Looking for a fun and expressive way to bring the story of Giraffes Can’t Dance to life in your classroom? Our Giraffes Can’t Dance Book Craft is the perfect hands-on activity to help your students connect with the story through movement, creativity, and classroom display.

This engaging craft activity is designed to accompany a whole class reading of the much-loved picture book by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. With its inspiring message of self-expression and resilience, Giraffes Can’t Dance offers the perfect opportunity for students to explore emotions, confidence, and identity – all while crafting their very own dancing giraffe!

Students will decorate and assemble a wobbly giraffe that can be posed in different dancing positions. Using pipe cleaners as movable joints, children will piece together Gerald the Giraffe and then place him in a setting from the book using the included backdrop templates. This adds a storytelling component to the craft and brings their interpretation of the book to life.

Key Learning Outcomes

• ✅ Retell key events and ideas from a shared class text
• ✅ Develop fine motor skills through cutting, folding, and assembly
• ✅ Explore creativity and expression through art and design
• ✅ Reflect on the story’s themes of resilience and individuality

What’s Included

• Gerald the Giraffe craft template (head, legs, tail, body)
• Optional backdrop templates to place the giraffe in a story setting
• Display heading banner templates for classroom use
• Detailed instructions and suggested materials list

Materials Needed

• Printed template pages (consider enlarging to A3)
• Scissors and glue
• Pipe cleaners or split pins to connect giraffe limbs
• Coloured pencils, markers, paints or collage materials
• Optional: background paper or scene setting from the story

How to Use

1. Read Giraffes Can’t Dance together as a class
2. Discuss key events and settings from the story
3. Have students colour and decorate the giraffe parts
4. Cut and attach the parts using pipe cleaners to make movable joints
5. Choose and colour a background from the book or draw your own
6. Glue Gerald into the scene and mount with the provided banner for display

Ideas for Classroom Use

• 💡 Use as part of a literacy unit on narrative texts or character studies
• 💡 Display student crafts as part of a confidence-building discussion around trying new things
• 💡 Turn the craft into a drama activity by having students pose their giraffe and narrate its dance

Top Teacher Tips

• 💛 Enlarge the template to A3 for easier cutting and gluing, especially for younger students
• 💛 Attach the giraffe parts with pipe cleaners to allow real movement – great for role-play and puppet-style storytelling
• 💛 Incorporate music and movement by having students recreate Gerald’s final dance after finishing their craft

Pair this activity with the Giraffes Can’t Dance Banner to create an eye-catching bulletin board or window display celebrating every student’s unique style and story.

This resource is part of the Giraffes Can’t Dance PACKAGE.