A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Dance and Music Around Us and Around the World

A3.1 A3.2 C3.1 C3.2 C2.1About 35 minutes

Learning goals

I can name times when I see or do dance and music in my own life and community.
I can describe dances and music from different communities in Canada and around the world.
I can share my feelings about music and dance I see and hear.
I can watch and listen respectfully to dances and music from other cultures, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit.

Words to know

culture
The ways a group of people live, celebrate, eat, speak, make music and dance.

community
A group of people who live, learn or belong together, like your family, school, town or a cultural group.

powwow
A gathering held by First Nations communities to celebrate with drumming, singing and dancing. Many powwows welcome visitors.

regalia
The special clothing a powwow dancer wears. It is not a costume; it often has deep meaning for the dancer and their family.

jigging
A fast, lively dance with quick footwork. The Métis are known for jigging to fiddle music.

throat singing
An Inuit vocal art. Traditionally, two women face each other and make rhythmic sounds with their breath and voices, often as a friendly game.

respect
Treating people and their traditions as important and special.

Music and dance are everywhere!

Think about your week. Did you sing "O Canada" at school? Dance at a birthday party? Hear music at the grocery store or a hockey game?

Music and dance are part of everyone's life. Every culture has its own songs and dances.

In my own life

Here are some places you might find music and dance:

At home: singing lullabies, dancing in the kitchen, music in the car
At school: singing "O Canada," music class, school concerts
In the community: parades, festivals, weddings, places of worship, hockey games, summer concerts in the park
Celebrations: birthdays, Canada Day, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Christmas, Eid, Hanukkah and more

Families sit on blankets and lawn chairs on the grass watching a band play on an outdoor stage by a lake at sunset. — A summer concert in the park is one way music is part of our community. AI-generated image

Music and dance are part of everyone's life: at home, at school, in the community and at celebrations.

Dance and music from many communities

Canada is home to people from all over the world, and to First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, who have been here since long before Canada began. Here are just a few examples:

Dance or music	Who it comes from	What you might notice
Powwow dancing and drumming	Many First Nations	A big drum played by a group of singers sitting around it, and dancers in beautiful regalia. Dances include the jingle dress dance and the grass dance.
Métis jigging and fiddle music	The Métis	Fast fiddle music and dancers with very quick feet. The Red River Jig is a well-known Métis tune and dance.
Throat singing	Inuit	Two singers face each other and make rhythmic breath and voice sounds. Traditionally it is a friendly game; the first to laugh or run out of breath loses.
Lion dance	Chinese communities	Dancers move inside a lion costume to loud drums, cymbals and gongs, often at Lunar New Year.
Bhangra	Punjab (in India and Pakistan)	Energetic dancing with jumps and raised arms, to the beat of a big drum called a dhol.
Steel pan music	Trinidad and Tobago	Bright, ringing sounds made by hitting metal drums. You can hear it at Caribbean festivals in Canada.

A few of the many dances and music styles you can see and hear in Canada

Watching and listening with respect

When we learn about another culture's music or dance:

Watch and listen quietly, and clap when it is the right time.
Use the right words. A powwow dancer wears regalia, not a "costume."
Remember that some songs and dances are sacred (very special and spiritual). They belong to a community and are not for copying or playing as a game.
If you go to a powwow, follow the announcer's instructions. Sometimes people are asked not to take photos, and everyone stands for the Grand Entry.
Learn from people of that community whenever you can.

Worked example

Example: Describing a dance I watched

Your family watches Métis jiggers at a festival. How can you describe what you saw and how you felt?

Say what you saw: "The dancers moved their feet really fast. The fiddle music was fast too."
Use the elements: "The tempo was fast. Their feet made sharp, strong taps. The music was loud and happy."
Say how you felt: "It made me feel excited. I wanted to tap my feet!"
Say why: "I felt excited because the music and dancing were so fast and lively."

A good description tells what you saw and heard, uses music and dance words (fast, loud, sharp), and tells how you felt and why.

Just for fun

Riddle: I have a neck but no head. I have a body but no legs. I have strings, but I'm not a puppet. What am I?

A guitar!

Worked example

Example: Two lullabies, two cultures

Your grown-up plays two lullabies from different cultures, one in French and one in another language. How are they the same and different?

Listen to the first one. It is slow and soft. A woman sings with a guitar.
Listen to the second one. It is also slow and soft. A man sings with no instruments.
Same: both are slow and soft, because both are for helping babies sleep.
Different: different languages, different voices, and one has a guitar.

Lullabies from many cultures are slow and soft, because they all have the same purpose: helping a baby sleep. They can sound different in language, voice and instruments.

A Venn diagram shows what is the same (in the middle) and what is different (on the sides). Both lullabies are slow and soft, because they have the same purpose. They are sung in different languages.

Hands-on activity

My music and dance map

You need: paper, crayons or markers, and a grown-up to help with ideas.

Draw yourself in the middle of the page.
Around you, draw the places where you hear music or see dancing: home, school, the car, a party, a place of worship, a festival, a hockey arena.
Next to each picture, write or tell what kind of music or dance happens there.
Ask a grown-up in your family: "What songs or dances did you love when you were little?" Ask them to sing or show you one. Add it to your map!
With a grown-up, look for a video of a dance or music from a culture that is new to you (for example, a powwow from a First Nation in Ontario, or Inuit throat singers). Tell what you noticed and how it made you feel.

Your turn

Name two places in your life where you hear music.

When might you see people dancing in your community?

What is a powwow?

What is the respectful word for the clothing powwow dancers wear?

Which group of people is known for jigging to fiddle music?

Who has the tradition of throat singing?

Ask a family member about a song or dance they love. Share what you learned.

More practice: warm-up

What song do many Canadian students sing at school in the morning?

Name a celebration where people sing or dance.

What should an audience do when a dance is over?

Does every culture have music?

Name a big drum used in Bhangra.

More practice: on your own

Listen to some music with a grown-up. Is it fast or slow? Loud or soft? How does it make you feel?

Why should we not copy a sacred song or dance from another culture as a game?

How is a lion dance the same as a powwow dance? How is it different?

Describe Inuit throat singing in your own words.

You hear fast fiddle music and see dancers with very quick feet. What dance might it be?

Challenge

Pick two dances from the table. Tell one thing that is the same and one thing that is different.

Your friend laughs and says a dance from another culture looks "weird." What could you say?

Why do you think lullabies from many different cultures are slow and soft?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which group of people is known for jigging to fiddle music?

What is the respectful word for the special clothing a powwow dancer wears?

Inuit throat singing is traditionally done by ___.

Which is a respectful way to watch a dance from another culture?

Where might you hear music in your own community?

A song is slow and soft. How might it make you feel?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 1 students identify music and dance in their own lives and communities, and describe (with guidance) dances and music from different communities around the world, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in Canada.

Teaching respectfully:

Use accurate, specific names (e.g. Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Cree, Métis, Inuit) rather than lumping all Indigenous peoples together, and use present tense: these are living cultures.
Some songs, drums and dances are sacred. Children can watch and learn about them, but should not imitate them as a game or wear "Indian costumes."
Look for videos made or shared by the communities themselves (for example, a First Nation's own powwow page, or recordings by Inuit performers). Many Ontario First Nations hold public powwows in the summer; check the event's guidelines about photos and etiquette.

How to help:

Share your own family's songs and dances, whatever your background.
Attend free community festivals and talk about what you saw: "What instruments did you notice? How did it make you feel?"

Common difficulties: Children may call unfamiliar music "weird." Model curiosity: "It's new to us. What do you notice about it?"