Enhancing Learning Through Movement

To keep your students engaged despite the excitement of the holidays AND to help them learn more efficiently and retain learning longer, consider adding some movement to your classroom.

Why should you add movement?  

• ·         A much-referenced study from 1976 showed that students can focus on a teacher lecturing for 10-18 minutes before their mind wanders. Note: this was before computers, phones, headphones, DVDs, video games, etc., etc., etc.).
• ·         In a nutshell, movement and exercise facilitate learning.
• ·          Do you want a more scientific reason? John J. Ratey, MD, author of Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, says that exercise “[first] optimizes your mind-set to improve alertness, attention, and motivation; second, it prepares and encourages nerve cells to bind to one another, which is the cellular basis for logging in new information; and, third, it spurs the development of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus.”

What are some easy ways to integrate movement into your lesson?

• ·         In a math or science class, have students use their bodies to measure things around the room and report the results. Example: “This diagram is five pinkies long.”
• ·         Play Simon Says game with content you have just covered: “Simon says point to the square root. Simon says point to five things in this room that are the color ‘rojo.’” “Simon says to point toward a word that could be used as a metaphor.”
• ·         Model a move-around system using memory cue words. For example, “Move to the place in the room where we first learned about the life cycle of. . .”
• ·         Use a ball toss for a review.
•          Have students do arm and leg crossover activities that can force both of their brain hemispheres to “talk” to each other better. “Pat your head and rub your belly” is an example of a crossover activity. Other examples include marching in place while patting opposite knees, patting yourself on the opposite shoulder, and touching opposite elbows or heels. Even better, have them recite or review new learning while patting and rubbing.

(The above were adapted from  http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104013/chapters/Movement-and-Learning.aspx, taken from Teaching with the Brain in Mind, 2nd Edition by Eric Jensen, Chapter 4. Movement and Learning) 

•  Chalk Talks or Graffiti Wall, in which students read their peers' ideas and add their own
•  Gallery Walks, in which students walk around the room, reading texts or graphic organizers posted on the wall, and adding their own ideas, either on the poster or in their notes
• Musical Mingle—ask students to stand. When music starts, they should find  a partner and answer a designated question.  When the music stops, they must find a new partner, share their answers, and answer a new question.

(The above were adapted from http://kennycmckee.com/five-movement-strategies-in-the-high-school-classroom/)

•  Move small groups of students around the room to the white board or poster paper.  Give a problem or a question, and have them record a response.  They step back, and then others examine their responses.
•  Ask students to pair up and walk around the building or down the hall while reviewing specific content. Tell them that you will cold-call on students to share when the return.
•  Ask students to create a tableau, a living image representing a concept. They form this with their bodies, as in a small group depicting the life cycle of a plant

More Resources

    

•       Go to http://kennycmckee.com/five-more-strategies-to-get-students-moving/
•          Get a copy of Energizing Brain Breaks by David Sladkey
•       Your Health and Fitness teachers