My students need some equipment to increase their physical activity throughout the day. By adding "Brain Breaks" that include physical activity, I hope to see improvements in test scores and daily classroom activity.
My school services over 750 Pre-K through fourth grade students. We are a high poverty area with a very transient population. The majority of our students are on free or reduced-price lunch.
"Increased physical activity during the school day can help children's attention, classroom behavior, and achievement test scores.
Meanwhile, the decline of play is closely linked to ADHD; behavioral problems; and stunted social, cognitive, and creative development." - Darell Hammond
This year I teach 47 students. They come to school excited to learn each day, but as the day goes on I see the students' attention decrease. We have very little phyiscal activity during the day. They live in a world where technology engulfs their daily life. The majority of our students do not participate in after school sports because oftentimes transportation is an issue for many of our families. The students get very little physical activity during the day. We have a ten minute recess built into our daily schedule and try to include PE during their French time.
My Project
The physical education equipment like footballs, jump ropes and shape shifters will benefit my students by increasing their activity level throughout the day. We can take turns keeping track of our daily steps and heart rate by using the pedometers and the apple watch. The equipment such as the jumpropes, balls, and catch and throw games can be used for indoor or outdoor activity for quick "brain breaks" to get the students moving.
Research shows that students need adequate amounts of physical activity throughout the school day to not only prevent obsesity but to also improve the development of the brain.
We will set challenges between the classes to beat the "step" record for the week. This will encourage students to add movement throughout the day to increase the step count. The apple watch will be set with timers daily to remind us that it's time to get up and move. We could take a short walk, play a game of pitch and catch, jumprope, or play a teambuilding game to increase our daily physical activity and get our heart rate moving. By adding these "Brain Breaks" throughout the day, I hope to see a positive influence on daily classroom activity as well as test scores!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Lirette and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
