Minds in Motion: A Kinesthetic Approach to Teaching Elementary Curriculum / Edition 1

by Susan Griss

Overview

Kids love to move. They use their bodies to play, communicate, and express emotions. In Minds in Motion, Susan Griss shows teachers how they can channel this kinesthetic language into constructive learning experiences, demonstrating what a natural route physicality can be to content area instruction.

Minds in Motion introduces elementary teachers to the process of identifying, creating, and implementing lessons that encourage students to learn by using their bodies as well as their minds. It covers a range of subjects that includes science, math, language arts, history, conflict resolution, and more. Through the use of specific examples, Griss illustrates the benefits of physicalizing academic concepts, including how movement:

• makes learning tangible, accessible, and memorable
• cultivates critical thinking and the use of higher-level thinking skills
• demands both individual decision making and group interaction
• encourages students to make use of their own experiences and observations as a foundation for knowledge
• stimulates creative and dynamic energy in the classroom.

An ideal resource for both preservice and inservice teachers, Minds in Motion offers practical advice and support for teachers who have no experience with movement and inspiration for those who already use movement in the classroom, but are looking for new and imaginative ways to transform lessons into creative kinesthetic experiences.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780325000343
Publisher:	Heinemann
Publication date:	03/16/1998
Series:	Teacher-to-Teacher Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	5 - 10 Years

About the Author

Susan Griss teaches on the faculty of Bank Street College of Education, Lesley University, and in the education department of the Kennedy Center. She is also the co-director of the Arts and Curriculum Institute at Skidmore. Rooted in her background as a dancer and choreographer, her successful methods of teaching elementary curriculum through creative movement have been presented to principals, classroom teachers, teaching artists and pre-service teachers throughout the U.S. As a veteran teaching artist, Ms. Griss has been working with children in the public schools for more than twenty years. Visit her website at www.mindsinmotion.org

Table of Contents

Every Child Wants to Move
From Muscles to the Brain: Dissecting a Lesson
Structuring the Lesson: Space, Control, Time, and Format
Assessment: Evaluating the Mind in Motion
Not Every Teacher Wants to Move: Using Nonmovement Resources
Lesson Plans:
Language Arts; Social Studies; Science; Math; Multicultural Curriculum; Design; Mediation Skills and Conflict Resolution
Appendixes:
A. Stories That Move Us
B. Suggested Music to Accompany Kinesthetic Lessons
C. Suggested Reading

Editorial Reviews

I wish I could insert a little video clip here of me acting out my enthusiasm for this book.”–Education Review

From the Publisher