Improving Classroom Achievement Through Physical Movement

1. Goal Improving Classroom Achievement Through Physical Movement

2. What is Brain-Based Teaching? It’sE-S-P! It’s the Purposeful Engagement of effective Strategies derived from Principlesof neuroscience

3. Exercise Increases Brain Cells(New Brain Cells Produced in Four Weeks) Van Praag et al, 1999, Brown, et. al, 2003

4. Many of the brain chemicals released during physical activity strengthen focus, energy levels, learning, and even memory. If this is true (which it is), when you put P.E. right before an academic class, the scores should go up. They do! Evidence for this was uncovered by Harvard professor John Ratey.

5. Math Scores up after P.E. Class(% Improvement in Algebra Readiness Scores) Source: Ratey (2009) Spark

6. Physical Activities Change the Brain and Body’s Chemistry • Adrenaline-provides energy • Noradrenaline- enhances focus • Dopamine- thinking, working memory • Cortisol-energy, memory • Serotonin-attention, mood • Glucose-energy, memory formation • BDNF & NGF-growth factors

7. Nutrients-BDNF Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is released when we exercise. It’s like “Miracle Grow” for the brain!

8. Yoga Animal Poses to Relax You and Your Students Students crave the chance to be creative while exploring what their bodies can do. Yoga poses, put together in a creative way, help the students begin to learn how to focus and concentrate and release tension that builds up from the busy day of learning.

9. Snake Snake Pose: have the student lay on the floor on their bellies and stretch from head to toe. Have them pretend they are a snake in the grass and stretch in the sun. After holding this pose for a few seconds, the longer the better, I then ask them to raise their heads and shoulder and leaning on their hands, I encourage them to do a quiet "hiss" sound.

10. Crocodile-Locust Pose Crocodile Pose: have them move arms back along side the body, raising head and bend upward from the waist, arching head back. Then like crocodiles, encourage them to open and shut their jaws several times. This is a fun imagination pose as I tell them, "We're crocodiles in the swamp or the river. What can we find to eat today. Look, get that frog or bug" as they snap their jaws open and shut. Feel free to be creative in your teaching yoga or flexibility exercises.

11. Cat-Cat Curl Pose Cat Pose: have them raise their bodies till they are kneeling on all fours. Encourage them to keep their arms straight, with relaxed shoulders, raised heads. I let them make "meow" sounds, then have them arch their back like a cat who is mad. I encourage them to alternate between the raised head meowing position to the arched back silent position several times, breathing deeply when their back is arched.

12. Dog-Downward Facing Dog Dog-Downward Pose: I encourage the kids to lift up their hips and keep arms straight as they become a dog. This is a harder pose for them to hold for very long so you can come to plank and then back up again after a break.

13. Lion Lion Pose: lean back on their knees and lift arms completely off the floor, hanging down beside their bodies as a lion. In lion, they lift their chests, open mouth wide and from the abdomen, roar like a lion, breathing in and out and stretching their tongue out as they roar. This also can be rather difficult, but the tongue being stretched out relaxes the neck and facial muscles, so encourage them to be silly with "sticking their tongues" out.

14. Butterfly Butterfly Pose: have the students sit on their bottoms, legs flexed in a triangle shape in front of them with the soles of their feet touching each other and hands on their ankles. They then move their legs up and down, in a "flapping butterfly" motion. Encourage them to float and flap slowly and deliberately, being silent like a butterfly.

15. Monkey-Tip Toe Pose Monkey or Tip Toe Pose can be noisy if you choose. They stand on their feet, bend their knees and squat down close to the floor with their feet body-width apart. Have them touch their hands to their chest and then raise and lower their elbows while making a monkey sound. Let them use their imagination as to what a monkey sounds like. Encourage students to have spatial awareness at all times.

16. Turtle-Childs Pose (Arms Extended Forward) Turtle is a good way to begin to quiet down. Have the child kneel and sit on their heels. Then lower their upper bodies so that their forehead touches the floor. Have them slide their arms forward above their head while keeping their bottoms curled up on their heels in a small hunched turtle pose. Have them hold inside their shell so no one can see them.

17. Mouse-Childs Pose (hands by heels with palms up) Last kids yoga pose is the mouse pose for quietness and stillness. From the turtle position, have the children slide their arms back alongside their body toward their feet. They keep their bottoms on their heels and place their arms by their sides so that their hands are along their entire body ending at the feet. I encourage them to remain "quiet as a mouse" for as long as they can, usually at least 30 seconds.

18. Star Power for Preschoolers by Andrew Oser and illustrated by TaisMorley FitDeck Yoga Exercise Playing Cards www.fitdeck.com Spark, by John J. Ratey, MD Michelle_Peterson@gfps.k12.mt.us