It doesn’t matter if you teach preschool, a high school resource class, 3-4 grade at a therapeutic day school, or middle school academic support. ALL of our students thrive when we incorporate exercise in the classroom. Research shows us (we’ll get into that!) the incredible benefits our students gain when they have access to movement throughout their school day. Let’s dive in.
Exercise is a proactive behavior support
Exercise is king. Yep. Incorporating exercise in the classroom as a proactive support decreases challenging behaviors. Yes, this means what you think it means. If you are to do some jumping jacks, a running lap around the perimeter of your school, or an exercise video from GoNoodle, research does support that students are less likely to engage in challenging behaviors. In fact, the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder (NPDC) actually includes exercise as an evidence based practice for autistic individuals. I’d say this is worth looking into.
Exercise improves academic performance
Research tells us that when we incorporate exercise more into our school day, students have stronger working memory, more on task behavior, and overall better academic performance. So now comes the real question: what does incorporating exercise in the school day actually look like in practice?
Building exercise into the school day
Exercise can be built into our days through movement breaks that are just scheduled during transitions, which can be a simple way to weave them in. I also love this walking quiz idea and this grammar activity that could be adapted to fit just about any concept.
Yoga and mindfulness
While mindfulness isn’t a physical exercise, it’s super beneficial for our students. And – yoga IS! In my classroom, the transition back to the classroom after recess was always a doozy. The combination of mindfulness and yoga was instrumental in getting students in the right headspace to continue academics. Mixing the power of centering the mind and the benefits of exercise were so helpful.
Exercise and spelling meet
I LOVE doing spelling exercise – it’s a way to get kids moving, practicing their skills, and does not need to take a ton of time. I liked using this to have kids spell the day of the week when they entered the classroom, or spelling the name of the related arts class they had that day. I even had a student who loved doing this so much that she would spell out words and do the exercises during her break time! Click here to grab this spelling exercise slide for in person or distance learning for free.
What other ways do you get your students moving and growing in your classroom?
