Recommended performance ideas for elementary school (middle grades) cultural festivals and learning presentations
When children reach the middle grades of elementary school, they start looking forward to the performances at school arts festivals and learning presentations! It’s a great chance to create wonderful memories together through activities like chorus, theater, and dance.
Many teachers and students probably wonder, “What kind of performance should we do?” Here, we introduce recommended ideas for school arts festivals and learning presentations.
It’s important to come up with ideas that make the most of your class’s unique character.
Work together through discussion and create a presentation that everyone can enjoy while showcasing your class’s individuality!
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- [Idea] A roundup of recommended performances for lower grades at school arts festivals and learning presentations
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- [One-Shot Gag] A roundup of sure-fire skits that will definitely get elementary school kids excited!
- [Elementary School Rec] Recommended Games and Performances for a Fun Party
- [Middle School] Cultural Festival Attractions: A roundup of popular exhibits, games, and stage performances
- Performances that liven up an elementary school thank-you party! A collection of ideas everyone can enjoy
- [For Elementary Schools] Recommended Exhibits and Recreational Activities for a Cultural Festival
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- Classic plays performed by elementary school students: recommended works roundup
- Performances for a farewell party for sixth graders: from funny skits to moving ideas
[Elementary School] Recommended Performance Ideas for Lower-Middle Grades at School Arts and Learning Presentations (1–10)
Kitchen Beat
Kitchen Beat: making music with items like rice paddles and pots from the kitchen.
Normally you might get scolded for playing with those, but this time we’ll use them as instruments and show off a cool performance! The kitchen tools you need can be everyday items you’d find at home or in a school home-economics room—nothing special required.
Build some rhythm patterns and have fun making music as if you were cooking.
Since you’re using non-instruments, it’s sure to grab viewers’ attention! Give it a try!
musical
When it comes to school performances, plays are the standard choice, but how about trying something a bit different and putting on a musical? The big difference from a play is that, instead of delivering lines, you express yourself by singing.
It might feel a little embarrassing, but it’s more impactful than a play, and choosing the songs is fun too.
For kids who are good at singing, it’s a great chance to shine—and maybe even land the lead role!
Japanese taiko drum
Taiko drums are perfect for showing off a cool side with powerful sound—proving you’re not the same as you were back in kindergarten or preschool! Through performing, kids build their bodies and develop a sense of rhythm, making it ideal for lower elementary grades who are still growing.
Since it’s an instrument that isn’t often covered in regular music classes, it also helps build cultural knowledge.
It’s a great idea to give students chances to play different kinds of drums—large drums, small drums, and ones carried while performing.
Let’s play energetically with all our might and give Mom and Dad a big surprise!
[Elementary School] Recommended Performance Ideas for Middle Grades at School Arts and Learning Presentations (11–20)
Calligraphy performance
How about doing a calligraphy performance on a large sheet of poster paper, along with words of gratitude to your parents, teachers, and friends? You can use a regular brush, but using a large performance brush lets you write bold, oversized characters that make a strong impact and are easy for a big audience to see.
You can write anything you like on the paper, but consider writing your class or grade’s goals, or a message you want to convey to the audience.
Performing with music playing is also recommended!
rakugo play
Rakugo is often thought of as a storytelling art performed by a single seated storyteller, but how about turning it into a stage play? Since rakugo stories are already structured like dramas, they’re perfect for events like school plays.
As a part of Japanese culture, they also offer a chance to learn about spoken language and historical context, making them a highly valuable presentation in those respects as well.
Body percussion
Body percussion is making music by striking different parts of your body with your hands to produce sounds.
You can tap along to music, or tap while singing your favorite song.
When the whole class does it together, it’s quite powerful, and since everyone has to keep the same rhythm, it also builds teamwork.
If you coordinate costumes or add call-and-response shouts partway through, it becomes a perfect act for a school performance.
Choosing a popular song that everyone loves will boost motivation, too!
Illusion Dance
Do you know about something called the “illusion dance”? It’s where you wear a costume that’s sharply divided into two distinct colors—one color on the right and another on the left—and dance.
You might wonder, what’s the illusion? When your right half and the person next to you’s left half match in color, it makes it look like you’re moving in a very strange way.
Another nice point is that even simple choreography looks like an illusion, so it isn’t difficult.