The 2017 publication of Tall Tall Tree (author Anthony D. Fredericks and illustrator Chad Wallace) is a delightful new book to try out with preschool, kindergarten, and first grade students. The book offers a variety of animal movements and also is a counting book - 1 eagle, 2 owls, 3 salamanders.... Tall Tall Tree explores the many different creatures that live within giant redwood trees.
Counting books like this one so nicely lend themselves to "parts" for a group dance. So if you have 20 or more students in a class, everyone can get one or two parts to the dance.
1 eagle (soaring, searching)
2 owls (carrying food, sharing, nesting)
3 salamanders (climbing, hunting)
4 woodpeckers (quick movements, pecking, storing food)
5 woodrats (darting, eating)
6 chipmunks (dashing, darting, scampering)
7 bumblebees (quickly zigging and zagging)
8 bats (sleeping, waiting, hanging)
9 banana slugs (sliding, sliming)
10 ladybugs (crawling, flying)
Tall Tall Tree is nicely bookended with clear beginning and ending text to help shape your dance. Teachers - you can be the narrator for the dance and literally read the whole story aloud to help shape and pace the dance.
As for music selections, try out "Brace Brace" by Bonobo, or "Blind Man, Blind Man" by Herbie Hancock.