"Trepak" from The Nutcracker

Fourth and Fifth grade students are focusing on form this month with a study of "The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky. We learned about the composer and then listened to several of the pieces from the Nutcracker Suite. I love how the students get so excited when they recognize a piece that we are studying and can't wait to come tell me if they've heard it on the radio or a commercial. A favorite this year was the very familiar "Trepak" or "Russian Dance."

First, we watched a clip from the ballet:

Then, they figured out the form:

Next, they learned the following fun (and energetic) choreography from the Gameplan Curriculum - Grade 4:

This is the perfect activity to keep very excited students engaged in music during the month of December! It kept my students thinking and moving and they were begging to do it again! :) Check out some pictures of the 4th and 5th grade classes in action: