Welcome to the Move it Groove it podcast, where we explore creative ways to incorporate movement into your elementary music classroom. Today's episode is all about adding more movement to your lessons.

First off, we'll be discussing the importance of movement for kids. Movement is not only a fun way to engage students but also helps with brain development, gross motor skills, and can even improve academic performance.

Next up, we'll be talking about the use of scarves in your music lessons. Scarves can be used for a variety of activities, such as tossing and catching to the beat, waving to the rhythm, and even creating choreographed dances.

Another great way to add movement to your classroom is through walking and jogging activities. These can be done in place or around the classroom and can be used to reinforce concepts such as tempo and rhythm.

Dance is another fun and effective way to incorporate movement. Not only does it promote physical fitness, but it also helps students develop coordination, balance, and teamwork skills.

For those looking to add an extra challenge, a musical obstacle course can be a great option. This can be set up using various objects around the classroom and can include activities such as jumping, hopping, and crawling.

Lastly, we'll discuss how you can use storybooks to add movement to your lessons. By incorporating movements and actions into the story, students can actively engage with the material and retain information better.

We hope these 9 ways to add more movement to your elementary music classroom have inspired you to get your students up and moving. Thank you for tuning in to the Move it Groove it podcast. Stay tuned for more fun and engaging ways to incorporate movement into your lessons.

What we talked about:

Pirates of the Caribbean lesson plan (with the Choose Your Own Adventure lesson plan bundle) 

Yoga Pretzel Cards 

Stories That Sing lesson plan resource book to find the lesson plans with lots of movement

Hungarian Dance No. 5