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Get Moving! It’s 1:30 in the afternoon, and our class is preparing for language arts block. Recess and lunch seem like hours ago, and we still have an entire content area to teach. As my co-teacher and I begin setting up for the lesson, we notice Jenna rocking in her…

In my previous post, I talked about the importance of incorporating movement into classroom work and gave an example of one way to do that with an editing activity. In this post, I’d like to share a way to add movement when the class is reviewing material right before a…

“What’s the group game today?” That’s the question I keep hearing from my students as we walk out to recess. It’s Mrs. VanDyke’s day to lead the group game, and several students cheer when they hear that she is leading doctor tag. They run to join other third graders on…

It's 1:30 in the afternoon, and our class is preparing for language arts block. Recess and lunch seem like hours ago, and we still have an entire content area left to teach. As my co-teacher and I begin to set up for the lesson, we notice Jenna rocking in her…

Do you often wonder how to keep the sense of comfortable routine while also varying Morning Meetings enough to keep students (and adults) interested and engaged? Greetings can be especially important because they set the tone for the whole meeting—and the whole day. Here's another answer to a question teachers…

After doing many Morning Meetings, teachers often wonder how to keep the sense of comfortable routine while also varying the meetings enough to keep students (and adults) interested and engaged. Greetings can be especially important because they set the tone for the whole meeting—and the whole day. Here are answers…

Recently I've been thinking about how enthusiastically the students in my class take on challenges, and how challenging them has helped us build a more positive community and made learning more fun for all of us. How things have changed since the beginning of the year! As I got to…

Scanning around our Morning Meeting circle, I noticed that students' eyes were riveted on the sharer—all except for Justin, a child with a high need for sensory input and physical movement. Justin was ramping up. His eyes were flashing from me to the sharer. His hands were flapping, and he…

While giving the January spelling assessment, I paused to look around the classroom and here's what I saw: Sara was yawning. Ben held his head in his hands. Julie's head was down on her paper, and Justin was tapping his pencil while jiggling his feet under his chair. It was…

Closing Circle is a positive, structured way to bring closure to the school day. It takes just a few minutes and is a time for students to reflect and celebrate what they have done in school that day. What exactly do children do in a Closing Circle? They may sing…

Here's a Morning Meeting activity idea from 80 Morning Meeting Ideas for Grades K–2, by Susan Lattanzi Roser: Lost Tooth Poem Children will relate to this poem about a missing tooth! My Tooth   — anonymous My tooth fell out and left a space (pantomime tooth falling out) So big my…

“Little fish, little fish, swim out to sea,” I shout from the center of the field to the mass of students poised at one end line. From the center line, I watch as they pretend to swim across the “ocean” (the playing field) to reach the safety of the “shore”…

We should all take a cue from this season's name: spring up from our seats and get moving! Take a break outside or just stand up and do a quick energizer—it will help lessons run more smoothly and increase your students' engagement and learning. Not sure your class can make…

Our parents were right: Going out to play is good for children’s minds and bodies. But many children no longer spend much time playing outside. On the home front, they’re often engaged in after-school activities. Parents may also limit or eliminate outdoor play because they’re working or worried about safety.…

Q & A with Responsive Classroom consulting teachers Dana Lynn Januszka and Kristen Vincent Here are two of their ideas: Give This Group a Hand Students stand in a circle and chant: We’re gonna give . . . this . . . group a hand. We’re gonna give this group…

I remember one third grader who really struggled with sitting still. If I’d required him to sit while he worked, it would have been really hard for him to get anything done. This child needed to move to stay focused—for instance, he’d choose to work on his math journal while…

So you want to reduce the amount of time that your students are required to sit and to give them more chances to move. Could you build more movement into your lessons? Here's one idea. Let's say you've just taught a lesson on subtraction with regrouping, and now you want…

What are strategies for helping students be more physically active during the day, and how do we keep control of the group if they're sitting less and moving more? Try having lessons take place in one area of the room, and student work take place somewhere else. Bringing students to…

So we know students need to sit still to accomplish some school tasks, but we don't want to keep them sitting for too long. How can we minimize the amount of time we require children to sit still? One great strategy is to keep direct teaching lessons short. A friend…

“My students have such a hard time sitting still! They call out all the time! They’re constantly out of their seats!” After hearing this refrain over and over again from teachers, I decided to do a little research. However, instead of trying to verify whether teachers were right about how…

I wrote last week about things you can do to ease classroom stress during testing and other high-anxiety times. Here are three more tips for keeping the atmosphere of your classroom calm and productive! Have a Cooperative Recess A fun, energetic recess can be a great way for children to…

It’s spring, and end-of-the-year-testing looms. The children are stressed.You’re stressed. You need to ease the tension—but how? Well, you’re not alone! When we asked Responsive Classroom fans on Facebook if they’d like to read about strategies for relieving testing stress, many said, “Yes, right away!” So without further ado, here…

This clapping chant is fun for K–3 students anytime, but especially when they're studying dinosaurs! Called "Dino Dinner Chant," it’s from Energizers! 88 Quick Movement Activities That Refresh and Refocus, by Susan Lattanzi Roser. Dino Dinner Chant Practice saying the chant together before trying it "for real." As you chant,…

Children of all ages enjoy "Dum Dum Dah Dah." In this quick movement break,  a leader establishes a pattern and the group chants or sings the words as they echo the leader's actions. (This, and the other energizers in this series, are from Energizers! 88 Quick Movement Activities That Refresh…

"Interruptions" gets students up and shaking out the cobwebs—while enhancing their listening and literacy skills in a fun way! It's especially good with K–3 students, but older children may also enjoy it. ["Interruptions" is from Energizers! 88 Quick Movement Activities That Refresh and Refocus, by Susan Lattanzi Roser.] Interruptions (Teaching…

Many of us are longing for spring, but it’s still February! It’s a great time to perk up your class with quick energizers sprinkled throughout the day. Here’s one called "Double This Double That"—especially fun for students in grades three through six. It’s taken from Energizers! 88 Quick Movement Activities…