MASTER LIST
Which activities were most effective in helping students experience higher levels of engagement, faster academic response time and an overall decrease in undesired behaviour?
What criteria was used to rank each activity?
The following activities are listed in order of preference. Each activity was reflected upon in a collaborative setting and rated on a five point scale according to its perceived efficacy in improving on-task behaviour and academic performance as well as reduce undesired behaviour. The five point scale reads as follows.
5. Extreme changes were seen in student behaviour; all students engaged in desired behaviours and displayed signs of focused attention and whole-body listening. All students experienced faster response times and were able to provide accurate or informed responses after appropriate wait time.
4. Significant changes were seen in student behaviour; most students engaged in desired behaviours and displayed signs of focused attention and whole-body listening. Most students experienced faster response times and were able to provide accurate or informed responses after appropriate wait time.
3. Moderate changes were seen in student behaviour; some students engaged engaged in desired behaviours and displayed signs of focused attention and whole-body listening. Some students experienced faster response times and were able to provide accurate or informed responses after appropriate wait time.
2. Basic changes were seen in student behaviour; some students engaged in brief periods of desired behaviour before reverting to primarily undesired behaviour. Few students experienced faster response times and were able to provide accurate or informed responses after appropriate wait time.
1. Minimal change were seen in student behaviour; the majority of students continued to engage in previous undesired behaviours and displayed signs of loss of attention and hyperactivity. None of the students were able to provide accurate or informed responses after experiencing appropriate wait time.
5. Extreme changes were seen in student behaviour; all students engaged in desired behaviours and displayed signs of focused attention and whole-body listening. All students experienced faster response times and were able to provide accurate or informed responses after appropriate wait time.
4. Significant changes were seen in student behaviour; most students engaged in desired behaviours and displayed signs of focused attention and whole-body listening. Most students experienced faster response times and were able to provide accurate or informed responses after appropriate wait time.
3. Moderate changes were seen in student behaviour; some students engaged engaged in desired behaviours and displayed signs of focused attention and whole-body listening. Some students experienced faster response times and were able to provide accurate or informed responses after appropriate wait time.
2. Basic changes were seen in student behaviour; some students engaged in brief periods of desired behaviour before reverting to primarily undesired behaviour. Few students experienced faster response times and were able to provide accurate or informed responses after appropriate wait time.
1. Minimal change were seen in student behaviour; the majority of students continued to engage in previous undesired behaviours and displayed signs of loss of attention and hyperactivity. None of the students were able to provide accurate or informed responses after experiencing appropriate wait time.
Angle Yoga
Rating: 5-point activity
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Description: yoga typically involves manipulating the body into specific positions to practice relaxation; it can also incorporate simple meditation and breathing patterns. It can be an individual activity or a social one where the actions of the instructor are demonstrated then modelled by the group. Comfortable participants may shut their eyes to improve relaxation and focus on their breathing.
Curriculum: yoga was practiced during math to learn about and review angles during geometry. Students were asked to first identify the angle or right angle during each teacher-led demonstration then slowly practiced each position as a class. Students were able to identify that right angles are easily made by the joints and encouraged to exercise all parts of their body in their creation (e.g. knees, hips, shoulders, elbows). |
Reflection: This activity was particularly effective in bringing down the energy level in the classroom. All students connected strongly to the teacher-led demonstrations when identifying angles. Some students struggled to replicate the positions due to a lack of bodily awareness but were still able to demonstrate their knowledge when observing a peer. To reintroduce students to the prior activity, movement was significantly slowed and students practiced simple stretching while being provided with further instruction.
Credit: This activity was self-developed.
Credit: This activity was self-developed.
Up-Down Questioning
Rating: 5-point activity
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Description: 'Up-Down Questioning' is a call and response game designed to develop fact fluency. Two movements are chosen at the beginning of the game: one that has students up and standing, and one that has students down and low to the ground. Students are instructed to call out the answer to the given question as a class while completing the first movement, and waiting to repeat the process before completing the second movement. Students go back and forth for the duration of the gam, earning points for on-task behaviour and correct responses while the teacher earns points for behavioural reminders and incorrect responses.
