Walking, running and marching are similar and three of the important basic rhythmic motor skills that help develop right-left brain connections, a prerequisite for learning to read amongst other skills. These three large rhythmic motor skills precede galloping and skipping in difficulty. I found it interesting that even when my kids were tested for kindergarten readiness they were asked to skip. If they could, they were assigned to the reading readiness group.

The whole series beginning with the easiest to most complex includes: walking, running, marching, galloping, sliding, hopping, jumping, leaping, pedaling, prancing, toe pointing, skipping, waltzing, minuet, schottische, polka.

For kids that have learning disabilities, assist by holding one or both their hands while they practice any of the motor skills.

Walking, running and marching are all done alternating right and left foot and arm movements. The arms move in the cross-crawling pattern that develops right-left brain coordination. It goes like this: when the right leg moves forward the opposite arm, the left arm, moves forward. And, when the left leg moves forward the right arm swings forward.

While the students are first practicing the lessons the arms can be held out to the side for balance instead of in the opposition position.

Lessons:

Preparation: enough space for the kids to move without bumping into furniture. Some ideas are the front of the classroom with furniture scooted back; the center of the room; the wooden stage in a multi-purpose room; outdoors on the grass or on blacktop. Last choice for a surface is concrete as it has no give for bouncing movements.

Walking lesson:

Have the students stand in a group with or without a partner to assist with balance.

The common element in walking, running and marching is alternately stepping on right and left foot.

Start out with asking the students to walk toward you as a group. Then ask them to turn toward their right shoulder to face the side of the room. That is a clockwise movement for them. Then walk toward the right side of the room.

Next ask the students to turn forward and toward their left shoulder and face the other side of the room. This is a counterclockwise movement for them. Now walk to the other side of the room.

Finally, ask students to again turn forward and toward their right shoulder and walk back to the center of the room and to finish by turning toward their left shoulder and again facing front in the position they began.

Marching lesson:

Repeat the above sequence with marching instead of walking steps. In the march, one leg bends at the knee with the thigh parallel to the floor. At first keep arms out to the sides for balance, later swing in opposition as described above.

Running lesson:

This is a more advanced lesson as the students will be moving forward and backward all the while facing in the beginning direction.

Have the group of students begin at the back of the room facing you. Ask them to run forward when you clap and stop when you clap.

When you clap again the students stay facing you but run backwards till your next clap signals them to stop.

Repeat the sequence of running forward, stopping, then running backward and stopping.

All the lessons include more than the motor skills themselves; they require students to pay attention to the sequences and verbal directions and learn clockwise and counterclockwise directions, and moving forward and backward.

All 16 basic rhythmic motor skills and dances for practice are in my book:
Rhythms and Dances for School Age Kids


Article by Susan Kramer