Darla Hanley's Music Room
Creative Teaching for Students of Today (& Tomorrow) PK-8
Today’s Teaching Strategy: Line It Up
(Line Dance)
Upper Elementary (3-5)
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
This teaching strategy is all about line dancing! It goes with a 1980 track by Kool and the Gang called “Take It to the Top” because this music inspires movin’ and groovin’ (lol).
This track is available on multiple streaming audio platforms. (Like many of my teaching strategies, you should feel free to find other audio tracks to anchor the learning experience using music that works in your setting or new tracks to simply “mix it up.”)
Pedagogical Foundations
Dancing is the best. It gets our hearts pumping and bodies filled with energy and excitement as we respond to musical sounds. If you’re like me, you can’t help but move to music; it happens automatically.
In my view line dances are the perfect vehicle for teaching group choreography WITH the opportunity to add personal pizzazz and interpretation. Have you ever been to a wedding or club when people rush to the dance floor when “that” song is played? Everyone is ready to bust a move and show their stuff (lol). Well, that’s the feeling I’m trying to capture every time I create (and lead) a line dance with music teachers or students.
Okay, so dancing is physical and taps into the kinesthetic learning modality, we know that. In music, this means that dancing provides a way for us to reinforce steady beat, tempo and style, all while engaging in art making with others. It is a 100% partnership between 2 art forms (music and dance)—and students should know and experience that combination.
Line dancing is approachable for students due to its repetition and structure. Plus, everyone is performing the same movements at the same time. For me, there’s something about being part of this type of dancing AND watching everyone else perform the same moves with me that is compelling.
When leading a line dance consider these things:
Set the formation and if possible, position your strongest dancers in the front line at the start of the dance. In that placement they will informally lead their peers.
Teach dance by “mirroring” for students.
ProTIP: Mirroring dance steps = verbally instructing students to move to the right, with you performing the movement to the left. That way everyone is moving in the same direction. It takes a bit of practice, but is much better than having your back to the students!
Teach dance steps without music at first to present them slowly and build up to the tempo of the music before adding a recording.
Once the dance is learned, encourage free interpretation. This could be adding things like a 3-step-turn, extra hip gesture, or clap. Creating a personal touch like this is fun!
Today’s teaching strategy “Line It Up” includes an original line dance and space for students to show their moves. I hope you give it a try with your students. But first, let me remind you who I am:
Hi! I’m Darla, an experienced PK-12 music educator, college professor, and former Berklee College of Music Dean looking to connect with teachers, parents/caregivers, and others seeking to advance creative music making for today’s students—and their teachers. In Darla Hanley’s Music Room you will find teaching strategies, advice and teaching tips, playlists, and more.
Today we are going to line dance to a song called “Take It to the Top”. A line dance is the type of dance performed by everyone as a group—standing (and dancing) in lines.
Direct students to come to the open space in the classroom and form lines/rows all facing in the same direction:
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Teach the “Line It Up” dance step sequence below without the recording. (Video provided to make it easy!)
Now we are going to add music! Play the recording of “Take It to the Top” by Kool and the Gang and provide a verbal cue to direct students when to begin dancing.
ProTIP: Model grooving during the intro an begin dancing when the vocal enters (0.16).
Now that we know the dance, let’s personalize it! What does it mean to personalize something? (Make it your/our own).
Invite students to offer ideas for ways to personalize the line dance—and offer suggestions, as needed to guide them.
ProTIP: By personalizing the dance students have the opportunity to create new moves and/or enhance the existing moves. This can be individuals personalizing OR creating a personalized version of the line dance for this particular class/group of students.
ProTIP: If you had individual classes/groups of students create a personalized line dance, have them showcase their dances at a school assembly or performance. It will be fun for students to see how their peers in other classes altered their dance!
Line It Up Dance
© 2025 Darla S. Hanley
Step R foot forward (tap) and bring feet together with 2 pointer fingers gesture
Step R foot to the R (tap) and bring feet together with 2 pointer fingers gesture
Step L foot forward (tap) and bring feet together with 2 pointer fingers gesture
Step L foot to the L (tap) and bring feet together with 2 pointer fingers gesture
Repeat.
Grapevine to the R and clap
Grapevine to the L and clap
Repeat.
Groove for 8 beats turning to the L until facing a new direction
Repeat from the top!