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Movement In The Classroom….Maybe More Accurately called Brain Boosts in the Classroom

Mitzi Cleary, OTD, OTR/L

Samantha Kinslow, PT

CDC study, There is substantial evidence that time spent for physical activity does not negatively impact academic performance. 2010.

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Classroom Lines/Classroom Jobs

Free Active Play….in School, this means Recess

Opportunities for Movement During the Day

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Activity

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Classroom Lines/Classroom Jobs

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Classroom Lines/Classroom Jobs...some thoughts

Theory - “Kids do well if they can”

Structure classroom jobs with the appropriate children
Not all jobs are for all students
Categorize the jobs with the children that need them

Heavy work jobs
Errand Jobs
In Classroom Jobs
Helper Jobs

Class Lines

Have structure help you
Assign A/B/C or 1/2/3 groups and this is your line up call
Use a transition to help reduce talking in line while moving in the hall, if this is a rule

Kids do well if they can (Dr. Ross Greene)……..All children want things that they can succeed with and not have anxiety. Not all jobs are for all children, so reduce the classroom stress

From Social Learning …...Words what we have used “Kids in this class do the jobs that are best for them to help the class work as team” “Our classroom works as a team/group and all parts are important for success”

Class Lines - put child in the first few that can directionally navigate and stop you line. Middle group are the movers, hands on wall kids, can’t navigate or attend. End of the line are the helpers and ones that attend to close the line.

Heavy Work Jobs (movers, full body feedback) : trash, stack chairs, hold/open the doors, carry books, take recycling,

Errand Job (know direction, follow multi steps, navigate) If needed send a helper:

In classroom jobs: need supervision or distracted - organize papers, erase board, get supplies, hang up items, pick up floor

Helper Jobs: children that can be secondary to the main job

For ex: I have a student that doesn’t understand the ‘social rules’ of walking the hallway, so everyday she is the milk helper….she walks with the student that goes to get the milk for snacks to learn routine hallway walking….this is her job everyday

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Activity

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Free Active Play….in School, this means Recess

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Free Active Play

Recess - an opportunity for children to move their bodies, make new friends, and jump into imaginary roles.

Why Recess?

Children need movement in all planes to develop a strong vestibular system. This supports all other senses, turning on the attention centers in the brain.

The Power of Recess to boost social, emotional, and academic skills

Children need time to dive into their imagination and creativity.

Children need to move on a variety of surfaces to challenge balance and work core strength.

Children need the opportunity to explore nature and brightly colored equipment can overstimulate the senses. - Hanscom, 2016

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Opportunities for Movement During the Day

The Brain actually needs time to store and process information that was received

Time Upfront to Embed Opportunities for Movement will help your endgame…..INFORMATION RECALL and REDUCED BEHAVIORS

Any of these terms are interchangeable. ALL children benefit from an Opportunity for Movement. Regulated movements like we are talking about are neurologically neutral.

These term brain breaks make it sound like kids are taking a break from learning all together, but movement and sensory input should not be considered a break from learning because they are actually so important to the learning process. From Neurologics, The Brain loves movement - big or small, the brain thrives off of it.

For children with sensory needs, this may be referred to as a sensory diet or sensory break. It is a time for them to gain the sensory input they need in their bodies to stay alert, on task, and focused and therefore be ready to learn.

Therefore instead of thinking of these times as a break from learning, we need to start thinking as these opportunities for movement as a time for brains to focus, become more alert and ready to learn! Maybe instead of brain breaks, brain boosts?

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Practical Strategies to Help with Embedding Movement

If you want to stress a new lesson or reteach a past skill….do a break with or before teaching to add dimension to it

WHY do we want to add dimension…...WHAT does that even mean????

Adding dimension increases the connection between the right and left sides of the brain...you are purposefully getting the information embedded more firmly and this connectivity reaches the Corpus Callosum and Middle Prefrontal Cortex

WAIT…...Corpus Callosum and Middle Prefrontal Cortex……...The HIGHEST learning centers of the brain…...responsible for information recall, integrating the right and left sides of the brain…..makes the wiring of information easier for recall

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Practical Strategies to Help with Embedding Movement

How Much, How Often……lots of research

Close to 3-5 minutes for every 30 min for adolescents
For school aged children…...age plus 1 is neurological attention to task then you need to change intensity

Ex: math stations, ELA stations
Ex: add movement to give the skill more dimension

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Movement Break Ideas to Incorporate

Brain Break Cards
Minute to Win It
Movement Based Breaks
If you do GoNoodle - try the Flow Channel

As the classroom teacher think of your tolerance of activity level, movement allowance, classroom structure, and your sensitivity level to determine what is best for your class. You have to be the one to determine this!

