Dance in the Classroom
According to Jensen, Kinesthetic arts are the combination of art and movement. The kinesthetic arts can also take the form of dramatic arts, industrial arts, and recreational arts. Dance falls into the dramatic arts, however it is also a recreational activity too! Dance is a type of movement, and is another way to use brain based learning in the classroom!
Why Integrate Dance?
The kinesthetic arts have a whole lot of benefits to offer and improve the health of individuals. Dance enhances multiple biological systems, can stimulate more creativity, improve self-concept, allow students to express themselves through movement, helps develop vestibular activation (balance) and can improve learning!
It's Easy to Integrate Dance into the Classroom
Dance is a great way to help children that struggle to communicate verbally to communicate with motion. It can be used many ways in the classroom. A few examples are:
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Use BrainPop or GoNoodle as a class reward or transition to get students out of their seats and energized!
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Use dance to teach about different cultures!
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Incorporate dance and movement into your lesson plans, it has been proven that motion increases memory when learning!
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Create/choose a classroom dance to begin or end the day with, and to build classroom unity and community.
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Create a classroom music video for your classroom dance!
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Schedule a dance performance (maybe breakdancing, salsa, or ballroom) for a weekly assembly!
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Take a field trip to a dance recital or professional performance!
The Art of Dance
