Applying movement to learning activities in remote and in-person settings

Provide students with opportunities to engage in physical activity while learning to support them mentally and physically.

Moving your body isn’t only helpful for physical health – it has proven benefits for mental health, as well. Physical activity has been shown to improve concentration, reduce depression and anxiety, and positively boost mood. With the shift to remote learning, many children are less active throughout the day than they were previously as, for many students, recess, classroom transitions, and physical education have been put on the back-burner.

It is important to incorporate strategies into your lessons that prompt your students to get up and move throughout the day. These moments for physical activity don’t need to be contained to break times alone – consider incorporating physical activity into your academic content by blending movement with academic tasks. Some examples include:

• Having students spell out their vocabulary with different movements for each letter. To spell out a word, students can do jumping jacks or toe-touches for each letter.

• Blending songs with movement in your lessons. For example, use songs as mnemonic devices in combination with movement to help students recall the content that they’re learning.

• Playing “Simon Says,” during which students are asked to act out different content-based concepts such as solid, liquid, or gas particles.