![[Idea] A roundup of recommended performances for lower grades at school arts festivals and learning presentations](https://i.ytimg.com/vi_webp/PGnlRV8Q6B0/maxresdefault.webp)
School arts festivals and learning presentations are big events that kids, teachers, and parents can all enjoy together!
The choice of performance really affects how exciting the event feels.
Many teachers may wonder, “Should we go with classic songs or a play?” or “We want to try something different this year, but what would be good?”
Here, we introduce fun performance ideas suitable for lower-grade students.
We recommend choir pieces, simple dances, and short plays.
For this year’s festival, let’s plan performances that make everyone smile and create the best memories!
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[Idea] A roundup of recommended performances for school arts and learning presentations for lower grades (1–10)
Minion dance
If you can gather a decent number of people, the “Minion Dance” is a very comical and fun routine.
Even without making full costumes for everyone, with overalls and a yellow shirt—and a few props—you can really become Minions.
The balance between dancing in sync and the comedic moments is just right.
musical drama
How about trying a musical play where you can challenge both music and acting? Unlike a musical, a musical play basically unfolds the story through dialogue, and the stage is built by adding songs and the like along the way.
Since dialogue and songs can be treated separately, it may be easier for lower-grade children to take on.
Depending on the casting, it’s also recommended to divide roles so that some people only act, while others only sing or dance.
Choose a story that younger children are familiar with, and give it a try.
Pocky Dance
The “Pocky Dance” that was performed in the Pocky commercials—many of you might find it nostalgic, right? Today’s elementary school kids may not be as familiar with it, but it’s a really fun dance with lively choreography.
These days, many elementary schoolers take dance lessons, and dance performances are common at events.
Dancing is also great for boosting class unity.
If you get the audience to clap along, the whole venue will get energized—how about giving it a try?
Tambourine Ensemble Piece
In elementary school, kids have lots of chances to try various instruments like the keyboard harmonica and the recorder.
Among them, the tambourine is easier to pick up than instruments that play actual notes like do-re-mi, making it great even for lower grades.
You can create a performance by arranging different drumming patterns, or play along to a song.
Adding choreography to the beats is fun, too! Even children who feel they’re not good at music can enjoy playing the tambourine without overthinking it.
Shadow play performance
Do you remember being amazed by shadow puppets when you were little? How about putting on a play using shadow puppetry? Basically, you express the people and objects that appear using only your hands.
It often feels more convincing to watch the projected shadows than to watch the hands themselves.
Well-known stories don’t require explanations and let you focus on the performance, so fairy tales are a great choice.
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!
Choral reading
Some people may not immediately recognize the term “group recitation,” but put simply, it refers to the performance often done at events like graduation ceremonies where everyone recites a poem together.
Despite its simplicity, group recitation has surprising depth.
For example, students can present poems they’ve written themselves, or perform existing works.
Above all, one of its greatest appeals is how endlessly adaptable it is with a bit of ingenuity—assigning different roles, creating sections where voices speak in unison, or coordinating separate lines like an accompaniment, and more.
[Hand-Sign Dance] Swallow
![[Hand-Sign Dance] Swallow](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KuQP5N2z68U/sddefault.jpg)
Let’s try singing YOASOBI’s “Tsubame” with a hand-sign dance that uses sign language-like movements! Released digitally in 2021, this song was chosen as the theme for NHK’s SDGs-related program “Hirogare! Irotoridori” and was also featured on “Minna no Uta.” The lyrics carry a message encouraging us to cherish not only our own family and friends, but also the animals and plants that live in nature.
Just singing it can move listeners’ hearts, and adding sign language-like gestures will convey that message even more strongly.
It’s a perfect theme for middle elementary students who are starting to learn about society and the environment.
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.
Dance with everyone
As expected, it’s truly moving to see the children come alive and express themselves with their whole bodies at the school arts festival.
So how about taking on a dance performance from a slightly different angle than a sports day—adding thoughtful costumes and direction? If you color it with plenty of ideas and inspiration, it will surely help energize the festival! It’s also great to dance to songs the students love or music they feel close to.
If everyone can be involved from the planning and preparation stages, the performance itself will be all the more moving!