I was reading the book SPARK and come across this interesting tid-bit. "Exercise also boosts dopamine, which improves mood and feelings of wellness and jump-starts the attention system. Dopamine is all about motivation and attention. "
When I think about this in our classrooms, how beneficial would it be if teacher infused physical activity within their typical classroom day? That extra boost to engage kids, get their bodies moving all while increasing their attention! I'm sure when we think of our own classrooms, we could all probably name a few students who struggle with being able to pay attention. In a technological world that is full of constant stimulation; when not using technology some students struggle to sit still. Why not use their own energy to bring them back and get them focused?
My challenge for the week for classroom teachers is to infuse some sort of physical activity into your daily routine. Let me know if you get your students' attention!
I love doing this! Especially during the first part of my day, the kids are up and down a lot. They use movement to show me if we are adding or subtracting on the calendar, they have motions to our months of the year song, they stand up and signal letter sounds when we read the ABC chart, march when we count to 50, and shrink down when we count backward from 20. I also take a movement break before writer's workshop where they practice math terminology such as flip, turn, and slide by doing the action with their bodies. We do it every day and yet they continue to ask for it! It hasn't solved all of my students' attention problems, but it certainly helps.
ReplyDeleteI also have my students get lots of exercise in the general education classroom. I have kids do a lot of jumping jacks, pushups, and wall-sits. We also do a lot of stretch breaks during the dozens of tests the kids have to take now a days. Since I am a football coach and a jock, I like to incorporate physical activity into the day. Last year I should my kids how to do dips between the desks. They thought I was crazy.
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