Classrooms in Motion

Think Like a Student…

As the school year comes to a class, there are many articles that offer teachers an opportunity to reflect on their school year. While it’s easy – and necessary! – to use summer as a break, it’s also a great time to consider how you want to approach the next year differently.

One of the things we talk about in my class for pre-service educators is the need to “think like a student” and view your classroom, your attitude, your instructions, your materials, etc. from the perspective for your students. Thus, I want to shout out Crystal Uhiren for a great article on Edutopia entitled Wearing the ‘Student Hat’: Working to understand the students’ experience of the class gives teachers a way to see where they can make improvements. I love her note that asking yourself what it’s like to be a student in your classroom “…will spark small changes with big impact.”

So take some time to rest, relax, and recover this summer – and then put on a student hat to look ahead. The experience will support your students but the impact on classroom climate and management will support your holistic health as a teacher. It’s a win-win!

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Brain Break, a Misnomer…

I distinctly remember my first solo conference. While the focus was on physical literacy, I was inspired by the number of experts and attendees whose passion highlighted the impact of  movement and activity in the academic classroom space. I was a “newbie” to the world of academia and secretly intimidated to be in a room of researchers and experienced conference-goers. I had a decade of teaching under my belt and was in the process of earning a doctoral degree, and I was determined to soak up as much as I could.

I don’t recall the conversation, but I spoke those words: Brain Brain. The vehement response from my collocutor was one of the most impactful moments of my career…

Movement and physical activity is not a break for the brain…it’s a BOOST to the brain.

By using the term brain break, we are giving students the impressive that movement is less important or unrelated to other classroom activity. The evidence is clear: movement benefits learning, activity complements academic instruction, active students are better learners.

On this site, I’ve used the term “Motion Moment” because it aligns with “Classrooms in Motion”. (See potential daily schedule.) But you are encouraged to create your own appropriate and engaging moniker! Can you tie in your school mascot or district name? Perhaps your school is the Mustangs and you can implement Mustang Movement. If you’re the first to generate ideas, have your students brainstorm and propose terms! This will increase their ownership and support engagement.

Say yes to classroom physical activity – by promoting the critical importance of movement opportunities with an effective term to support academic achievement and holistic health of students.

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Summer PD in Colorado: July 19-21, 2023

The First Annual Active Schools National Summit will be held this July at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO.

“This summit will motivate and inspire you to integrate more physical activity into your daily practice and ensure that all youth are educated in an active school designed to enhance learning, health, and well-being. … The theme of this conference is A Mountain Worth Climbing. This theme was chosen because we recognize that creating and sustaining an active school culture is not always easy. Much like climbing a mountain, there can be challenges or obstacles that you encounter and must overcome.”

For information, click here. To register, click here.

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Healthy Day Toolkit – From Healthier Generation

Back to school is an exciting, stressful, energizing, challenging time! In honor of this back-to-school season, Healthier Generation just released a “toolkit” with tips and ideas to promote positivity, family bonding, and holistic health.

As per the free download: “This toolkit is full of activities and resources to help your family feel well, live well, and learn well during this busy transitional season.”

Check out the Healthier Generation toolkit here – and try one of the strategies today!

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Online Education via Healthier Generation

Alliance for a Healthier Generation, whose mission is to “promote healthy environments so that young people can achieve lifelong good health”, offers an online Healthier Generation Training Center that is available with a free membership. One recently posted training, Fostering Belonging through Physical Activity, is a short 20-minute session where “participants will take away resources and simple strategies for integrating physical activity during transition time to and from out-of-school programming.”

Link to training: E-Learning: Fostering Belonging through Physical Activity

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February is Active Classrooms Month!

It doesn’t seem like a year has passed since the last Active Classrooms Month, but here we are again! Active Schools hosts Active Classrooms Month each February. Teachers and families are invited to participate.

“The event will introduce ways to integrate movement into the classroom and demonstrate the positive impact it has on young people. We will share resources and tools to make it easy for teachers and parents/caregivers to use movement activities with their students/children.” – Active Schools

For more information and to get involved: https://www.activeschoolsus.org/active-classrooms-month

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“Activity Breaks that Encourage Social-Emotional Learning” (from Moving Minds)

One of the things I’m loving about increased awareness of classroom physical activity is the quantity of resources that are available. I subscribe to the Moving Minds email blasts, and these messages contain information and tips for classroom movement (and things to buy, which I skip). This month, a linked blog post offers information about social-emotional learning (SEL) areas and how to integrate movement with SEL. Promoting healthy body and mind is important for our students’ holistic wellness, and the need has escalated during the past two years. Check out the “Activity Breaks that Encourage Social-Emotional Learning” blog here!

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Strategies for Classroom Management and School Connectedness

From the Division of Adolescent and School Health within the CDC, this page offers an excellent compilation of resources and methods for managing classes and enhancing connectedness. “CDC researchers reviewed scientific papers on classroom management and identified these classroom management approaches that promote student connectedness and engagement. Strategies to support these approaches were identified through a structured review of web-based practice resources.”

The resources are categorized into six themes, each with research, examples, tools, and additional links:

  • Teacher caring and support
  • Peer connection and support
  • Student autonomy and empowerment
  • Management of classroom social dynamics
  • Teacher expectations
  • Behavior management

While this resource is not specific to classroom physical activity, it does address holistic wellness, student learning, and classroom climate, all of which can directly or indirectly impact student activity and the likelihood of success for classroom movement.

Check out the index page here: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/classroom-management/index.htm

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30 Days of Mental Health

This campaign, from the Trauma Responsive Educational Practices (TREP) Project, strives to promote awareness of mental health and support for students during the first 30 days back at school. By pledging to engage students in mental health lessons, educators will receive access to a resource guide on how to talk with students about mental health.

For information, see the 30 Days of Mental Health to Start the Academic Year website.

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