March is the perfect time to bring Irish music and dancing into your music classroom! Whether you're celebrating St. Patrick's Day or explorng world music, these engaging videos will help your students experience the energy and tradition of Irish music.
This Irish Music & Dance Choice Board is designed to make lesson planning easy. It includes a variety of video categories so you can mix and match to fit your students’ needs. You can introduce Irish music through listening examples, teach about traditional instruments, and get students moving with dance performances and play-alongs.
What's Included?
This collection is divided into seven categories. Be sure to scroll left and right to see all of the categories. Scroll up and down to see the videos in each category.- Listening Examples – Introduce students to the sounds of Irish music.
- Irish Instruments Informational Videos – Learn about instruments like the tin whistle, bodhrán, and Irish harp.
- St Patrick's Day History for Kids - Short informational videos about the origins of St. Patrick’s Day.
- Dance Performance Videos – Watch Irish dancers in action and see different styles of Irish dancing.
- Dance Lesson Videos – Step-by-step instructions to help students try Irish dancing themselves.
- Irish Music Play-Alongs – Fun body percussion and percussion play-alongs to keep students engaged.
- Movement Irish Folk Dance Videos – Get students moving with Irish-inspired movement activities. Teach simple folk dances that work well for elementary students.
How to Use These Videos in Your Classroom
- Start with a listening example to introduce Irish music.
- Show a dance performance video to inspire students.
- Try a dance lesson video to get students moving.
- Add an Irish music play-along to reinforce steady beat and rhythm.
- Finish with an Irish folk dance for a fun, active experience.
My Experience Using This Choice Board
March is always a busy month in the music classroom with Music in Our Schools Month, Read Across America, spring concerts, and even spring break. Most years, I wasn’t able to devote an entire class period to St. Patrick’s Day or Irish music, so I found ways to incorporate it into my lessons in smaller chunks.
- For Kindergarten and first grade, we kept it simple with a steady beat activity and some super simplified dance steps to "Maggie in the Woods" or another lively Irish jig.
- Second and third grade students explored Irish instruments like the uilleann pipes and bodhrán, then played along with an instrument-focused video or learned a folk dance like "The Irish Washerwoman."
- For fourth grade, I focused on triple meter by using a 6/8 rhythm reading video followed by Irish music centers. This tied in perfectly with my Triple Meter Adventures with Leprechaun Games lesson, which you can check out here:
- With fifth grade, we often watched one or two Riverdance videos to observe the style, followed by "Trading Taps," which led to a discussion comparing Irish step dancing with African American tap styles. This conversation was a natural extension of the work we did during Black History Month and helped students make meaningful connections between cultures.
Conclusion
These small but impactful activities allowed my students to experience Irish music and dance in an engaging way without requiring a full class period. Whether you have five minutes or fifty, this choice board can help you bring the energy of Irish music into your classroom!
Want to grab the full collection? Click the button below to access the Irish Music & Dance Music Teacher Choice Board!
Want to grab the full collection? Click the button below to access the Irish Music & Dance Music Teacher Choice Board!
Musically yours,
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