Curriculum: 'Up Down' is particularly suited to math as students require fact fluency in each of the four major operations. It should be noted this game is best played after students have a foundational knowledge of the operation in question; our students particularly enjoyed this game for multiplication after approximately two weeks of strategy work and fluency gains. |
Reflection: This activity was one of the most effective in engaging nearly every student regardless of academic level. Because this game helps students develop fluency and encourages the use of rote memorization, questions were called using a multiplication table and document camera. This allowed for the students who needed it to have the required support in a discrete manner. To improve future sessions, randomly incorporate or exclude the points system to further increase student engagement.
Credit: This activity was self-developed.
Credit: This activity was self-developed.
Action-Based Skip Counting
Rating: 5-point activity
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Description: to help understand the meaning of skip counting, students sit in a circle while a teacher stands in the centre. To begin, a simple action pattern is led with particular emphasis on the skip count target action; for example, if students are practicing skip counting by X, the pattern must contain X actions with the last being particularly energetic. Once students have mastered the movement pattern, have them begin to count beginning at 1 along with the pattern. Students may then continue on to shout the skip count targets while whispering the remaining numbers along with the movement pattern.
Curriculum: Practicing skip counting through whole-body movement is particularly effective in helping students both understand where the 'other numbers go' as well as predict the upcoming target. Because action-based skip counting allows students to count from 1, it eliminates student uncertainty and builds confidence; students are therefore able to develop fluency at a faster rate and have even carried the strategy forward by tapping their fingers. |
Reflection: This activity was incredibly at engaging all students and eliminating their off-task behaviour. The continual movement pattern presented students with an ongoing opportunity to practice aerobic exercise, while the consistent start point allowed students of all academic levels to join in and experience success. This activity quickly turned into a game that students asked to play instead of completing other instructional activities: to develop fluency even further in future games, increase the speed and the repetitions of the pattern.
Credit: This activity was from a presentation by Dr. Martha Koch of the University of Manitoba, presented during the 2017 WestCAST Conference held at Vancouver Island University.
Credit: This activity was from a presentation by Dr. Martha Koch of the University of Manitoba, presented during the 2017 WestCAST Conference held at Vancouver Island University.
Hula Hoop Skip Counting
Rating: 5-point activity
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Description: Skip counting with hula hoops allows educators multiple ways to differentiate required movement. Traditionally, students mingle/dance to a particular action while they wait for a number to be called. Once announced, students race to create equal groups in each hula hoop while the remaining students select another action. The class then skip counts according to a given start number while completing that action.
Curriculum: Depending on the need for differentiation, actions can be selected such that they are supplementary to action-based skip counting (see above). These include grabbing the number, flashing fingers, stomping feet, rolling arms, etc. If needed, students can count the individual actions and continue to practice the above strategy. This activity is particularly effective in increasing fluency and is easily differentiable depending on the chosen skip count, start point and direction. |
Reflection: Students loved this activity because of its ability to provide the appropriate amount of both physical and mental challenge. We divided our students into two differentiated groups and adjusted the skip counts, start points and directions accordingly. The constant movement helped all students stay focused, on-task and engaged; students were particularly motivated by picking the next set of actions. In the future, the activity level can be differentiated as necessary such that students are not moving during the whole-class skip count. This activity was conducted in the multipurpose area and resettled during the transition back to the classroom; however, students may require an additional wind-down activity if additional space is not available.
Credit: This activity was self-developed as an extension of Dr. Martha Koch's activity-based skip counting (see above).
Credit: This activity was self-developed as an extension of Dr. Martha Koch's activity-based skip counting (see above).
Break Time Posters
Rating: 4-point activity
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Description: Activity posters are generally displayed in common areas that have been designated as safe spaces for physical activity (e.g. the hallway, multipurpose area, etc.) Students complete their choice of given activities for each of the three rotations; each repetition must be completed once throughout the given space (e.g. around the common room, up and down the hallway, etc.) before students recharge and complete the next activity.
Curriculum: Students often use this activity during break times or during indoor recess, therefore it has been left unaltered to provide students with a break from academics and cognitive demand. However, this activity still meets three of the general outcomes in the physical education curriculum and meets further specific outcomes through its classification as a movement activity. |
Reflection: This activity highlighted the importance of location, as they were far more effective in reducing off-task behaviour and heightening response time than similar aerobic activities conducted within the classroom. This activity proved most effective when implemented in small groups (5-10 students). Students benefit greatly from a fourth rotation with wind down activities prior to their reintroduction into the classroom; this practice should be continued.
