Music & Dance
Overview
Connecting information to music and dance can support Short-term and Long-term Memory by engaging auditory processes, Emotions, and physical activity. When students create their own songs and corresponding dance moves, they are using creative cognitive processes that encourage them to reflect on how to represent what they are learning.
Example: Use This Strategy in the Classroom
Watch how these elementary students perform a song and dance to practice their Alphabet Knowledge. Through movement and rhythm, these students are able to practice the letters and sounds of the alphabet.
Design It into Your Product
Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.
Learn how Toca Dance Free allows learners to create instrumental songs and choreograph dance moves in a playful environment. Through this engaging and fun activity, learners can explore and create their own understandings of content.
References: Music & Dance
Chou, M. H. (2014). Assessing English vocabulary and enhancing young English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' motivation through games, songs, and stories. Education 3-13, 42(3), 284-297.
Fisher, D., McDonald, N., & Strickland, J. (2001). Early literacy development: A sound practice. General Music Today, 14(3), 15-20.
Fitzpatrick, K. R. (2012). Cultural diversity and the formation of identity: Our role as music teachers. Music Educators Journal, 98(4), 53-59.
Hudson, T. (2017). Six strategies to reach, teach, and close math gaps for Latino English language learners in elementary and middle school. Bellevue, WA: DreamBox Learning.
Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind, 2nd edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Kraus, N. (2016). Music, hearing, and education: From the lab to the classroom. ENT and Audiology News, 25(4), 94, 96.
McClelland, M. M., Cameron, C. E., Connor, C. M., Farris, C. L., Jewkes, A. M., & Morrison, F. J. (2007). Links between behavioral regulation and preschoolers' literacy, vocabulary, and math skills. Developmental Psychology, 43(4), 947–959.
Opprezzo, M., & Schwartz, D.L. (2014). Give your ideas some legs: The positive effect of walking on creative thinking. The Journal of Experimental Psychology, 40(4), 1142-1152.
Smith, J. A. (2000). Singing and songwriting support early literacy instruction. The Reading Teacher, 53(8), 646-649.
Thompson, S. D., & Raisor, J. M. (2013). Meeting the sensory needs of young children. Young Children, 68(2), 34-43.
Vist, T. (2011). Music experience in early childhood: Potential for emotion knowledge?. International Journal of Early Childhood, 43(3), 277-290.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Multisensory Supports Strategies
Listening comprehension and Decoding are the foundational components of reading comprehension.
Communication boards are displays of graphics (e.g., pictures, symbols, illustrations) and/or words where learners can gesture or point to the displays to extend their expressive language potential.
Dictionaries and thesauruses can serve as resources for students to expand their Vocabulary knowledge.
Adding motions to complement learning activates more cognitive processes for recall and understanding.
Providing physical representations of concepts helps activate mental processes.
Brain breaks that include movement allow learners to refresh their thinking and focus on learning new information.
We take in information through all our senses.
Research shows physical activity improves focus and creativity.
Incorporating multiple senses with strategies like chewing gum, using a vibrating pen, and sitting on a ball chair supports focus and Attention.
Using earplugs or headphones can increase focus and comfort.
Providing tools so learners can choose to listen to a text supports individual strengths and needs.
Tossing a ball, beanbag, or other small object activates physical focus in support of mental focus.
Visual supports, like text magnification, colored overlays, and guided reading strips, help students focus and properly track as they read.
Web-based dictionaries and thesauruses can serve as visual and audio resources for students to expand their Vocabulary knowledge.
Word sorts are multisensory activities that help learners identify patterns and group words based on different categories.
