My 10 favorite songs for teaching Children K-6!
(listed in no particular order)
01
Momentum by Opus Orange
The younger grades loves this one especially! It is a bouncy song that brings a lot of great energy into the student's movement with it's simplicity and energy.
02
Better When I'm Dancin' by Meghan Trainor
I have loved using this for a warm-up because it just sets an optimistic mood about dancing and moving which is always appreciated when teaching in the schools.
03
The Sloth by Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe
This one is great for an exploratory movement portion of the lesson. I personally used this one with my space lessons. The children loved it!
04
Optimist by Zoe Keating
I haven't used this song for a lesson yet, but I have for an improvisational section with older children/youth but I think it could work well in some cases with younger grades too. I really love the sounds. (The live version by the same person is also a favorite and a little different from the original.)
05
WALL*E by Thomas Newman
I love using this because it has so many interesting sounds in it. It also has a lot of rests in the song, which would be fun to play with freezing or just a natural cue for students to change something about their movement. Fun possibilities with this one.
06
Wreck-It Ralph by Henry Jackman
This one is very simple and has a happy sound. This one is fun for exploration or just warming up the students.
07
First Flight by Henry Jackman
Who doesn't love a little Big Hero 6? There are a few others from this movie that I like. This just has a very explosive and high-energy sound that I love using with the younger grades.
08
Fun, Fun, Fun by Pharrell Williams
I used this in my Hibernation and Migration lesson plan when exploring the season of Summer. The lyrics to this song are not only clever, but it's a fun and happy song. I love the energy that comes out of the student's movement when this song comes on.
09
You're Gonna Find it Hard to Believe by Geoff Zanelli
This one was used in my Hibernation and Migration lesson plan. They danced to this for their own choreographic works along with "Our Kid" by the same artist.
10
Three Worlds: Music From Woolf Works/Orlando: VI. Orlando: Modular Astronomy by Max Richter and others
I know, it's quite the title. But I wish I would've used this one for our Rock Cycle dance. I found it afterwards and just thought that the students would've really enjoyed it dancing to this one.