Credit: This activity had already been implemented prior to the start of practicum by another member of our grade team. Our high energy students often preferred to join this activity rather than participate in Go Noodle (see below).
Credit: This activity had already been implemented prior to the start of practicum by another member of our grade team. Our high energy students often preferred to join this activity rather than participate in Go Noodle (see below).
Even-Odd (Ship to Shore)
Rating: 4-point activity
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Description: 'Ship to Shore' is a simple speed game in which all students run to a designated area when the words 'ship' or 'shore' are called. As students run, various other terms may be called, and students must immediately stop and complete the associated action before 'ship' or 'shore' is called again. 5-fingered breathing is a guided wind-down activity where students trace up one side of their finger as they inhale, and down the opposite side as they exhale.
Curriculum: 'Ship to Shore' was often used during math to review even and odd numbers as an activity break. Students mingled and danced around the classroom waiting for a number to be called before running to the appropriate half of the room. If the number was a multiple of 10, students laid on the ground in pairs and formed the digits using their bodies. Each 5-fingered breathing exercise was then used as a guided activity to review skip counting. |
Reflection: This game was a student favourite because all students were able to participate and learn in a scaffolded setting; almost all students experienced improved response times and could be seen leaning to either side of the room when discussing examples later on. The additional action words could be easily differentiated and introduced as necessary depending on a formative assessment of skill level. To regain focus and dissolve energy levels, it is necessary for students to participate in the 5-fingered breathing while laying on the floor before resuming any prior activity as students struggled to adjust their behaviour as intended without its inclusion.
Credit: This activity was adapted from the popular 'Ship to Shore' game; students brought this game to my attention during the warm-up period of a weekly physical education class.
Credit: This activity was adapted from the popular 'Ship to Shore' game; students brought this game to my attention during the warm-up period of a weekly physical education class.
Wax Museum
Rating: 4-point activity
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Description: 'Wax Museum' is similar to the popular 'Mindful Museum' and 'Statues' game. One or two students are chosen as 'night guards' while the remaining students are given ten seconds to freeze in a position of their choice according to a given theme. The night guards then walk through the classroom, looking for 'moving statues'; however, when the night guards' backs are turned, statues are permitted to silently change shape as long as they aren't seen.
Curriculum: Because 'Wax Museum' is an open-themed game, it lends itself to multiple curricular connections. Students may act out any given set of themed vocabulary words, historical scenarios or key points. In particular, 'Wax Museum' to be particularly engaging when implemented during science (e.g. 'types of bridges', 'structures', etc.) |
Reflection: 'Wax Museum' was a student favourite long before its implementation with the Learning-to-Move project. The quiet environment resulted in an intense focus that often carried forward into the lesson, while the rotating selection of theme offered an opportunity for both curricular connection and self-differentiation. In the future, limiting the activity will maintain interest for longer periods of time and prevent the last few students from becoming disinterested due to over-repetition.
Credit: This activity was adapted from the 'Mindful Museum Theatre Game' as seen on the Research page (Nance, 2016).
Credit: This activity was adapted from the 'Mindful Museum Theatre Game' as seen on the Research page (Nance, 2016).
Animal-Based Rock-Paper-Scissors
Rating: 4-point activity
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Description: 'Animal-Based Rock-Paper-Scissors' is a movement variation of the classic rock-paper-scissors game. Students begin by crouching and playing rock-paper-scissors against another student. The winner then graduates to kneeling before repeating the process; the winner of the kneeling match graduates to standing. Players must compete against someone of the same level (crouching, kneeling or standing) and students who lose the match are demoted to the previous level.
Curriculum: This game is particularly fitting as a supplementary game to the 'Animal Life Cycle' unit. A teacher may choose a related animal of the day and use the movements to resemble different stages of the life-cycle. For example, students may play this game as Egg-Tadpole-Frog or Egg-Chick-Rooster. |
Reflection: 'Animal-Based Rock-Paper-Scissors' was often used as a sponge activity when students were transitioning from gym, music and recess. To extend this activity, a teacher may add additional stages to the life cycle depending on student level. Some students struggled to restrict animal behaviour/noises during subsequent activities, however, this activity was well-loved by students and they were often disappointed at its culmination.
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Credit: This activity was previously developed by members of our grade-team; students were already familiar with the game and its setup.
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Credit: This activity was previously developed by members of our grade-team; students were already familiar with the game and its setup.
