Tag Archives: movement

2022 Vol 7: Moving to Learn

Displaying Understanding Through Dance Integration: Connecting the Mind and Body in the ELA Classroom

Danica Wolfe, 5th Grade, Oakhurst STEAM Academy

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.


Synopsis: The goal of this unit is to teach 5th grade students the basics of dance elements and sequenced movement series so that they can create a dance that reflects their understanding and analysis of a fictional character in a class novel study. Over the course of the first five lessons, students will learn about the elements of body shape, action, space, time, energy. They will also learn how to sequence short series of movements. The next six lessons ask students to apply their knowledge of creative dance sequences to generate series of movements that reflect their understanding of a character’s perspective in a particular event in a literary plotline. These lessons coincide with the 5th grade literacy curriculum for our district. The final three lessons allow students to put finishing touches on their efforts by identifying music that fits their piece, putting on a performance for their peers, and reflecting on their learning through dance integration. This unit also serves as a starting point for teachers to build their capacity to use dance in the literacy classroom as a strategy to make comprehension of text visible through embodiment. The instructional strategies included in this unit would be useful in any literacy classroom and can be modified to meet the needs of a variety of ages and units of instruction. 

2022 Vol 7: Moving to Learn

Science and Relationships: Bridging the Gap 

Antiona Green, 4th Grade, Oakhurst STEAM Academy

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.


Synopsis: In this unit students will apply concepts of movement and the body to understand the interactions among organisms within an environment. This unit focuses on the essential question, “ On an ever-changing planet, what things need to be in place to enable living organisms to survive?” Using project-based learning through the 5E Instructional Model, concepts of Tableaux and dance, students will be able to explain how different organisms satisfy their needs in the environment in which they are typically found. Each component builds on the previous one to ensure students truly grasp the significance of animals and their role within their community. The elements of body, action, and relationship will serve as the pillars of this unit. Hands on activities and group dialogue enables teachers to cultivate a positive classroom environment where students work to exist within shared spaces. Giving students the opportunity to influence how and what they learn can greatly affect their effort, performance, and the degree of how much information is retained. At the end of the unit, students apply what they have learned to create a Tableaux incorporating concepts learned throughout the unit. 

2022 Vol 7: Moving to Learn

Exploring Memory through Movement 

Andrea Calderon, 3rd Grade, Starmount Academy of Excellence

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.


Synopsis: This curriculum unit (CU) will focus on the essential question: How are memories made? Throughout the course of this seven-lesson unit, third-grade scientists will expand upon their knowledge of the Human Body and the Central Nervous System. Scientists will focus on the brain and the three different types of memory: Sensory Memory, Short-term Memory, and Long-Term Memory. Students will gain insight into the world of dance by learning some foundational skills regarding dance composition and tools used to communicate within the dance community. For the culminating project, students will integrate their knowledge of the brain and memory with their knowledge of dance to create a dance composition to demonstrate how memory is made. 

2022 Vol 7: Moving to Learn

Musically Moving: Creative Experiences for Body and Mind in the Music Classroom

Esther Alcamo, Music, Collinswood Language Academy

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Click on the arrow to read the Synopsis.


Synopsis: This curriculum unit will provide elementary students with the opportunity to work with movement as a conscious part of the music curriculum. Through study of BrainDance, a warm-up sequence designed to mirror the stages of brain development and enhance movement and learning, students will experience the role of movement in learning and thinking. As described in the NC Standards for Music, moving to music or using corresponding gestures, is another way of telling or showing mastery. As students move to music with intention, they gain a deeper knowledge of the musical concepts presented. As the unit progresses, we will work towards student composed dances using the building blocks found in the movement concepts we will study. Students will use third grade music standards related to rhythm and note values in order to create choreography with Motif Writing. Music literacy and dance literacy will work together to create a kinesthetic, aural, verbal and spatial learning experience. 

2021 Curriculum Units Vol 4: Embodied Teaching and Learning

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park: Turning Movement into Meaning

Allison Samokar, 7th Grade ELA, Wilson STEM Academy

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Synopsis

read more »
2021 Curriculum Units Vol 4: Embodied Teaching and Learning

Can’t Stop the Feelings!

Genitia Johnson, 1st Grade, Huntingtowne Farms Elementary School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Synopsis

In this unit students will learn feelings/emotions vocabulary words and actions. They will learn how to identify their feelings and character feelings. Students will learn how to write about their feelings and explain why they are expressing those feelings. They will learn how to determine character’s feelings while reading fiction stories by looking at the illustration and text.
The lessons will also include movement, music and gestures.

2021 Curriculum Units Vol 4: Embodied Teaching and Learning

Embodied linguistics and “Papel Picado” in the Spanish I class

Milagros Ugueto, Spanish, Independence High School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Synopsis

read more »
2021 Curriculum Units Vol 4: Embodied Teaching and Learning

Think, Sense and Move: An Exploration of a French Song and Several Francophone Paintings

Pam Shembo, 5th Grade, South Academy of International Languages

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Synopsis

read more »
2021 Curriculum Units Vol 4: Embodied Teaching and Learning

Moving Towards Mindfulness: Social Emotional Regulation through Movement

Taylor Woods, 6th Grade, Whitewater Middle School

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Synopsis

read more »
2020 Curriculum Units Vol 7: Mindfulness & Education: Transforming Learning Through Awareness

Listen, Breath and Move: A Curriculum Unit on Mindfulness Practices In the Classroom

Danyeal Morrison, 2nd Grade, Ballantyne Elementary

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Synopsis

read more »

2020 Curriculum Units Vol 8: Black Girl Magic (Mis)Understood: Representations and Perceptions of Black Women and Girls in the Education System

Moving up: Learning to move and moving to learn

Darian Redfearn, 3rd Grade, Mountain Island Lake Academy

Curriculum Unit (PDF)

Synopsis

read more »

2015 Vol 1: Exercise and the Brain

How Exercise Affects the Brain and Academic Performance of Elementary School Students

Ted Miracle, Fifth Grade, Grand Oak Elementary School

Final Unit(pdf)   Implementing Teaching Standards(pdf)

read more »

2015 Vol 1: Exercise and the Brain

I Just Want to Move It, Move It

Tracie D. Cooper, Fourth Grade, Hidden Valley Elementary School

Final Unit(pdf)   Implementing Teaching Standards(pdf)

read more »

2015 CTI News Vol 1: Exercise and the Brain

Algernon’s Exercise Regimen

Molly McCarthy, Language Arts, Piedmont IB Middle School

Final Unit(pdf)   Implementing Teaching Standards(pdf)

read more »

2015 CTI News Vol 1: Exercise and the Brain

Learning through Movement: Applying Exercise Education and Movement Activities in a Library Setting

Deborah Yu-Yuk Jung, Media Skills, Winding Springs Elementary

Final Unit(pdf)   Implementing Teaching Standards(pdf)

read more »