read to learn... dance to move

Read To Learn…Dance To Move: A Literacy and Movement Program for Preschool and Kindergarten Students

Read to Learn… Dance to Move is a curriculum-based program that promotes language, literacy, and movement by engaging students through tactile learning, creative thinking, and imagination. The program was developed with an early childhood specialist and incorporates the State of Ohio educational standards.

Goals:

• For children to learn about the arts, specifically dance
• Promote language and literacy development in young children through movement

It is expected that this program will improve children’s knowledge of:

• Dance forms
• Increase their awareness and control of their bodies
• Develop their oral vocabulary and literacy skills. 

Overview:

• Read to Learn…Dance to Move is intended for Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten students.
• Each class lasts 45 minutes and the program consists of 8 classes.
• 2 teaching artists lead each session
• Students’ achievement is measured through several assessment tools completed by the dance instructors. 
• This program makes learning enjoyable and enables students to incorporate movement into their day
• This work is supported by the Ohio Pre-Kindergarten Common Core English Language Arts Standards, the Ohio Kindergarten Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts,  and the Ohio Kindergarten Dance Standards. 

General Lesson Plan:

• Throughout the eight classes, the teaching artists introduce six forms of dance (Ballet, Tap, Jazz, African, Modern, and Hip Hop) to the students and incorporate a children’s book about the style of dance. 
• The book leads to an oral discussion of the story and the dance forms. 
• Next, the children experiment with each dance form. 
• Finally, the teaching artists work with the students to create a dance which retells the story from the book and perform the new dance in groups. 

At the end of the program every pre-k student will receive a copy of the book From Head to Toe by Eric Carle and every kindergarten student will receive a copy of the book Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae.  Students have been delighted by this gift!

Testimonials:

“My Class and I enjoyed the program very much. Ms. Anna our instructor was very knowledgeable. I learned from her as well as my students. One of my boys is very shy but by a few classes of the program he was so engaged with Ms. Anna and the program, he was answering her questions and dancing when it was time to dance. This could have not made me happier.” - Pre-K Teacher, Orchard STEM School

“The impact the program had on my students is greater than just an opportunity to dance. It required the students to control their movements, be self-aware/safe with their bodies and use their minds to understand and feel rhythms.” - Kindergarten Teacher, Adlai Stevenson Elementary

Bring Read To Learn... Dance To Move to your classroom!

Ages: Two specifically designed programs for Pre-K and Kindergarten students.

Duration: 6-8 sessions/35-45 min each

Max Participants: 30

Program Cost:

* Rates dependent on duration of program, number of students, and books needed. Discounts available if scheduling multiple classrooms in one day. Call DANCECleveland at 216.991.9000 for discounted rates and packages.

For more information or to schedule a program, please call DANCECleveland at 216.991.9000.