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Articles

Spring Rejuvenation

It’s March, and in many parts of the country, teachers and students are facing the tail end of a long, gray winter, and cabin fever may be setting in. No matter what the weather is like where you are, it can be challenging for both students and teachers to maintain…
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Mar 07 2017
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

A Teacher Shares

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…
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Apr 22 2015
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

Active, Engaging Test Prep: The Walking Quiz

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…
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Jan 13 2015
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

Leading Group Games at Recess

“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…
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Dec 18 2014
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

Keep Your Class 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 left to teach. As my co-teacher and I begin to set up for the lesson, we notice Jenna rocking in her…
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Dec 10 2014
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

What to Do When Greetings Get Silly

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…
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Apr 24 2014

Keeping Morning Meeting Greetings Fresh and Fun

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…
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Oct 11 2013
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

Challenges Are Fun!

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…
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Mar 21 2013
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

Who Needs Extra Movement Breaks?

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…
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Mar 07 2013
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

Movement Breaks to the Rescue!

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…
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Mar 05 2013

Closing Circle Idea: Maître d’

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…
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Aug 09 2012

Group Activity Idea: Lost Tooth Poem

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…
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Mar 29 2012

Fish Gobbler

“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”…
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May 04 2011
Photograph by Jeff Woodward.

Spring Is a Verb!

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…
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Apr 13 2011

“Go Play!”

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.…
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Apr 01 2011

What are some quick, fun class celebrations?

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…
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Feb 01 2011

A Comfortable Way to Work

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…
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Nov 03 2010

Make Learning a Moving Experience

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…
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Nov 01 2010

Move Around the Room

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…
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Oct 27 2010

Lecture Less

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…
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Oct 25 2010

Sitting Too Much?

“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…
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Oct 22 2010

Classroom Tension Tamers: Three More Ideas to Use Now!

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…
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Apr 29 2010

Classroom Tension Tamers: Three Ideas to Use Now

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…
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Apr 21 2010

Energizers! Energizing with the Dinosaurs

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,…
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Mar 23 2010

Energizers! A follow-the-leader activity for all ages

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…
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Mar 08 2010

An Energizer with an Academic Twist

"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…
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Mar 02 2010

Energizers! Double This Double That

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…
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Feb 24 2010

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