Active Classrooms
Jo Bailey
Physical Education
D. C. Everest Senior High
WHPE Northeast (CESA 8,9) District Coordinator
Waves!
The line you don’t want to see
http://www.learningreadinesspe.com/
 http://www.kidsreadandride.com/2011_Ar
kansas_Data.pdf
 Finland – 15 minutes of activity before
every class
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Movement Data!
It takes just 17 minutes (+/- 2) of sitting
down for blood to leave the brain and pool
in the hamstrings. Signals the body to
release melatonin, reduces release of
BDNF (brain fertilizer)
 Exercise fuels the brain with oxygen and
triggers the release of neurotrophins
which enhance growth, impact mood,
cement memory, and enhance
connections between neurons
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Why do our students need
classroom physical activity breaks
(CPAB)?
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Standing up creates more attentional
arousal, speeds up information processing
by 5-20 percent and increases blood flow
and oxygen to the brain by 10-15 percent
Why do our students need
classroom physical activity breaks
(CPAB)?
Brain Activity
Physical activity and cognition are
positively related (Sibley & Etnier, 2003)
 Physical activity improves cognitive
performance and behavior improves
following bouts of activity (Tomorowski,
2003)
 CPAB temporarily improve attention and
behaviour (Pellegrini et al, 1995)
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What are the benefits of CPAB?
Academic Skills
Reading
Math
Language
Written/ Oral
General
Knowledge
Associative Thinking
Deductive
Abstract
Inductive
Sequencing
Analysis
Sequence synthesis
Organizing
Visualization
Pattern visual
discrimination
Verbal ability
Memory reason
Center Line skills
Eye-foot
coordination
Spatial coordination
Eye-hand
Hand-foot tracking
Dynamic Balance
Body Awareness
Uni/Bi/Cross
laterality
Locomotor Skills
Motor Skills
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Emphasize that CPAB are a privilege and
can be removed
This is NOT PE – only a 2-5 minute break
Needs to be done quietly – Practice!
Outcome is not important
Toe to toe – easy way to get students into
groups, work with different students
Lost and found/ Friendship corner
Managing the Environment
Brain Challenges:
 1. Hold your nose, reach over or under and
grab your nose with the other hand. Switch
 and switch
 2. Point an index finger out on one hand and
a thumb up on the other. Switch and
 switch.
 3. As you write your signature on an
imaginary table, rotate your foot in a
clockwise circle.
Cross Lateral Activities: Activating
all parts of the brain
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Pick a color – touch 5 things of that color
around the room (can’t be a person!)
Activities: Colors/
Stand back to back with partner
 Jump 5 times, turn on the 6th jump and
show
 Variations: use feet for symbols –
together= rock, apart side = paper, front
back straddle = scissors
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Activities: Rock Paper Scissors
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Walk around room. On command get toe-totoe with a partner
Designate one person to be “same” and one
person to be “different”
Jump 10x. On the 10th jump, both partners
put one foot forward
If the feet are the same (both right feet), the
“same” person gets a point, if they are
different, the “different” person gets a point
Change movement pairs from one session to
the next – feet apart or feet together; palms
up/ palms down
Activities: Same Different
Send two people out of the room
 Choose one person to initiate and change
the movement of the class – quiet, subtle
movements
 Invite the detectives back in – try to
figure out who is the person initiating the
change
 Add decoys to increase the difficulty
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Activities: Sherlock Holmes
Activities: Maestro
O = lunge
X = jump
Arrows show which direction to move one
step only)
 Read the notes like words on a page – L
to R, top to bottom and SAY THEM OUT
LOUD.
 Great activity for decision making,
crossing the midline of the body, tracking,
rhythm
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Activities: Maestro
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Level 1: move and say the SAME direction as
shown on the screen
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Level 2: move in the SAME direction as the
arrows, but say the OPPOSITE direction
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Level 3: move in the OPPOSITE direction, as the
arrows but say the SAME direction
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Level 4: move in the OPPOSITE direction as the
arrows and say the OPPOSITE direction as shown
on the screen
Activities: Maestro
Chosen leader performs various
movements, each preceded by saying “do
this” or “do that”
 Students copy the movements but only if
they are preceded by the phrase “do this”.
If the directions are “do that”, no one is to
move
 Can use points – students try to get the
least number of points during the game
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Activities: Do This, Do That
Leader gives verbal commands
 Leader attempts to confuse the class by
performing a different movement from
what they are saying
 E.g. Say “put your hands on your elbows”
while placing hands on your waist
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Activities: Do as I say
Quick Math
 Face your partner. Pretend to put your water gun in
your holsters. For one-hand addition,
 on the signal “Draw” each partner shows any number
of fingers and thumbs on one
 hand. The first partner who adds the fingers and
thumbs of both partners wins the draw.
 For two-hand addition, add partner #1 and partner
#2 fingers and thumbs together for
 the sum. For one-hand multiplication, multiply
partner #1 times partner #2 for the
 product. For two-hand multiplication, multiply the
sum of Partner#1’s hands times the sum
 of partner #2’s hands for the product.
Activities: Academic Integration
Evens
 Students walk around the room
 On command they find a partner, designate
one to be “odds” and one to be “evens”
 Hit fist into hand 3x and on 3rd time stick out
a combination of fingers: 0,1,2,3,4,5
 Total number of fingers is added together
 If it is even, “evens” player get the point, if it
is odd, “odds” player gets the point
 Play best of 3 games then find another
partner and repeat
Activities: Academic Integration
Balloons
 One per group of students
 Keep up – have to review topic/ answer
question/ link concepts while keeping
balloon from hitting the floor/ table
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Activities: Academic Integration
Rock Paper Scissors, Math
 Walk around room. On command get toe
to toe with a partner.
 Face partner and say R-P-S Math
 When you say the word math, you should
put between 1-4 fingers out (no thumbs
or zero’s)
 The person who adds the numbers/
multiples the numbers first wins the round
 Play best of 5 rounds
Activities: Academic Integration
Letter Spots
 Think of a word involving letters A,B,C,D,E
 Right shoulder = A, Right Ear = B, Nose =C,
Left ear = D, Left shoulder = E
 Without talking, spell out the word using
letter spots on body
 Partner has to say letters out loud and say
the word
 Change letters/ body parts/ add body parts
 Vocab lists for topic; spell out answer to
question using body
Academic Integration: Letter
Spots
Pre-Test Taking Activity
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Before starting test have students perform these
warm-ups/hook-ups:
1 leg squat touch opposite hand to floor: 20 each side
Spins and turns: 5 spins in each directions
Knee to Elbow: 30 times for each elbow
Stretches
Hands over Heads
Hands behind back
Shoulder shrugs
Head Rolls
Activities: Academic Integration
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http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/publications/t
eachingTools/upload/PA-During-SchoolDay.pdf pages 2 and 3 have a variety of links
to different activities
http://brainbreaks.blogspot.com/
http://pecentral.org/lessonideas/searchresults.
asp?category=55 classroom integrated
lessons. Most of them are elementary but you
could adapt and tailor them to suit your needs
Resources