8 Fun November Dance Activities for Preschool & Elementary Dance Classes
November is here, bringing dancing turkeys, colorful autumn traditions, and opportunities to celebrate gratitude, family, and Native American heritage in our dance classrooms!
It's one of my favorite times of year to teach!
From silly turkey dances and Thanksgiving feasts to the excitement of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, November is full of opportunities to spark imagination through movement.
And behind every playful movement is an opportunity for purposeful learning!
Whether you're teaching Creative Dance, Ballet, Tap, or Hip Hop, seasonal themes are a wonderful way to introduce new dance concepts, reinforce developing skills, and keep little dancers excited about learning.
That's why I'm so excited to share 8 fun November dance activities that combine playful movement with meaningful dance education!
We'll explore dancing turkeys, gratitude, Native American Heritage Month, Thanksgiving traditions, and more—all while building coordination, creativity, spatial awareness, and foundational dance skills.
And don't forget! You can find even more ideas, printable activities, and class samples inside our FREE November Dance Guide!
Going on a Turkey Hunt
What's November without a few silly dancing turkeys?
Turn up Gobble Gobble Turkey Wobble by Koo Koo and get ready to dance!
Our Gobble Gobble Turkey Wobble Hip Hop Lesson Plan transforms this energetic song into a playful dance adventure that introduces preschool dancers to the concepts of Body Sides (Right and Left) and Directions (Forward and Backward).
Through playful movement challenges, dancers develop bilateral coordination, body awareness, and directional understanding while exploring foundational Hip Hop skills!
Let's Get Those Turkeys Moving!
Start with our Turkey Wobble Warm Up before introducing right and left movements through a fun Hip Hop center exercise.
Then it's time to get those turkeys traveling!
Challenge dancers to crawl forward like turkeys, crab walk backward, and experiment with moving different sides of their bodies.
Can they lift their right wing? Balance on their left foot? Travel forward and backward without bumping into another turkey?
Finish with a game of Gobble Gobble Turkey Freeze Dance, where dancers can explore their own silly turkey-inspired Hip Hop movements!
The learning behind the fun?
Dancers are strengthening bilateral coordination, spatial awareness, dynamic balance, and movement control while learning to recognize right and left body sides.
And the best part? They're developing foundational dance skills through purposeful play!
Color in a Terminology Turkey
Let's stuff our turkeys with dance skills!
A Terminology Turkey is a fun and creative way to reinforce dance vocabulary, celebrate developing skills, and share what dancers are learning with their families!
Start with a turkey coloring page featuring several large feathers. Write a different dance skill or movement on each feather.
For example, your Ballet Turkey might include plié, relevé, tendu, passé, and sauté, while your Tap Turkey might feature toe taps, heel drops, shuffles, and flaps.
Invite dancers to practice each movement and color in the corresponding feather as they complete the skill.
Want to make it even more interactive?
Turn your Terminology Turkey into a dance movement challenge!
Call out a skill from one of the turkey's feathers and invite dancers to demonstrate the movement. You can even turn it into a game of Turkey Freeze Dance, where dancers perform a skill each time the music stops!
The learning behind the fun?
Dancers are reinforcing dance terminology, movement recall, coordination, and confidence while practicing the foundational skills they've been learning in class.
And don't forget to send those colorful turkeys home!
Families don't always get to see everything happening inside the dance classroom. A completed Terminology Turkey gives dancers an opportunity to proudly share their accomplishments and helps keep families connected to their child's dance education.
It's a simple way to make dance learning visible!
Dance your Thanksgiving Dinner!
Turn your favorite Thanksgiving foods into creative dance movements and challenge your dancers to choreograph their very own Dance-Giving Dance!
Start by brainstorming familiar Thanksgiving foods. Then invite dancers to assign a dance movement to each one.
Here are a few delicious dance ideas:
Mashed Potato Marches: March around the dance floor.
Tendu Turkey: Stretch your toes into a tendu.
Broccoli Bourrées: Take tiny bourrée steps.
Pumpkin Pie Pliés: Bend and straighten your knees.
Cranberry Chassés: Glide across the floor with chassés.
Stuffing Sautés: Jump up and down with sautés.
Ready to put it all together?
Once you've created your Thanksgiving dinner dance vocabulary, challenge dancers to choose three or four movements and arrange them into a Dance-Giving Dance Sequence!
Practice each movement in order, then connect the steps to create a complete dance combination!
For younger dancers, keep the sequence short and repeat the movements several times. Older dancers can experiment with longer combinations, directional changes, and different movement qualities.
You can even turn it into a Thanksgiving Dance Challenge by inviting dancers to create and perform their own food-inspired choreography!
The learning behind the fun?
Dancers are exploring creativity, movement sequencing, memory, and foundational dance terminology while discovering how individual movements can be connected to create a complete dance phrase.
They're also building confidence as they make creative choices and share their own movement ideas!
And the best part? You're connecting a familiar holiday tradition into dance! Making learning dance skills memorable and meaningful.
Celebrate Native American Heritage Month Through Storytelling!
November is also Native American Heritage Month! It's a wonderful opportunity to introduce children to the rich histories, diverse cultures, and contemporary experiences of Native American communities.
One beautiful picture book to share with your little dancers is We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Cherokee author Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac.
This award-winning story follows a Cherokee community through the changing seasons, highlighting celebrations, everyday experiences, and the importance of gratitude.
The Cherokee word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is an expression of gratitude.
Beginning in autumn with the Cherokee New Year and continuing through summer, the story introduces children to the many ways gratitude can be expressed throughout the year, even during life's challenges.
