Aubrey Moncure #14

Incorporating Movement into

the Classroom
How movement in the
classroom can benefit a
variety of learners.

Who will this

strategy work for?
Students with
ADHD

Helps give students a

positive outlet to
release their energy
(Mulrine, Prater, &
Jenkins, 2008).

Students with
emotional &
behavioral
disorders

Helps improve selfesteem and social

skills (McMinn, Rowe,

Students with
Autism

Helps students who are

relatively sedentary to
become more active

& Trim, 2011).

(McMinn, Rowe, & Trim,

2011).
The majority of
students in the
classroom!

Helps improve all

students cognitive
skills and helps
students understand
the big picture.

Why should physical

activity be encouraged in
the classroom?

Including more movement and physical activity in the

classroom can result in increased student understanding of
content, improved classroom behavior, and the
development of new forms of assessment (Skoning, 2008, p.
2). Students spend the majority of their day in a classroom, so
it is important that teachers give them a way to constructively
release energy. There are two main ways movement can be
incorporated into a classroom: to aid in teaching content or
to allow for short breaks or transitions throughout class. As an
added benefit, implementing physical activities throughout
the day can aid in improving academic performance and
reducing disruptive classroom and social problem behaviors
(Mulrine, Prater, & Jenkins, 2008).

The ability to move while learning decreased the

otherwise inappropriate behaviors of these students
(Skoning, 2008, p. 5).

Aubrey Moncure #14

How can this be implemented in

the classroom?
The steps to implement movement in the classroom are
simple and leave plenty of room for customizing
activities that are appropriate for the specific class,
grade level, and subject:
1. Determine if the activity will be incorporated into
the content area or if it will be used as a break or
transition.
2. If the activity is content-specific, choose a topic
and identify specific movements for each idea
within the topic (such as the stages of the water
cycle).
3. If the activity is being used as a break, create a
short activity that students can do given limited
space.
4. Once the activity has been decided, model the
movement for the students, and then ask the
students to stand up and imitate the movement.

Other Helpful Tips:

Dont allow your students to
sit for more than 30 minutes
Allow the students to
choose the movement for
an activity break.
Choose activities that
require no equipment, are
non-competitive, and are
simple to understand.

The difference between content-specific

movement and activity breaks:
A teacher may choose to
incorporate movement into a
lesson plan. In this case,
movement would be used in
order to help teach a
concept. For example, to aid
in teaching students about
the life cycle of a butterfly, a
teacher could have students
act out different movements
to represent each stage of a
butterflys life cycle.

Activity breaks are

done when
transitioning from
one activity to
another. These
breaks do not
have to be
content specific,
and they can be
as simple as
stretching for a
few minutes.

References
McMinn, D., Rowe, D. A., & Trim, V. (2011). Classroom-based physical activity breaks: Potential for
use with children with special educational needs. International Journal of Physical
Education, 48(4), 20-31.
Mulrine, C. F., Prater, M. A., & Jenkins, A. (2008). The active classroom: Supporting students with
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder through exercise. Teaching Exceptional Children,
40(5), 16-22.
Skoning, S. N. (2008). Movement and dance in the inclusive classroom. Teaching Exceptional
Children Plus, 4(6), 2-11.