So I was asked to teach dance with a Modern focus as an activity or skill for
13-15 year olds at a camp that I counsel at. Most of them will have never danced before, and it would be an hour a day for 5 days.
I'm a bit nervous, not quite knowing what to expect and the fact that I'm only
1-3 years older than this age group.
I want to give them a good idea of what Modern is like, but at the same time don't want to bore them, I think throwing a bit of jazz in here and there might help keep it upbeat, I choreographed a dance that I will teach them throughout the week and they can perform at the end, it's hard to know how difficult to make the choreography as they are beginners, but still older. I'm wondering if there's any advice on finding the right balance between exercises and learning choreography?
Thanks

Well spend the lesson learning their strengths. As you get further in you can rearrange your choreography if its too hard. Make sure you have a basic plan that you can go back to.
A lot of young teachers make the mistake of being unprepared for lessons. Research basic modern techniques, if you have done classical ballet then you will find a lot of technique is similar (just off-center more) and the terminology.
Outline what you would like them to do at least attempt and then if they are doing it well work it into the choreography. Make sure they are well aware of the steps that they have already practiced. Beginners will become very discouraged if you teach something to them that they have never done, it will be a mess. I had a Hip Hop teacher like that a couple weeks ago and all the Juniors and Ballet dancers had no idea what they were doing at the performance.
Make sure you leave enough time to practice the routine as well as cleaning it. Even if its 30 seconds or a minute, it should still be something they are proud of.

Thank you! This was really helpful and the week went great!