There is no doubt in any of our minds that kids sit for way too much during the school day. I am sure with all of their technology, video games, and television shows, they continue this process after the last bell of the day. Let’s be real, teachers are equally as guilty of this sitting around on technology craze too.
We can’t stop students from sitting around at home, however, we can do something about it in our classrooms. I don’t know if many of you know, but besides teaching ASL, I am also a PE teacher. So you know physical movement is important to me.
There are numerous studies out there that show the relationship between movement and learning. But so often we go about teaching and lecturing we forget to let the students get up and move.
Movement comes in many forms like brain breaks or an interactive part of your daily lessons. Movement can be as simple as getting up to grab a handout or moving around the room to change partners. Teachers just have to remember to make it happen daily (and hopefully several times during a class period). Movement should be taking place every 20 – 25 minutes.
I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of forgetting this. I start teaching and I am so into it I forget to let students move.
Let me share with you activities you can use in the world language classroom that will engage students, make less work for you, and get students moving.
Partner Changes
The simplest way to add some movement into your classroom is by switching partners and doing it often. You can still stay in the target language by giving a command “Find a person with the same color eyes as you” or use a deck of cards to pair people up. Puzzle pieces work as a way to get them up and looking for their partner.
Some good opportunities for this are when students are having practice conversations or discussions. Try these ideas for changing partners up.
Inside/Outside Circles
Inside/outside circles are a great way to involve movement and have students chat with a variety of students. This is a great activity to start a class or end the class and it works great in the middle of the class too. There is no wrong time to use this activity.
Separate students into two groups. One group is the inside of the circle and the other is the outside of the circle. Students stand in front of a partner and discuss a prompt. When the teacher calls time students will rotate to the next partner.
Speed Dating
Speed dating is one of my favorite activities for adding movement to the class period. Like inside/outside circles, students sit at a desk or at tables and chat. When the teacher calls time, students will rotate to a new partner. This works great for a getting-to-know-you activity or class discussions. Click on the link above to learn how to do famous deaf speed dating. It is a super fun activity.
Question Trails
For longer periods of movement, use question trails. They keep students moving for longer periods of time. Question trails can also be interactive and expose students to a lot of language if they are set up properly.
Jigsaw
Although the Jigsaw activity does not get students moving around as much as other activities, it does offer some movement and a lot of collaboration. This activity works well if you have a lot of material to cover. Split the information (videos, articles, etc.) into smaller chunks and group students up. Students will become experts on their part of the information and then move to another group to teach them what they have learned. Students will be dependent on each other to learn the information.
Running Dictation
You know I love running dictation. There are a few ways you can set it up. However, it doesn’t matter which you choose, students are up and out of the desks and moving around.
Remember to add these activities into your lessons daily so your students feel energized and ready to learn.
Get Social
Join the conversation in our Facebook group.
Don’t miss out on a sale, FREEBIE, or new product. Follow Creative ASL Teaching on TpT.
Check out all of the winter holiday/Christmas activities in the store.
Check out the teacher swag on Etsy.
Don’t forget to follow the blog to get all the new tips, tricks, and ideas I share.