Grow with Words
Rating: 4-point activity
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Description: 'Grow with Words' is a simple activity designed to help students with spelling and pronunciation of sight words. Students begin by crouching down and rising up with each letter as they spell the given word. Once students have finished spelling the word, they jump up and shout the word before crouching for the next word on the list. A teacher may choose to have students repeat individual words or the entire list depending on an ongoing assessment of fluency.
Curriculum: This activity is designed to supplement students' spelling, but can easily be used with any step-by-step model such as animal life cycles (e.g. caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly), procedural writing (e.g. first, next, then) or instructional routine (e.g. stop, look, listen). |
Reflection: Most students displayed an increase in academic fluency after completing this activity and were proud of their new abilities, meaning they demonstrated increased focus during direct instruction. In the future, it is recommended that a teacher varies the action for each new word (e.g. slowly stand up for first word, spin in a circle for second word, raise arms for third word, etc.) This will engage the few students who became disinterested due to the repetition in movement.
Credit: This activity was previously developed by members of our grade-team; students were already familiar with the game and its setup.
Credit: This activity was previously developed by members of our grade-team; students were already familiar with the game and its setup.
Ukrainian Dance (Knights, Horses, Cavaliers)
Rating: 3-point activity
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Description: 'Horses, Knights, Cavaliers' is a simple action game in which players dance and mingle around the space while waiting for one of the three words to be called. Once a term is called, players must race to find a partner and complete the associated action; the last pair of players to complete the action correctly receive a point. The players with the lowest number of points overall win the game.
Curriculum: 'Horses, Knights, Cavaliers' is suitable for learning various vocabulary terms. This game was altered during the Ukraine unit to teach students traditional dance moves in preparation for an upcoming presentation. Students played the game using partner dance positions while learning the proper Ukrainian names, fusing elements of both cultures in a simple, aerobic activity. |
Reflection: Because this game was a variation of one of the student's favourites, it was not as effective in achieving the desired outcomes. Students associate 'Horses, Knights, Cavaliers' with high energy levels and competition; while the engagement remained extremely high during the Ukrainian variation, some students maintained the energy and struggled to moderate their behaviour after the game's completion. To negate this, it is recommended that students practice one of the familiar wind-down activities before transitioning. Because the vocabulary terms were presented in a different language, response time could also be further improved in the future with additional practice.
Credit: This activity was adapted from the popular 'Knights, Horses, Cavaliers' game; students brought this game to my attention during an indoor recess.
Credit: This activity was adapted from the popular 'Knights, Horses, Cavaliers' game; students brought this game to my attention during an indoor recess.
Animal Walks
Rating: 3-point activity
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Description: Animal walks are traditionally used to provide students with a brief period of non-academic, whole-body exercise. In this case, animal walks were used in the hallways during transitions. Students are given a choice of animal prior to leaving the classroom and after a quick demonstration, are expected to quietly practice the selected walk en route to the destination. Students are then asked to 'transform back to students' prior to entering the new location.
Curriculum: As mentioned above, it is important that students have regular movement breaks with minimal cognitive demand incorporated into the instructional day. As such, the animal walks have been left as a sort of 'mindless activity' meant for students to destress and refocus before moving into the next lesson. |
Reflection: This activity ranged in efficacy depending on the walk that was chosen and how much time students were given to practice it. Slower actions (e.g. students as elephants, snails, snakes, etc.) were more effective in reducing off-task behaviours during transition periods as they decreased energy levels, but often took students an unexpected amount of time to complete. Faster actions (e.g. students as kangaroos, bears, etc.) allowed students to transition in a more effective manner, but increased energy levels as some students extended the animal behaviour into the next lesson.
Credit: This activity was adapted from Leah Davies (2006).
Credit: This activity was adapted from Leah Davies (2006).
Concept Demonstration
Rating: 3-point activity
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Description: 'Concept Demonstration' is a generalist activity that can be used to help bring the concepts presented in direct instruction to life. When a teacher observes students getting restless, they may call either a small group or the whole class to stand up and act out the concept currently being discussed; this may be done to either solidify prior knowledge or to introduce a new topic.
