Movement in the

math curriculum

SUmmary
-Physical activity and the benefits
-Examples of studies
-What is being done today
-What educators can do everyday
-What educators can do in the math curriculum, specifically
with fractions

Physical Activity and the benefits

Academic Benefits

Social Emotional Benefits

Increased physical activity lead

to...

Increased physical activity lead

to...

Higher test scores

Less anxiety

Higher cognitive skills

Higher self-esteem

Better classroom focus

Lower depression levels

Improved mood

Benefits proven through studies A Few examples

Study: Departments of Kinesiology
and Epidemiology, Trois Rivieres
Study, Quebec, Canada, 2006
Intervention: One hour of physical
activity in addition to their
regular once-a-week P.E. class.

Study: Physical Education Program of the Catholic

University, Chile, 2005.
Goals: To improve physical fitness and emotional
well-being through physical activity
Details: 198 students 15 years old. 90 minute P.E.
intervals 3 times a week.
Results:

Results: Students continuously

enrolled in P.E. had about 10%
higher test scores on the Terra
Nova standardized test. The study
also found that decreased class
time did not lessen academic
performance.

13.7% decrease in intervention group for anxiety,

2.3% decrease in anxiety in control group
(Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale).
Self-esteem scores increase by 2.3% in
intervention group and decreased 0.1% in control
group (Tennessee Self-Concept Scale).


Teaching with the brain in
mind

What can teachers do in

their classroom?

Movement in the classroom becoming more popular

Today in classrooms we are
seeing,
-Balancing on exercise balls
Stretching putty
Chewing gum
Rubber bands
Standing to learn
Smooth rocks

"It helped me concentrate," Emma

said. "It would give me something to
squeeze really hard so I could
think."

Get them moving!

Insert Video

Fractions are hard.

They are harder when
learned from a desk.

Fraction Hopscotch
- Works large motor skills
- Creates visual for
students struggling with
equivalent fractions
- Turns fractions into a
movement game

Fraction Cootie
catchers
-Works small motor skills
-Gets their hands moving
-Students dont have to be
at their desk- they can walk
around the room and play
with peers.

interactive Number
lines
- Gives students a visual
of fraction values
- Allows students to walk
the line and get up from
their desk when stuck on
a problem

Math Scavenger
Hunts
-Makes students move from
place to place while solving
fraction problems.
- List of clues for students
(i.e. You will find a basket
of blocks in the gym, what
fraction of the blocks are
green? *Report back in
simplest form

Fraction Relay
-Involves physical fitness
as well as movement
-Mini-Lesson on Brochure
-Students practice
simplifying reading, and
performing operations on
fractions

In conclusion...
-Physical Activity has positive effects on cognition and
emotional health
-Adding physical activity into the day does not need to take
away from instruction
-Take brain breaks
-Create active lessons and get students out of desks as much
as possible

Citations
Shape of the Nation 1993: A Survey of State Physical Education Requirements., 1993. ProQuest. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Verstraete, Stefanie, et al. "Effectiveness of a Two-Year Health-Related Physical Education Intervention in Elementary
Schools." Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 26.1 (2007): 20-34. ProQuest. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
Case, Jon. (2014, December 3). Email interview.
Mckenzie, Thomas L., James F. Sallis, Judith J. Prochaska, Terry L. Conway, Simon J. Marshall,
and Paul Rosengard.
"Evaluation of a Two-Year Middle-School Physical Education
Intervention: M-SPAN." Medicine & Science in Sports &
Exercise 36.8 (2004):
1382-388. Web.
Bonhauser, M. (2005). Improving physical fitness and emotional well-being in adolescents of low socioeconomic status in
Chile: Results of a school-based controlled trial. Health Promotion International, 113-122.
http://www.mlive.com/living/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/08/teachers_use_movement_to_keep.html

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104013/chapters/Movement-and-Learning.aspx