Let's Move!

Fast Llamas

I was watching The Amazing Race and a contestant said something that really caught my attention... she said, "Once I added the moves to what I had to remember, it was easier for me to recall".  Wow! That's so smart!  In QL we add "moves" to information we want to recall easily.  There is a mind body connection.  Move the body, move the mind!  Movement is critical to enhancing learning.  It keeps students alert and focused, increases the flow of blood to the brain, and primes the brain for memory associations.

Here are some ideas to try:
1. Act out vocabulary words with their bodies. This will give them a visual picture to remember their words.

2. Have the class clap out the syllables in the names of their classmates or their vocabulary words. 

3. Create a mantra to use at the beginning of class... have students create a clapping routine for it. 

4. Have students use an object such as a pencil and hold it in, under, over, next to, beside, or above their desk to act out prepositions.

5. Station Labs... break a worksheet into parts, have students rotate.

6. Mark a ladder on the floor with tape and have students ‘step’ up and down the ladder to practice their subtraction skills.

7. Use manipulatives to practice concepts.

8. Have your students pretend that they are the center rod of a globe. Have them show longitude, latitude, the equator, etc on their globes. For instance, if the USA is on their chests have them show where is Europe, Africa, or Australia are located.

9. Through movement, have students mimic the different states of matter; liquid, gas, and solid.  The choices are endless.

10. Vote with your feet! Some call it 4 corners.  Put a topic, decision, location, answer, political agenda, etc. on opposite sides of the room. Ask students to choose one side or the other in answer to a question. For example, if you’ve just completed a study of Greece, put Athens on one side and Sparta on the other. Have students stand under the sign of the community they want to live in. Tell them to be prepared to explain their choice.

11. Motion - create motions to help students remember content as they say it... 

12. Body Mnemonics - choose parts of the body to remember, the head, ears, nose, arms etc... like a Loci mnemonic where different areas of a house help you remember, use different areas of the body to help you remember.  Here is an example to remember the 8 keys of Excellence.

Your students want to move, orchestrate this energy to interact with your content, one another and with you.

Have a great week!