landowners and
peasants and relate to U
the HT
Appreciation
RECAP LESSON
Find good examples of
Recap vocabulary used
action/reaction
– action and reaction,
mirroring
QCA VOC.
action/reaction

LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT: able to create and structure a motif

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS: Literacy, History

Diaz, Dance ... Hawthorn Tree, 4

KEY STAGE: 2 YEAR: 6 LESSON: 4/6 Irish – Under the Hawthorn Tree
DATE: (the journey)
Learning Objective: to begin to use basic compositional principles when creating dances
INTRODUCTION MOVEMENT APPLICATION CONCLUSION
DEVELOPMENT Composition – see task card Cool down
Warm up
Teacher taught In groups, children to Repeat taught
Pupil led based on movement phrase: explore some events which movement phrase:
mirroring movement happened on the journey,
from previous lesson Stretch, melt, roll and e.g. Michael’s injury, First in unison, then in
stretch Peggy’s fever. Each pupil to canon
Mobilise joints create a simple motif related
Pupils to practise to that event using actions –
under, around, over,
Perform all together at through. Practise and
the same time – repeat 3 or 4 times.
unison Create a still group shape,
Perform one after perform motif, repeat, then
RESOURCES another – canon create new group shape. RECAP LESSON

River Dance CD – Under the Hawthorn Tree Performance/Appreciation Watch extract from
tracks 2 and Talk about children Watch groups perform River Dance DVD/video
beginning track 3 making the journey Children to find good – can children spot
River Dance along the river examples examples of unison and
canon?
DVD/video
Relate phrase to QCA VOC. Ask for suggestions for
Task card Canon next week’s warm up
movement of the river Unison
Motif (a
movement or
Recap dance scheme
simple phrase so far
which may be
developed)

LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT: able to select and use a range of compositional ideas to

create motifs that demonstrate their dance idea
CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS: Literacy

Diaz, Dance ... Hawthorn Tree, 5

KEY STAGE: 2 YEAR: 6 LESSON: 5/6 Irish – Under the Hawthorn Tree
DATE:
INTRODUCTION MOVEMENT APPLICATION CONCLUSION
Warm up DEVELOPMENT
Pupils to decide on overall Why is it important to
Pupil led Scheme recap – dance framework keep fit, strong and
As planned at end of Support work – Bridget’s flexible?
previous lesson funeral Practise
Action/reaction – Choose own cool down
peasants/landowners from previous lessons
Journey – events
The river – unison and Performance/Appreciation
canon
RESOURCES Traditional dance – Irish How could they refine their RECAP LESSON
jig dance? Discuss our artistic
Irish Jig music (lesson 1) intention – how have
QCA VOC. we communicated and
River Dance CD – tracks Dance
2 and 3 framework
expressed ideas?

Artistic intention Next week we will video

and assess. What
should we be looking
for?

LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT: able to structure and perform whole dance

CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS: Literacy, History

KEY STAGE: 2 YEAR: 6 LESSON: 6/6 Irish - Under the Hawthorn Tree
DATE:
Learning Objective: to evaluate, refine and develop their own and others’ work
INTRODUCTION MOVEMENT APPLICATION CONCLUSION
DEVELOPMENT Pupil led
Pupil led - Performance/Assessment
Recall cool downs
Create own warm up Rehearsal from previous lessons
using ideas from previous teacher led Video performance. Show and choose one they
lessons to prepare video. Children should be able felt was most effective
effectively for dancing Recap and rehearse. to describe, interpret and
evaluate their own work.
Teacher to make a summative
assessment.

RESOURCES QCA VOC. RECAP LESSON

interpret
Irish Jig music (lesson 1) What did children
River Dance CD – tracks enjoy about the
2 and 3 scheme?
Video recorder/player How did it enhance
their literacy/history?

LEARNING OUTCOMES/ASSESSMENT: able to use appropriate language and terminology to describe,

interpret and evaluate their own and others’ work
CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS: History, Literacy, Geography

Diaz, Dance ... Hawthorn Tree, 6

 DANCE

TASK
KEY STAGE: YEAR:

Lesson 1
walk
jog
skip
gallop

group shapes:

circle
square
rectangle
 DANCE

TASK
KEY STAGE: YEAR:

Lesson 5

Create a group starting shape

Develop a motif –

under
over
around
through

end in a group finishing shape