Overview:
Movement appeals to young children and is an integral part of child development. It allows students to connect music concepts to action and learn through trial and error. Movement helps children in their physical growth and brain development through active contact with external reality and strengthening a connection to abstract ideas. New research in neuroscience indicates that active learning through movement can accelerate a student’s learning process. Students absorb music skills better while doing, engaging their bodies and minds. Movement stimulates all the senses and aids in the development of kinesthetic intelligence and self-expression. When students participate in music and movement activities in a group, they also develop and refine their social skills, learn to work as a team, learn to share, and learn how to be creative in a group environment. In this class, movement serves as the conduit for creating integrated music experiences that illustrate abstract musical concepts
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
- Articulate teaching approaches for preparing students movement activities.
- Identify effective age-appropriate introductory movement activities.
- Identify ways in which movement can teach music elements.
- Compare and contrast different types of movement activities.
- Demonstrate effective methods for leading movement activities.
- Identify and describe how movement activities are assessed.
Introduction
Teaching a Music Lesson with Movement
There are many types and styles of movement activities that a teacher can include in the elementary music classroom. In addition to developing physical coordination, students can express themselves and may develop a clearer understanding of musicianship through the medium of movement. The framework of varied approaches provides a wide variety of movement activities.
There are two types of creative or interpretative movement:
- Free
- Structured
In free creative movement, students respond in an appropriate, individual way to music, and the movements may change with subsequent performances. Movements for structured creative movement are pre-determined by students, the teacher, or both together. The movements remain the same for all performances. Structured creative movement may be either:
- Abstract
- Dramatic
Abstract structured movements include activities such as snapping, clapping, or swaying. Dramatic structured movements include movements that are literal interpretations of the text or the programmatic idea of the music. Songs, particularly popular songs, are popular sources for structured movement.
The best music for creative movement are songs and pieces that:
- Tell a story
- Have contrasting sections or phrases
- Depict an event
- Portray a strong emotion or action
When planning creative movement activities for the elementary music classroom, the teacher should:
- Base the activity on a specific goal and established parameters
- Select movement activities that correspond with the physical skills and capabilities of the students
- Plan movements carefully so that they move easily from one to another
- Choose appropriate music that leads to creative movement through text or programmatic ideas
- Allow students to have input in the selection of appropriate creative movements
- Be sensitive to students’ ages and what would be awkward or embarrassing for them to perform
All movement activities in the music classroom are either locomotor or nonlocomotor movements. Locomotor means to move from one place to another. It involves actions such as walking, running, jumping, hopping, galloping, skipping, sliding, leaping, lunging, and prancing. Nonlocomotor means to move within a stationary position and would include actions such as stretching, bending, swaying, pushing, pulling, shaking, twisting, drawing in the air, clapping, swinging, or bouncing.
The teacher should align movement and dance activities in the music classroom with a child's development of motor skills beginning with simple behaviors, such as walking, and progress to more challenging and complex activities. The spectrum of simple to complex guided movement experiences is based on the premise that the body, mind, and emotions of the growing child are integrated into a natural rhythmic expression that will complement every facet of music learning. These activities can fall into four types:
- Introductory movement and musical experiences
- Movement that teaches musical concepts
- Creative movement experiences
- Formal dance activities