Dance: As A Way of Knowing (Strategies for Teaching and Learning Professional Library) - Softcover

Jennifer Donohue Zakkai illuminates why and how dance is a powerful tool for learning and creativity in K-6 classrooms. In this "workshop on paper" you'll discover how to build on what you already know about movement, and implement techniques to tap into children's natural appetite for moving.Zakkai addresses the challenges of engaging students in full-bodied motion in the classroom. She focuses first on helping students become responsible movers in the space, then offers structured learning experiences that demand a high level of concentration and creativity. Through verbal prompts-not demonstrations-that involve students in creative problem-solving, students learn through discovery instead of imitation. You don't have to be a dancer to use the detailed model lessons that guide you through warm-ups, movement explorations, rich curricular integrations, culminating activities, observation and reflection. To help your students understand curriculum content, express themselves in creative ways, and learn about dance as an art form, Dance as a Way of Knowing offers a progression of strategies that will make this vibrant discipline come alive in your classroom.

Jennifer Donohue Zakkai has served as an artist educator for the Galef Institute, conducting professional development dance workshops for teachers across the country and working as a field coach. During her career as a modern dance performer, educator, and choreographer in New York City, she was a member of the Don Redlich Dance Company, and worked as an educator-facilitator with elementary teachers and students as part of Artists in the Schools residencies. Zakkai also chaired the dance department at Sarah Lawrence College. She is presently working on her first novel.