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Movement to Improve Self-Control

Freeze dance
Freeze shake
Giant steps/Simon says/Red light
Slow Motion Walking
Set Table
Deliver messages/books
Rolling to read/math
Playground swing
Sliding board
Scooter/Scooter board

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Activity

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5th Grade Class with a 3 teacher rotation

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SAMPLE

Ms. Murphy’s Class Schedule with _______________’s Movement Checklist

Arrival/Morning Meeting

_________________Go to bathroom

Morning Academic Instruction

________________50 trampoline jumps

Recess

_______________6-8 min. of heavy work task (e.g carrying 5 heavy objects across the room, stacking 10 chairs, cleaning large window or mirror, pulling weighted wagon down hall, etc)

Specials

________________Go to bathroom/10 situps

Lunch

________________F Go up and down a flight of stairs 5 times

Afternoon Academic Instruction

_______________10 pushups

Snack

________________F Go to bathroom

Social interaction/class game

_______________Deliver something to the front office

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Classroom Lines/Classroom Jobs

Free Active Play….in School, this means Recess

Opportunities for Movement During the Day

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Web Based Resources

www.edutopia.org

www.fabstrategies.org

www.zonesofregulation.com

www.socialthinking.com

www.movementbasedlearning.com

www.livesinthebalance.org

www.balancedandbarefoot.com

www.timbernook.com

www.pinkoatmeal.com

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References and Resources

Buckle, F., Franzsen, D., Bester, J. (2011). The effect of the wearing of weighted vests on the sensory behavior of learners diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder within a school context. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 47(3), 36-42.

Biegel, G.M., Brown, K., Shapiro, S., Schubert, C.M. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for the treatment of adolescent psychiatric outpatients: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology © 2009 American Psychological Association 2009, Vol. 77, No. 5, 855– 866

Diamond, A., Lee, K., (2011). Interventions to aid executive function development in children 4-12 years old. Science 19 Aug 2011: Vol. 333, Issue 6045, pp. 959-964

Finley, Todd. “19 Big and Small Classroom Management STrategies.” Edutopia. www.edutopia.org , 12/2016.

Flook, L., Smalley, S.L., Kitil, J.M., Galla, B.M., Kaiser-Greenland, S., Locke, J.,Ishijima, E., & Connie Kasari. Effects of Mindful Awareness Practices on Executive Functioning in Elementary School Children. Journal Of Applied School Psychology Vol. 26 , Iss. 1,2010

Gray, Carol. (2015) The New Social Story Book. Future Horizons.

Greene, R. W. (2006). The explosive child.

Greenspan, S. (1997). Infancy and early childhood – The practice of clinical assessment and interventions with emotional and developmental challenges.

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References and Resources

Harvey, S. “A Collaborative Challenge: Therapists Successfully Supporting Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom.” Therapies in the School Conference. Education Resource, Inc. Framingham, MA. 11/2016.

Koester, Cecilia. (2006). Movement Based Learning For Children of All Abilities. Movement Based Learning, Inc.

Kopp, C. (1982). Antecedents of self-regulation: A developmental Perspective

Kuypers, L.M., (2011). The zones of regulation: A curriculum designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control.

Leibermann, D., Giesbrecht, G.F., & Miller, U. (2007). Cognitive and emotional aspects of self-regulation in preschools. Cognitive Development, 22 (4), 511-529.

McCarthy, John. “Too many Students and Not Enough Time.” Edutopia. www.edutopia.org. 12/2016

Miller, L.J. (2006).Sensational kids.

Murray, Desiree W., Rosanbalm, Katie, & Christopoulos, Christina. (2015). SelfRegulation and Toxic Stress Report 4: Implications for Programs and Practice. OPRE Report # 2016-97, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

MacNeil, Joshua, (2018). Practical Strategies for Regulating Students’ Brains. Trauma Informed Schools Conference, St.Charles, Missouri.

Pagano, J. (2015) Occupational therapy practice to reduce school aggression, restraint and aggression. OT Practice. http://jlp96007.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/schoolot redagg.pdf

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References and Resources

Pagano, J. “Mindfulness, Movement, and Music:Classroom Strategies.” Therapies in the School Conference. Education Resource, Inc. Framingham, MA. 11/2016.

Prizant, B., Witherby, A., Rubin, E., Laurent, A., & Rydell, P. (2006). The SCERTS model: A comprehensive educational approach for children and autism spectrum disorder

Shapiro, M., Sgan-Cohen, H. D., Parush, S., & Melmed, R. N. (2009). Influence of adapted environment on the anxiety of medically treated children with developmental disability. The Journal of pediatrics, 154(4), 546-550.

Shonkoff, J., & D. Phillips, eds. 2000. From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. A report of the National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. Thomas, A., & S. Chess. 1977.

Singh, N., Lancioni, G.E., Singh, A., Alan, S. W., Singh, J., McAleavey, K.M., Adkins, A.D., Mindfulness-Based Health Wellness Program for an Adolescent With Prader-Willi Syndrome Behavior Modification Volume 32 Number 2 March 2008 167-181

Singh, N., Lancioni, G.E., Wahler, R., Winton, A.S., Singh, J.Mindfulness Approaches in Cognitive Behavior Therapy Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2008, 36, 659–666

Thomas, M. The effect of different movement exercises on motor abilities. Advances in Physical Education, 2012, 2(4), 172-178.

Willis, Judy. “Using Brain Breaks to Restore Students’ Focus.” Edutopia. www.edutopia.org, 12/2016.