Movement is a staple in the general music room! From rhythmic marching to fluid arm exploration, movement activities are a great way for students to practice musical concepts or learn about a new culture. Here are a few of our favorite movement resources.
This book is a best seller for a reason. “Creative Dances for All Ages” is filled with dance fundamentals, helpful hits, lessons, exercises, and more. The book includes web access to printable lesson plans, video segments, editable forms, and templates. Take your classroom movement to the next level!
The “It Moves Me, Vol. 1” CD explores dance warm-ups, cultural styles, and contrasting meters. Featuring music from Brazil to India, and Japan to the Middle East. Each track offers opportunities for improvisation of movement as well as an exploration of cultural style.
Phyllis Weikart is one of the country’s leading authorities on movement-based active learning and recreational folk dance. Featuring over 130 step-by-step dance notations, this book provides teaching progressions to help students develop comfort with movement and steady beat independence. Great for all ages, from preschool to adult.
These 9 CDs are chock full of beginning traditional folk dance music. While these discs were created to accompany Weikart’s Teaching Movement and Dance, the variety of styles can be used over and over with a variety of movement activities. The real instrument recordings are a great way to bring traditional music to your movement curriculum.
Five movement favorites bundled into one! The New England Dancing Masters books include a variety of dance types, including circle, square, contra, and more! The books detail dance descriptions and teaching tips, while the CDs have all the high-quality recordings needed to perform them.
This new movement book is sure to become a quick favorite among teachers. The 11 traditional folk dances from around the world are perfectly suited for elementary-aged students. Teachers will appreciate the wealth resources that come with this book: demo videos, live recordings, projectable PDFs, piano arrangements, and printable worksheets!
An oldie, but a goodie! “The Handy Play Party Book” remains a favorite on workshop book lists for its easy-to-follow directions for singing games and counting dances of the North American pioneer days. From line dances to circle games, these games remain a favorite in elementary classrooms.
Whether you are a new teacher looking to build your movement library or a experienced teacher discovering a new resource, we have a variety of movement books, CDs, and DVDs to explore. You just might find your new favorite dance!
Jessica Palmer is our Education Consultant for Music and Books. She has been teaching preschool and elementary music programs for several years, most recently in a general music classroom in Iowa. She is an active musical director for community theater working with both children and adults. At West Music, Jessica enjoys finding new ways to use storybooks in the classroom and helping teachers find the perfect resources to add to their curriculum.
