What's the story?
Betty A. Block's 2001 paper, "Literacy Through Movement: An Organizational Approach," provided me with many insights into the practical application of movement and reading comprehension. Block cites two theories of learning to support her work, socio-psycholinguistic reading theory and the ecological theory of motor learning. "Socio-psycholinguistic reading theory is the idea that non-visual information in the form of background knowledge is the best route to comprehension and retention of information," (p. 40). According to Block, the psycho-social nature of interaction with others impacts reading comprehension. "The ecological theory of motor learning...describes the relationship between individual perceptions and environmental influences on motor learning, including social and physical environments," (p. 40). Block synthesizes these two theories to recognize "...the importance of integrating background knowledge and dynamic external conditions [to] provide meaningful learning experiences..." (p. 40).
Deeper levels of understanding are achieved when literary concepts are presented through physical activity because using psychomotor applications to integrate the cognitive and affective domains involves the whole child in the education process. (pp. 40 - 41)
Block then goes on to describe a five level multi-leveled system that combines the creation of movement with reading and writing. These range from activities at the pre-literate level, learning to recognize sounds and associate them with movements; to 12th graders embodying literature through movement. Provided are practical strategies for each of the five levels, including examples and additional resources.
Is it useful?
This work could be extremely useful for high school English. For example, the fourth level, referred to as the syntactic level, "...involves the construction of grammatically correct sentences that provoke movement or that elicit feelings that can then be translated into physical action," (p. 44). This can be particularly useful in the teaching of poetry, which can be highly nuanced and tricky to discern. I see this working particularly well in a small group - one student is assigned to address meter and rhyme scheme, a second to imagery, a third to symbol, and a fourth to figurative language. Each is responsible for creating an action that corresponds with examples of their poetic element. The poem can then be read physically, with each student performing their actions at the appropriate point in the poem. It could allow for students to "see" the elements at work in the poem in an entirely new and more illuminating light.
Conclusion
I enjoyed reading Block's work - her paper had an excellent balance of theory and practical application. While her work was mainly focused on bringing reading into the dance studio, I think many of her ideas can be reversed. I look forward to trying some of her lessons in the English classroom.
References
Block, B.A. (2001). Literacy through movement: An organizational approach. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance, 72(1), 39 - 48.