The purpose of this blog is to enable Slavens K-8 staff to share ideas related to the teaching of writing for the Professional Development Unit "Writing Across the Curriculum." This forum will also be used for book discussions and instructional videos related to the teaching of writing.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
P.E. and Physical Activity as an Academic Intervention (not just for writing). Do Not Underestimate the Power of Movement!
This school has it right. I think it takes a lot of courage to leave traditional methods of helping struggling students. I would love to design a first period class for struggling students. It would be great to follow their progress. Great idea.
I agree with you Krista. There are so many kinesthetic learners (I'm one of them)for whom "sitting" in a classroom just doesn't cut it. Some students just have to move to learn. It seems like PE is always the first discipline to be sacrificed when it comes to strugggling students, but this video brings into question that practice and makes one wonder...humm...maybe that's the worst thing we can be doing for students...
I had read about Naperville High School in the book "Spark" by Dr. John Ratey a couple of years ago. It's interesting to see this clip showing how their reading and math scores have improved. It makes me think about the Brain Breaks we've instituted in the classroom here...
It is cool to hear what they've done in Naperville. The chance to stimulate the brain through movement makes sense. It makes me think of a couple of my students (one a boy, and one a girl) who have raised a hand to request a brain break. It's great to see that the kids are recognizing the value of movement and learning to recognize when their brains need the break.
This school has it right. I think it takes a lot of courage to leave traditional methods of helping struggling students. I would love to design a first period class for struggling students. It would be great to follow their progress. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Krista. There are so many kinesthetic learners (I'm one of them)for whom "sitting" in a classroom just doesn't cut it. Some students just have to move to learn. It seems like PE is always the first discipline to be sacrificed when it comes to strugggling students, but this video brings into question that practice and makes one wonder...humm...maybe that's the worst thing we can be doing for students...
ReplyDeleteI had read about Naperville High School in the book "Spark" by Dr. John Ratey a couple of years ago. It's interesting to see this clip showing how their reading and math scores have improved. It makes me think about the Brain Breaks we've instituted in the classroom here...
ReplyDeleteIt is cool to hear what they've done in Naperville. The chance to stimulate the brain through movement makes sense. It makes me think of a couple of my students (one a boy, and one a girl) who have raised a hand to request a brain break. It's great to see that the kids are recognizing the value of movement and learning to recognize when their brains need the break.
ReplyDelete