Dance and Movement

1. Dance and Movement

2. WHY MOVE? • Our bodies are designed to move. • Some people think best when they are moving. • To engage diverse types of learners fully – kinesthetic learners or sleepy ones! • To deepen understanding. • To experience a subject from a new perspective, using kinesthetic intelligence. • To develop creativity. • To foster community. • To rest, recuperate and refocus. • To invigorate the body – exercise for health. • To have fun!

3. Bodily/Kinesthetic Modalities • Bodily/kinesthetic intelligence deserves the same curricular attention that other intelligences receive (Gardner, 1993). • The curriculum must address the various modalities that bodily/kinesthetic intelligence presents. • Research about the brain confirms the importance and significance of bodily/kinesthetic development (Jensen, 2001). • Bodily/kinesthetic intelligence develops in stages.

4. Bodily/kinesthetic intelligence • presents itself in many domains in the early childhood classroom. • manifests itself in a variety of forms. • Children may have a preference, interest, or ability in one form of expression as opposed to another. • can be categorized into three different forms of expression: dramatic, industrial, and recreational.

5. Dramatics • encompasses domains such as dance, drama, mime, theater, musicals, choreography, media play, and improvisation. • is often neglected. • the ability to role-play and use the body in expressive ways is an important part of bodily/kinesthetic intelligence. • can be encouraged through dance, dramatic play, and expressive bodily movements.

6. Industrial Arts • arts refer to the functional aspect of bodily/kinesthetic intelligence. • includes woodworking, auto repair, metalworking, construction, sculpting, and design. • makes a significant contribution to healthy brain growth and promotes self-confidence and mastery. • can be encouraged by providing tools for children’s use.

7. A woodworking table encourages motor manipulation, creativity, construction, and design. • An art center can provide the child access to a variety of visual art materials to encourage one-, two-, and three-dimensional representations using sculpture, paint, and paper. • A discovery center can include radios, telephones, computers, and appliances for children to take apart.

8. Recreational arts • includes exercise, rough-and-tumble play, games, scavenger hunts, adventures, obstacle courses, and sports. • involves enjoyment. • can be incorporated through choice during free play or through organized adventures, competitions, and games, such as scavenger hunts, games, and obstacle courses.

9. Significant impact on the developing brain Dramatic arts: • develop creativity, improve self-concept, aid in ability to follow directions, improve timing and coordination, encourage expression, increase social skills, and encourage emotional attunement. • development of cognition and activate the systems that control memory and attention.

10. Industrial arts :encourage memory, visualization, cognition, and intrinsic motivation, which improve and coordinate brain function. Recreational arts : allow the brain to relax. An integrated arts program increases cognitive performance and helps more children reach appropriate grade-level expectations.

11. WHEN TO USE MOVEMENT in Classrooms • Movement for Movement’s Sake – to communicate, create or for recreation • Breaks – to relax, recuperation, or ‘re-focus’ • Lesson Enrichment – to reinforce content and its understanding through active learning • Transitions – to transition between classroom activities or within the school building

12. Group Games and Structured Movement Activities • promote both fun and learning for the student. • promote a positive environment for the classroom. • great way for an educator to bring movement into the classroom without having prior experience in movement or dance.

13. Benefits of Fun and Laughter: • Boosts immune system • Exercises muscles • Releases tension • Stimulates creativity • Types of games: Circle games, Rhythm games, Chasing games, Sensing games, Mental games Strength games, Games to break awkward silences