Learning on Your Feet

Incorporating Physical Activity into the K–8 Classroom

Brad Johnson, Melody Jones

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000478686
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Physical Education

Students often learn better on their feet than in their seats, and this powerful book helps you make the most of that in the classroom. Authors Brad Johnson and Melody Jones show that with COVID-19 leading to more inactivity, more schools cutting PE, and the rise in sedentary obesity, it's more important than ever for kids to get moving.

Throughout the book, Johnson and Jones offer practical strategies on how to transform the physical classroom, how to manage the classroom with movement, and how to integrate fitness and technology. They break down research on how movement can help stimulate brain function and improve skills such as critical thinking, organization, focus, engagement, and achievement. They also offer a variety of movement-based activities for English-language arts (ELA); social studies; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and more. This updated second edition includes even more exercises and activities that can be used daily and incorporated into the content areas.

No matter what grade level or subject you teach, you'll find easy to implement activities you can use immediately to increase your students' energy and enjoyment of learning.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003169512-1

As the quote suggests, exercise really is Miracle-Gro for the brain. Regular physical activity supports healthy child development by improving memory, concentration, and positive outlook. The connection between learning and exercise seems to be especially strong for elementary school students. Given these findings and the ones which will be discussed throughout this book, cutting back on physical education, recess, and even play with the aim of improving academic performance, as some districts have done, appears to be counterproductive.

The fact is that children learn better when they are active and engaged. Unfortunately, public education in a sense has “childproofed” education. Think of how all young animals learn. They learn through movement, play, and exploration. You don’t see a bear cub learning how to eat and survive by sitting still, just as you don’t see a baby learning by laying still. In fact, young babies are so active that some young parents actually childproof their homes with locks, latchets, and other barriers so their children won’t get injured or harmed while exploring. Similarly, education has childproofed education as well. Students are expected to sit quietly in their desks all day without opportunities to explore, play, and move. When we cut out or remove recess, physical education, and other opportunities for children to learn in the manner in which they are designed to learn.

As Dr. Mark Benden (professor at Texas A&M) shared in our interview, “We will look back on the past generation and ask, ‘What were those people thinking making children sit still all day in school. Who thought that was a good idea?’ It’s probably the greatest disservice we have done to children in this past generation. Children need to be moving and active. One has to look no further than the rise in sedentary epidemic obesity, ADD, and ADHD to see a correlation between their increase and inactivity in the classroom.”

Dr. Benden’s research in pilot schools, as well as other research, shows that exercise has both a physiological and developmental impact on children’s brains. Physical mechanisms include: increased oxygen to the brain, change in bloodstream composition, alterations to neurotransmitters, and structural changes in the central nervous system that enhance the brains ability to learn. So, incorporating short exercise or stretch breaks into lessons can resharpen children’s focus on learning. Especially for younger students, dividing lessons into 10- to 20-minute “chunks” highlighted with activities that involve movement keeps their attention on learning and helps make the content more memorable. Exercise and stretch breaks also work well during transitions between lessons. The mind works best when the body is involved. Remember: children by nature are active beings.

Education has become so focused on testing that we forgot how children actually learn. The problem is that a focus on testing, rather than on how children learn, has caused a steady decline in academic achievement, along with a plethora of other issues. As Dr. Marilyn Wedge (therapist, author) explained:

We can learn from other countries. In Finland, for example, where students continually outperform American kids on respected international tests (PISA tests), for every 45 minutes of class time children get 15 minutes of recess. In Finnish elementary schools, the school day is only 4 hours long, and children are encouraged to participate in sports after school.

Reducing or eliminating homework and encouraging children to ride bikes, participate in sports, or socialize with their friends after school is another good way to get kids more active. Jane Hsu, principal of a New York City elementary school, has banned all homework from her school. According to this principal, research has shown that homework has negative effects on children. Homework can cause kids to become frustrated and lose interest in learning, and they can miss out on activities with family and friends.

In areas where it is appropriate and safe, parents can walk to school with their kids. Research has shown that just 20 minutes of walking to school can help a child focus better in the classroom. First, physical activity improves brain elasticity, which allows children to learn more easily. Second, there is evidence that contact with the natural environment has a calming effect on children. And third, exercise also releases endorphins (neurotransmitters that produce a feeling of well-being), which makes children feel more relaxed.

Olympic gold medalist and education advocate Shannon Miller shared her views on active learning in a recent interview with us. As she explained,

It’s critical on so many levels to get our kids active throughout the day, particularly at a young age. Physical activity helps them focus better during class, sleep better at night, maintain a healthy weight, and combat the risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It helps with self-esteem and confidence, and it gives children an opportunity to find a sport or activity they are passionate about. The list of benefits goes on and on. As we see physical education being cut from school curriculum, we have to look for ways to keep our children active. Ten-minute ‘brain breaks’ can go a long way. That time can be used to incorporate physical activity with a learning activity like math and vocabulary. It can be as creative as you like or as simple as having the kids get up and dance. The goal is 60 minutes of physical activity but we’ve seen increased brain function with something as simple as a 20-minute walk. The importance of getting children active from a young age cannot be stressed enough. When children are active early in life, they tend to remain active for a lifetime.

As most of us realize, formal education is no longer an active process. Children sit at desks or even in groups and listen to lectures and work on assignments with very little physical activity involved. Think about it: the major focal point of work during a school day is the students seated at their desk. From kindergarten through high school, students spend most of their academic lives in a desk. It seems almost inhumane if you think about the amount of time we subject children to a seated position.

