Self Esteem Booster!!

"In a successful kinesthetic lesson, children are learning to make use of their own experiences and observations as a foundation for knowledge. This nurtures self-affirmation and self-esteem because the children's natural resource, their own bodies, are bringing them to a place of understanding." (Griss, S. (1998). Minds in Motion. NH:Heinemann.)

Many children find school as a stressful environment, it is our jobs as educators to make school a safe place for students come to learn and grow. With so much pressure on performance and test scores, students are feeling stressed and developing low self worth. By including the arts, especially movement, teachers give their students and opportunity to use something natural to them, their bodies, as a tool to connect with what they are learning in school.

In addition to using movement as an outlet for students creativity that will deepen their understanding, and therefore boost their confidence and self-esteem, there are other ways to use movement to help with affective education. By connecting other art forms, such as poetry, too movement, children can explore their bodies in a positive way.

For example, the poem "Hello World" by Dan Coppersmith, can be used by students to explore various ways to to move and dance in a positive way.

Children can create a dance or movement to depict each of the words to the song that go along with the video. It will help them to see their bodies in a positive way, and explore ways that show the different phrases. The full poem can be found here.

Here are a few more links and articles to find ideas and information how movement can help with stress and self esteem:

Children and Dance Meditation

The Effects of the Creative Movement Teaching Method and the Traditional Teaching Method on Elementary School Children's Self-esteem.

Dance - A Path to Self-Esteem

Community is KEY!

"When you build feelings of belonging and safety in your classroom, you increase your ability to engage students' minds. This atmosphere supports the efficient and effective delivery of curriculum content to students." Evan White

Building a sense of community is very important in every classroom environment. Students need to feel they are in a place that is risk free, where they can build the confidence to try new things and express their ideas. If the students feel a sense of respect and tolerance for each other, they are more like to be willing to expand their views and try new things. Movement and dance are a perfect way to build that sense of community. By working together to dance or solve a problem, lines of communication are opened and children find it easier to relate to one another.

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"Bringing physical language into the classroom offers children a rare chance to look at one another, to see each other, and learn how to show respect for each other's differences in a nonthreatening arena. Kinesthetic learning encourages an acceptance of difference because no two people have the same bodies or move alike. When it comes to self expression, moreover, there is no 'right' or 'wrong' movement." (Griss, S. (1998). Minds in Motion. NH:Heinemann.)

Here is an example of a quick activity, that gets your student up and moving, as well as working together toward a common goal.

The Human Knot:

Objective:
1. The students will practice cooperative learning skills.

2. The students will find a solution to the group’s “knot”.

Procedure:
Ask a group of 6 or more people (even numbers works best) to form a circle. Each person should hold out their right hand and grab the right hand of the person cross from them as though the two were shaking hands. Then each person should hold hands (left hands) with a person standing next to them. Each person should be holding hands with two different people.

Goal of the Game:
The goal of this warm up is for the students to untangle themselves from their situation so that a human circle is formed.

Rules:
The physical hand to hand contact that you have with your partner cannot be broken in order to facilitate an "unwinding movement". Sometimes the people in the final circle will end up facing alternating directions. This is OK.
If the group has been struggling with a knot for a long time, offer "Knot First Aid." Let the students decide amongst the group, which grip needs first aid. This pair of hands may then be temporarily undone and re-gripped in order to help the group.

(Lesson plan found here)

Everyone Learns Differently!

"Children highly developed in Body-Kinesthetic intelligence often squirm at the breakfast table, or in their desk at school. They are sometimes described as always being “on the go”. They process information and gain knowledge through the use of their body. They get “gut feelings” about things such as answers on a difficult test. Some are graced with athletic abilities such as dancing, running, or throwing a baseball. Others are gifted in fine-motor coordination, and can excel in drawing, fixing things around the house, or doing crafts. These children may effectively communicate nonverbally through gestures and other body language. They need opportunities to learn by moving or acting things out. They are the so-called “hands-on” learners. Expecting this type of student to quietly sit in their desk for long periods of time and listen to the teacher lecture is simply unrealistic." -Craig Ferch

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The recent move in education, and something I consider in my personal philosophy of education, is Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In short, Gardner believes that everyone learns in their own way, and their are distinct intelligences. Among them in the Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence. People who excel in this intelligence usually learn best through body language and hands-on activities. Most children are bodily kinesthetic learners. From an early age children use their bodies to communicate with their world. If teachers and parents tap into their child's bodily kinesthetic intelligence, they are more likely to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them.

