Teach Kids About Ukraine -- Dance the Hopak -- All Around This World

“Teach Kids About Ukraine -- Dance the Hopak” is an engaging, participatory world cultures lesson about Ukraine for kids that invites them to experience the nation's most iconic (and acrobatic!) dancing. In this fun-for-all-ages lesson, kids will learn about the Eastern European nation of Ukraine, meet the energizing Hopak and the "wild" Hutsulka, then get out of their seats and DANCE!

All Around This World is an only-of-its-kind global music and world cultures program that introduces kids (0-9) and their grown-ups to the world using enlivening international rhythms and movement. Visit the All Around This World website to learn about our extenstive interactive curriculum that consists of over 300 participatory songs and cultural experiences that originate from over 100 countries and our "musical pen pal" program that can connect your classroom with kids on another continent. Like what you see? Subscribe to our "All Access Pass" and you can access all of the lessons, all the time. You can also become an All Around This World teacher! Learn about our completely free teacher trainings here.

This lesson includes:

-- Interactive PDF with background information introducing Ukrainian dances and links to teacher training video, All Around This World's “Teach Kids About the Hopak” and "Teach Kids About the Hutsulka" videos, and also suggested contextualizing YouTube videos.

** Our "how-to" videos are on Vimeo.com. Please make sure you can access Vimeo videos before you buy the lesson. **

-- This lesson features All Around This World teaching partner Anita Dey Barsukova and members of the MIT Ukrainian Folk Dance Ensemble who introduce us to the Hopak.

-- Sections include: Vocabulary/Terms, Discussion/Projects, Learning Outcome/Goal, Materials, Assessment

-- Printable summary of lesson for kids to take home (both color and back and white)

-- Common core and standards information (“National Council for Social Studies” “National Standards for Music Education”)

All Around This World lessons are a small part of Jay Sand's independently crafted, mission-driven educational project that includes:

-- Teaching videos in collaboration with culture-bearers worldwide.

-- Opportunities for livecasts, interactive online workshops and even in-person concerts/classes with founder and lead teacher Jay Sand

-- Award-winning multilingual CDs -- All Around This World: Latin America, All Around This World: Africa, and All Around This World: South and Central Asia.

-- Amazingly great, playfully illustrated, "Musical Maps" that introduce kids to hundreds of global instruments

...and oh, so much more.