Beyond health, there is also research to suggest that how we educate may be the reason that students’ creativity and intelligence is hindered through their informative years. We have all heard of Gardner’s multiple intelligences, but you may not be familiar with some of the results of his work. In one longitudinal study, Gardner found that children up to the age of 4 in a group were all operating at the genius level, while the same group of children at age 20 dropped to only 10 percent operating at the genius level. So, what happened between the age of 4 and 20 that would cause such a drop in genius level? Well, frankly, public education happened. Until the age of 4, children are constantly moving, playing, and learning in a state of constant motion. But when they enter school, the focus becomes on uniformity, control, following rules, sitting in a desk, and the list goes on. This study reinforces our research that we are shortchanging our students when it comes to overall education and student achievement. So, you may ask, what is it about movement and learning that is so important anyway?

First, physical activity improves brain elasticity, which allows children to learn more easily. Second, there is evidence that contact with the natural environment has a calming effect on children. And third, exercise also releases endorphins (neurotransmitters that produce a feeling of wellbeing), which makes children feel more relaxed. Finally, the brain processes movement in the same part of the brain that processes learning. So, if students are sitting still then the learning process is actually hindered, rather than enhanced.

Studies provide evidence that many years of fine motor exercise allows brain reorganization and nerve growth. Physical movement such as standing, stretching, walking, or marching can help the brain focus better. For instance, if students feel drowsy, they should be allowed to stand at the back of the room for up to two minutes and stretch on their own. I (Brad) remember when I taught middle grades science—I would always have the students moving. Even when taking notes, I would let the students stand by their desks, sit on the floor, or even lie on the floor. If a student had too much energy, I would let them go to the back of the class and do pushups. Students quickly adapt to these situations, so that there are very little behavior issues, because this becomes the norm for the classroom. The change in levels and body positions help develop the vestibular system (inner ear and balance) as well as their core muscles, which we will discuss in detail later in the book.

Dr. Spyridoula Vazou (Professor at Iowa State University) shared her expertise in the area of active learning in the classroom. As she stated,

Yes, the weight of the evidence suggests that there is a benefit from both acute (immediate benefit) and chronic (long-term participation) physical activity and exercise on cognition and, in turn, on academic performance. Physical activity is not antagonistic to learning. To the contrary, it helps learning. Therefore, the oxymoron of cutting time from recess, playtime and physical activity in order to focus on academic performance needs to change.

In addition to recess and PE, a very promising and attractive approach to helping students be more physically active is adding short (about five-minute) activity breaks (e.g., stand and march, stretch, or jump in place) in the classroom and throughout the school day. That way, students are not distracted from their lesson and, at the same time, they are being physically active. Research shows that, by adding movement in the classroom (either as activity breaks or in integration with academics), students can get about 19 additional minutes of physical activity daily. Accumulating short bouts of activity throughout the day can help students stay focused and, at the same time, meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity (60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily).

Movement should be an important part of the school day, as movement can influence the brains of students. Most neuroscientists agree that there is a connection between movement and cognition or learning. Movement should be a part of all subject areas of the curriculum. Physical activities like role-playing, doing hands-on activities such as math manipulatives, are more likely to be recalled. When we keep students active, we keep their energy levels up and provide their brains with the oxygen-rich blood needed for highest performance. Equally important, though perhaps less obvious, is movement for learning in the early school years is because the executive function system in the brain is developing rapidly.

We will discuss the executive function more in a later chapter, but it is responsible for abilities such as setting goals, planning, focusing attention, and thinking abstractly—precisely the components needed for success in school. A growing body of research demonstrates the connection between physical activity and enhanced EF in children. This means active students tend to focus and function better.

Children enter school with enthusiasm and a sense of wonder, which can enhance their desire to learn and excel. They naturally learn through exploration, play, creativity, and, yes, even hard work. But too often these traits are not reinforced, because they aren’t thought to be necessary to pass a standardized test. We focus more on students walking in lines, sitting in desks, and working quietly. We must remember that children learn through many mediums, which can actually involve playing, moving, and having fun. Brain-based research emphasizes that learning is enhanced when children are moving and active.

Have you ever wondered why children start school with “wide-eyed wonder” and excitement, but soon it almost becomes a boring routine? It is often because we remove the curiosity of learning by limiting the ability of students to be active and engaged. Children leave a home structure where they can play, move, and explore. They enter school and now they are expected to sit for most of the day. Could you imagine having a classroom where students come in every day excited and ready to learn because they know they will get to play, move, and explore? This description of this behavior is a far cry from many classrooms, where students sit still and memorize fragmented bits of information. What a contradiction to their inquisitive and exploring nature.

For many teachers this type of teaching calls for a paradigm shift in classroom management. Giving up some control of the classroom to allow for play and exploration can be a scary and challenging task. Will the students learn? Will they perform well on tests? Will they meet all of the curriculum standards? You may be hesitant to step outside your comfort zone and try a new approach, so our goal is to help you begin with simple changes within your comfort level, and, as you see the success, then you will be willing to make more changes. Just imagine if these changes allowed students the freedom to move, play, and maintain their creativity. What if 30 or 40 percent of your students left school still functioning at a genius level? Your students would thank you for making a difference in their lives.

Finally, there is overwhelming research to suggest that physical activity not only helps with student focus, improved behavior, and remaining on task, but the research shows that physical activity does improve standardized test scores. And let’s face it—standardized test scores are the driving force of e...