We Like to Move It, Move It: Motivating Students with Movement

by Robyn Crump

Do you often find yourself wondering why your students have difficulty staying focused or engaged? You've spent hours planning a "fun" lesson and students were still sporting the most bored expression ever. Well, here's a solution: MOVE! Allowing students to get up and move while they are learning promotes engagement and retention.

There are two types of movement you should add to your lessons: active learning or curriculum-embedded movement. Active learning occurs when students move about the room. Curriculum-embedded movement fuses content with a specific movement. Either type can encourage student engagement.

Here how you can get started today:

1. Start Small
Don't get overwhelmed with the idea of students wildly roaming about the classroom all day. Students can remain by their seats if you're not ready to make that leap. Have students respond to questions using their bodies. For example, "stand on one leg if you can explain how to multiply fractions". To start small using curriculum-embedded movement choose a vocabulary word and create a simple movement that will help students understand the concept. Students can demonstrate the process of soil erosion by doing the wave.

2. Model Examples & Non-examples
Get up and move with your students! You have to be the model of appropriate movement. Remind them to be safe while moving. Show them the movements you've created and give them time to practice. When my students played Predator vs. Prey (It's just Freeze Tag with roles) I modeled  by showing "predators" where and how to tag the "prey".

3. Frequency (show don't tell)
Try to intentionally incorporate more and more movement. Start with one movement per unit until you're comfortable. Begin working your way up to using movement in every lesson! A quick way to add movement to almost any lesson is playing Show Don't Tell in which students act out specific vocabulary or content and other students take a guess at what they are acting out.

4. Now that you're a pro...
Create a goal to get yourself started! Sample goals:

• During the first quarter, I will use one or more curriculum-embedded movements per unit.
• By the end of the first quarter, I will allow students to participate in a Gallery Walk/Walk-About (students migrate to predetermined stations to complete an activity) at least once per week.

Engage students in critical thinking by allowing them to create their own movements for the content.

There are numerous ways to get your students up and moving. If you work teach in Hampton City Schools, head over to the Instructional Technique Library and choose a new way to add movement to your upcoming lesson! (We recommend Kinesthetic Models, Show Don't Tell, and Graffiti Art, but feel free to put your own spin on things.)

Robyn Crump, Curriculum Integration Technology Teacher

(former Grade Three Teacher)

Hampton City Schools

rcrump@hampton.k12.va.us