101 Movement Words: A Fantastic List for Teachers

Just what you wanted...

if we're going to incorporate movement into any part of our work with children we need a list of movement words to inspire our teaching.  

This is my brainstormed list

Most of the words are everyday movement words.  A few of them are actual dance movements.

The list is loooooong.

This week at MakeMeMusical, I will share a few musical movement activities and 

you will need this list of words to bring them to life.

If you want to know why movement is important in children's music experiences

check out last week's MakeMeMusical blog posts.

Read this post, this post, this post, this post and this post.

locomotor

(movement that travels from one space to another space)

1.     walk

2.     run

3.     jog

4.     fly

5.     stroll

6.     meander

7.     tiptoe

8.     skip

9.     step

10. leap

11. jump

12. roll

13. snake

14. creep

15. crawl

16. wriggle

17. grow

18. dash

19. drive

20. move

21. zigzag

22. slide

23. waltz

24. hop

25. climb

26. gallop

27. tumble

28. skate

29. march

30. stomp

31. polka

32. shuffle

33. waddle

34. trip

35. flip

36. moonwalk

37. grapevine

38. cat-walk

39. bear-walk (dinosaur walk)

40. scamper

41. prance

42. slither

43. schottische

44. two-step

45. waltz run

46. step hop

47. scoot

48. crab walk

49. lame puppy walk

non- locomotor

(movement on the spot without going anywhere)

1.     wave

2.     rub

3.     sink

4.     rise

5.     melt

6.     bend

7.     stretch

8.     twist

9.     swing

10. push

11. pull

12. rock

13. balance

14. shake

15. float

16. duck

17. dodge

18. jab

19. poke

20. shove

21. carve

22. mold

23. freeze

24. wiggle

25. turn

26. fall

27. straighten

28. strike

29. chop

30. spin

31. kick

32. punch

33. hit

34. wring

35. tickle

36. hug

37. hang

38. sway

39. open

40. close

41. flap

42. pluck

43. tap

44. grab

45. wrap

46. flick

47. pose

48. burst

49. glide

50. shrug

51. dig

52. shake