Movement Sequence

When I heard last week that Prince had passed away, I knew that I wanted to use some of his music with my groups.  I also wanted to implement a new movement experience.  So, like a good therapist I decided to combine the 2!  This music therapy experience works on a variety of skills such as increasing motor skills, following directions, sequencing, making choices, counting, and working as a group.

Music Therapy Experience Name:

Movement Sequence

Materials Needed:

-music with a strong, steady beat such as Prince's "Raspberry Beret" (I use recorded music so that I can model the movements)

-pictures of different movements (see below)

-velcro board (optional)

-dry erase board (optional)

Making Movement Choice Cards:

-I used boardmaker and google images to find images that I liked. 

-Print out a variety of pictures representing movements such as clap hands, pat knees, stomp feet, roll hands, move arms, raise the roof, shake hands, snap, etc.  These can be tailored to your groups' needs and abilities.  See below for the images that I use.

-Laminate and cut pictures to create individual cards

-Add velcro if desired

Procedures:

-Introduce the movement choices

-Explain that each person will choose a movement to create a sequence that the group will do together.

-Invite each student to choose a movement

-Arrange the cards, in the order chosen, so that everyone can see them.  This could be on a velcro board, on the table or floor in front of them, etc..

-Tell the group that each movement will be done for 8 counts and that the sequence will be repeated over and over until the end of the song.

-Practice doing each movement for 8 counts without the music.

-Turn on music and model doing each movement, in order, for 8 counts each.

Variations:

-If you do not want to make pictures, you can ask students to name or demonstrate a movement that you or the student can then write on a dry erase board.

-You can use any music that you think will be motivating to your group!

-Change the number of times you do the sequence to 16 to allow for students with slower processing times or decrease the number of times for each movement to 4 to make it more challenging.

-Here is a link to a website that has some fun pictures of different dance moves.

http://susanfitchdesign.blogspot.com/search?q=do+as+I%27m+doing

This experience is really flexible and adaptable!  I find it a great way to use music that my clients suggest, but that I can't figure out a way to make meaningful and goal oriented. 

Liz and Sue