Curriculum: We found 'Concept Demonstration' to be particularly useful in science for the 'Hearing and Sound' unit. Because sound waves and air particles are topics that students can not tangibly interact with, students had limited understanding through direct instruction. However, we turned our students into air particles with the swish of a whiteboard wand; students were able to develop an understanding through physical demonstrations of the effect of vibrations on air particles. |
Reflection: This activity has the ability to become a 4 or 5-star activity, but it depends on the context in which it is used. While students required this activity to develop a scientific understanding, because the topic focused on high levels of energy some of our students found it difficult to regain control of their movements after wind-down activities. However, in a high school setting, physical demonstrations are particularly beneficial in clarifying the use of exponents and brackets in mathematics.
Credit: This activity was self-developed in consultation with teacher mentors.
Credit: This activity was self-developed in consultation with teacher mentors.
Pattern Master
Rating: 3-point activity
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Description: 'Pattern Master' starts with students sitting or standing in a circle. A teacher chooses a single detective to stand outside of the room while a Pattern Master is chosen. Once all remaining students are quietly made aware of the Pattern Master, they begin by tapping their hands continually on their lap. The detective is then called back and they are asked to stand in the middle of the circle. The Pattern Master silently alters the movement pattern at their leisure and the remainder of students follow; the detective has three guesses to decide which student is in control of the pattern.
Curriculum: 'Pattern Master' was particularly suited as a supplementary material during the 'Patterns and Skip Counting' unit in math. This activity not only allowed students practice with general patterning, but also acted as a formative assessment to whether or not students were able to identify, create and extend patterns with one or two attributes. |
Reflection: Pattern Master was a class favourite, but a good number of students became disengaged or reverted to off-task behaviour when they were not selected as the Pattern Master or detective. To rectify this, we attempted to change the number of times the activity was implemented throughout the unit and to increase the number of detectives, but the more active students still seemed to prefer the above activities.
Credit: This activity was previously developed by members of our grade-team; students were already familiar with the game and its setup.
Credit: This activity was previously developed by members of our grade-team; students were already familiar with the game and its setup.
Vocabulary Quizlets
Rating: 3-point activity
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Description: 'Vocabulary Quizlets' are a regular part of group discussion and rely on the initial association of a particular movement with a given vocabulary term. If students struggle to recall the correct definition of a word, a teacher may select a simple movement to help them clarify its meaning. Once students have made this association, a teacher may lead the movement as often as needed during group discussions to help solidify the newfound definition.
Curriculum: This is a generalist activity that can increase the level of physical activity in any class discussion or vocabulary context. For example, in our class, we selected the terms 'row' and 'column' and associated them with arms out to the side and arms in the air respectively. As we continued our class discussion regarding arrays in multiplication, we implemented the movements each time we said the keywords. Similar activities can be done with nearly every grade and subject. |
Reflection: This activity was particularly effective at increasing student's academic performance and response time; with its continual repetition, the activity offered a quick and easy way to solidify concepts for students as well as provide them with a strategy for independent work. To engage the few students who were unwilling to participate, it is recommended to challenge them to complete the motions without the guidance of a teacher as these students thrive on personal challenge and deviation from routine.
Credit: This activity was self-developed in consultation with teacher mentors.
Credit: This activity was self-developed in consultation with teacher mentors.
Go Noodle Videos
Rating: 2-point activity
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Description: Go Noodle provides a series of child-appropriate videos that are to inspire physical activity in the classroom. Clips are approximately 2-4 minutes long and the website tracks completion; the site, however, can only be accessed through subscription. Students are expected to copy the movements displayed on screen and can even sing along to express additional energy.
Curriculum: Go Noodle videos range in curricular connection from primarily physical education to literacy. Depending on the needs of the student body, teachers can select videos that incorporate rhyming words, songs and poetry to those that focus on strength training and aerobic, whole-body exercise. |
Reflection: The efficacy of this activity depended on the length of time each movement was displayed on screen. Straight aerobic training videos seemed to be more effective as students had more time to relate what was happening on screen to their own bodies. Most students struggled with the remainder of the videos as they were unable to experience success when copying the movements on screen at a fast pace; these students would often then revert to off-task behaviours while demonstrating high excitement. To improve this activity, it is highly recommended that teachers pre-screen video clips and select those that maximize demonstration time while completing each action along-side students.
Credit: This activity was implemented as part of a school-wide paid subscription through Go Noodle (n.d.)
Credit: This activity was implemented as part of a school-wide paid subscription through Go Noodle (n.d.)