Movement and Arts

Meeting the Diverse Needs of Gifted & Talented Learners

Janet Draper

DPS GT Itinerant Teacher

October 5, 2009

Movement & the Arts• Prepares the mind for learning• Internalize concepts• Enhances understanding• Builds mental flexibility• Adds variety and fun• Addresses active learning styles• Meets the needs of Visual-spatial, kinesthetic,

ELL, and special needs students

Established Programs

• Roger Taylor Integrated Units• Kagan • Brain Gym• Language!• Arts Integration in IB• Fluency Fast- TPR-Storytelling• Many local practitioners

Workshop will Cover:

Facts & Studies that support Arts &

Movement

Activities and Examples

Classroom set up

Arts and Achievement

• Study 1: Arts improves academics• http://

www.dkfoundation.org/pdf/profilesofsuccess-3-4-2008.pdf

• Recent Colorado study • Profiles eight schools that are closing the

achievement gap. All of the schools offered music programs and most provided creative and performing arts.

Study 2: Arts improves engagement

2008 Colorado Council on the Arts andColorado Department of Education study showed schools

that offer more arts education have higher academicachievement and lower dropout rates.

www.coloarts.orgwww.cde.state.co.us

Study 3: Adults value the arts education

May 2005 Harris National Poll on the attitudes of Americans toward arts education

revealed the public strongly supports arts:

93% arts are vital to a well-rounded education

86% say arts assisted in the improvements of attitudes toward school

www.aep-arts.org

Structured Movement & Creative Arts

Reinforce Higher-Level Thinking

Academic Achievement & the Arts

New information

• Daniel Pink John Ratey

Daniel Pink: A Whole New Mind

Daniel Pink, Arts, and Movement

• In the Conceptual Age, the logical-sequential left brain will no longer be sufficient. The right-brain can interpret many things simultaneously.

• We’ll need an integrated brain

Integrated brain that does:• Work that overseas workers cannot do

cheaper• Thinking that computers can’t do faster• High-concept, high-touch thinking that

satisfies the aesthetic, emotional, and spiritual demands of a prosperous time.

Pink suggests “PLAY”

• p. 178 “When you are playful, you are activating the right side of your brain. The logical brain is a limited brain. The right side is unlimited. You can be anything you want” says Dr. Madan Kataria of India.

• Games, humor, and joyfulness can help lead to sophisticated thinking.

Spark• The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and

the Brain by John Ratey, MD and Eric Hagerman• Ratey is a clinical associate professor of

psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

• JohnRatey.com

Exercise makes one smarter

Exercise

• Exercise…makes the brain function at its best.

• The point of exercise is to build and condition the brain.

• The relationship between food, physical activity, and learning is hardwired into the brain.

• Spark, page 3

Exercise increases levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine

—important neurotransmitters that traffic in thoughts and emotions.

Brains respond like muscles do, growing with use,

withering with inactivity.

…exercise causes the neuron connections to grow

and bloom with new buds, thus enhancing brain function at a

fundamental level.”

The more complex the (exercise) movements, the more complex the synaptic connections.

And even though these circuits are created through movement,

they can be recruited by other areas and used for thinking, p. 56

Brain Rules- 12 rulesby John Medina

www.brainrules.net

• Ancestors walked 12 miles a day• Rule #1 Exercise boosts brain power• Rule #3 Every brain is wired differently• Rule # 9 Stimulate more of the senses- Sensory integration is important to

learning.

Directly opposed to brain

• Current classrooms• Stressful cubicle offices• Driving with cell phone

• Suggests Multisensory school lessons• Treadmills in classrooms and offices• Recess twice a day

How Much Exercise?

• 2-3 times per week for 30 minutes• 6 times per week for at least 30 minutes• Strenuous exercise that increases heart

rate• Aerobic exercise• Day-long movement still beneficial

Exercise

Please advocate:

Movement/Exercise: Before and after schoolIn the classroom and class dayAs part of our instructional tools (Water, Sleep, Nutritious Food)

Activities & Examples:1. Language Arts2. Science3. Math

Language Arts

• Long Vowels– a trip to Elitches• Limerick - 3-Step Limerick poem• Tic-Tac-Toe: movement choice• Visualization & literature• One-pager - AVID• Tableaux: Romeo & Juliet

Science

• Draw and color world• Walk the Heart – Mamie Garceo• Whirligig – Scientific Method – Cheryl

Joseffy and DPS Integrated Arts team

Scientific Method

Human Whirligigs

• Explain Scientific Method• Display a whirligig• Small groups draw 5-step tasks• Small groups physicalize steps• Perform as human whirligigs

Math

• Crop Circles- Bridgette Russell Weiss• String art – equation-based- Weiss• Rope angles – Jane Page• Algebra – order of operations

Classroom Logistics

• Number tables and desks • Flexible grouping• Small groups can move at once• Clear expectations• Teach no-mouth + movement• Age-appropriate• Stop! If inappropriate

Room arrangement

• “Patio” – standing area• Clipboards for sitting or standing• Glide rocker (with turns)• Teach sit or stand options• Learning centers• Small group options• Establish routines

Non-competitive Games

• Non-competitive Games• Build cooperation, teamwork, and

communication skills• Principal Greta Martinez asked Janis Ward

to design the games• Games establish a caring school climate

Grant Games- Janis Ward