Organize a classroom to support physical activity

A story from South Carolina

There are several ways that physical activity can be supported in a classroom, including through the way a classroom is set up and organized.  Dr. Colin Webster, Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina, shared an observation from his research on integrating movement into classrooms:

“We found that… teachers [could directly facilitate] student movement, but [there were] other [facilitators of student movement] that were not teacher-directed. [These things] were a function of classroom management structure established early in the year and how the room was set up.”

Key Takeaway

Organize a classroom so transitions between subjects incorporate physical activity. Dr. Webster encourages teachers to start integrating physical activity into the classroom through simple classroom organization:

• Put students’ materials for different subject areas on different sides of the room. For example, math materials may go on one side of the room, science on another side, and English and language arts on another side.
• When students have to retrieve their materials for different subjects, they can walk, hop, or jog to the different sides of the room.