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Friday, June 22, 2012

Dancing Throughout the Day, Part 4

FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 2012

DANCING THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Part 4: 'Run' Rhymes With 'Fun'! -- A Movement Exploration Activity that Addresses Early Language and Literacy

DANCING THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Part 4: A Movement Exploration Activity that Addresses Early Language and Literacy

Hello EC Community,

As a way to further my passion for offering many different dance opportunities to children, this blog entry is the fourth in a series of activities based on the daily routine of young children. They are simple and ready to use!

Today begins a series of four activities that specifically address Early Childhood Learning Standards. We will begin with English Language Arts, and in the next three blog entries, I will present activities that address Mathematics and Counting, Science, and Social Studies.

'Run' Rhymes With 'Fun'! combines an energetic, large-motor skills activity with awareness of rhyming words. The children will guess and then perform the movement that rhymes with each suggested word.

'Run' Rhymes With 'Fun'!

Adapted from One, Two, What Can I Do? Dance and Music for the Whole Day (Redleaf Press, 2011)

JUMP!

What You Need: A large space, indoors or outside, and the list of words below.

What You Do:

With the children sitting or standing, talk briefly about what an action word is and what a rhyming word is. Say to them:

Action words describe a movement you can do, such as 'climb' or 'throw.' Can you think of some other action words? Rhyming words are words that have similar sounds, such as these pairs of words: 'climb' and 'rhyme,' and 'throw' and 'toe.' Let's think of some other pairs of rhyming words.

With the children, review the following list of action words and the words that rhyme with them:

Action Word Rhyming Word

Walk Chalk

March Arch

Run Fun

Gallop Scallop

Slide Wide

Shake Bake

Jump Bump

Hop Pop

Prance Pants

For children ages five and up, here are two more pairs of action words and rhyming words:

Skip Dip

Leap Deep

SHAKE!

Now, line the children up side by side, with plenty of room between each child, along one end of the room. Say to them:

We're going to try some big movements across the floor, but before we do we'll play a guessing game. I'm going to say a word, and you guess the action word that rhymes with it. Once you have guessed the right action word, you can all do that movement across to the other side of the room. Remember to slow down before you get there, so you are ready to stop when you reach the other side!

Go through the list several times, in random order. You may also do this activity one by one, with a child guessing the next rhyming word and then performing the movement across the floor by himself.

MARCH!

Note that many of the action words (like 'walk,' 'shake,' 'hop') have a number of words that rhyme with them. You can expand this activity by asking the children for more rhymes for certain action words, or by thinking up new action words and words that rhyme with them. To stop the activity at any time, simply say, "Freeze, please!"