There are so many activities that can be done with a child to exercise this intelligence. Here is a list of various websites that can be used to find great ideas to help your students or children get up and MOVE:

Tapping Into Multiple Intelligences

Bodily-Kinesthetic Gift-Boosting Activities

MI Immersion

Creative Dance and Movement

Arthur - Dramatic Play and Creative Movement

Our Brain NEEDS it!

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"Active learning has significant advantages over sedentary learning. The advantages include learning in a way that is longer lasting, better remembered, more fun, age appropriate, and intelligence independent and that reaches more kinds of learners. Active learning is not just for physical education teachers - that notion is outdated. Active learning is for educators who understand the science behind the learning. Let's support a stronger blend of sitting and moving!" (Jensen, E. (2000). Moving with the brain in mind. Educational Leadership, Nov 2000. 58(3) 34-37)

Movement doesn't just make learning fun and exciting. It actually is necessary for our brains and our bodies to learn new information. Our brain is craving movement! Children are not meant to sit all, adults too for that matter! I know personally I get very antsy when sitting for a long period of time, I imagine it is much worse for a kid! Eric Jensen's article "Moving With the Brain in Mind" (2000), brings up 7 great researched based, scientific points of why it is important to have students moving around. I will describe the 3 points that I feel are most important:

1. A break from learning: As educators we throw so much information at students we just hope some of it will stick. When in reality our brains need time to process what it is learning. As Jensen (2000) states scientifically, "The hippocampus organizes, sorts, and processes the incoming information before routing it to various areas of the cortex for long-term memory. Overloading this structure results in no new learning." Include a movement break every 20 - 25 minutes. Even if it is just 5 minutes, the students will have time to process the new information, it will settle, and they will be ready to go!

2. Too much sitting: I hate sitting. It is probably one of the many reasons I am a teacher, we never have a chance to sit, and even on those days when I am exhausted, I am thankful that I am not sitting behind a desk all day long. People, especially children are not meant to sit all day, and yet that is how most classrooms are run. "Sitting in any chair for more than a short (10 minute) interval is likely to have negative effects on your physical self, hence your mental self, and at a minimum, reduce your awareness of physical and emotional sensations" (Jensen 2000).

3. Circulation: Simple movements get our hearts beating and oxygen flowing. By stretching and moving, our cerebrospinal fluids flow to key areas, such as our BRAIN! Having this blood flow, it is easier for students to see, to focus attention, and even eases tension! A quick 5 - 10 minute stretch before having students sit down will allow them to sit and focus more attentively.

It's science! Allowing for various movement activities and breaks, your students brains will on their a-game and ready and willing to learn! Instead of the tired student seen at the top of this post, you will see happier and excited students, eager for knowledge!

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Here is another article that describe how creative movement and dance are beneficial to our brains:

The Neuroscience of Dance

I like to MOVE IT!!

"Children naturally move. They react to and explore the world in physical ways. No one has to teach them to jump for joy, to roll down a grassy hill, or to pound their bodies on the floor during a tantrum. When they arrive in elementary school they are fluent in this nonverbal, physical language. However, rather than using this natural resourse by channeling it into constructive learning experiences, teachers often expend energy subduing children's physicality." (Griss, S. (1998). Minds in Motion. NH:Heinemann.)

Kids love to move. It's as simple as that. As Susan Griss (1998) has stated, it is vitally important that teachers and parents find ways to use this natural love of movement in productive and exciting ways. As an educator I am forever seeking ways to make learning rich and fun for my students. As a blogger, I am creating a place where I will describe various reasons why using movement in the classroom is of the most importance. I hope to include quotes, websites, and pictures to emphasize the need for a kinesthetic approach to teaching. I strongly encourage any readers to post any information they feel would be helpful to this cause.

Each of the following posts will cover one of the multiple reasons why movement based learning is an important way to engage students and to promote critical literacy and higher level thinking.

As for now, I will leave you with two links, resources for an overview and ideas on how to implement movement in the classroom.

Movement in the Classroom

Julian Reed - Integrating Movement Into the Classroom