Dance a Book is a teaching method that engages children through movement and reading.
 

The method has been created in a collaboration between the Choreographer and Dance Teacher Sophia Färlin-Månsson and the State Library of Uppsala, Sweden partially funded by the Swedish art council.

 

It is a continuance of the project Knacka På! (Knock, Knock, Knock!) that begun in 2011 and was used in more than 200 workshops throughout Sweden. 

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Its main purpose is to develop childrens reading comprehension through creative dance.

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Since 2017 Dance a Book has been established in Pre-schools, Schools and Libraries all over Sweden. Up to now Sophia Färlin-Månsson and Matilda Johansson have held more than 300 Dance a Book-workshops for children ages 3-9 years old.

 

Sophia Färlin-Månsson have produced online curriculum's for European schoolteachers thru the project ARTinEducation and held several online lectures on the subject

She has also held workshops in European countries and is currently planning for workshops in HongKong and USA.
 

The methodology is being taught in a curriculum for teachers at the University of Gothenburg. Dance a Book also offer lectures for Teachers and Librarians who are interested in applying the method into their curriculum.

A workshop for children may have up to 20 children and last for about 45 minutes.

Ideally, we use a clean space with as little furniture as possible.The workshop combines reading, discussion, improvisation, body language, spatial awareness and collaboration.

The way the method empowers the children is by hearing the text, speaking the text and dancing the text. By embodying the book the children get a higher comprehension of language and reading.

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We begin by choosing a book appropriate for the age combined with special music written by Peter Lagergren and continue onward into the world of reading thru dance.