Integrating Movement
Kinesthetic activities allow students to move and burn energy which awards me with calmer and more focused students. Exercise is a proven coping strategy that can help reduce and mitigate the effects of stress and anxiety. By integrating kinesthetic activities with scientific content I have pushed my students to develop a deep understanding of science while also establishing the emotional climate of my classroom.
Reflecting on all of the instructional strategies I have leveraged with my students kinesthetic activities have been my favorite and the most impactful. Kinethsitc activities helped me carter to the large student-athlete population I had had at Imhotep and utilize their strengths to foster deep learning. Kinesthetic activities are a special type of hands-on learning that places particular importance on movement. Kinesthetic activities have been the most ideal way to learn science content such as lactic acid fermentation. These activities allow my students to learn and experience content. This allows the classroom content to come alive which fosters an environment where it is easy for students to make concrete and lasting connections between classroom content and personal experiences.
This a picture of my 10th-grade biology students participating in a yoga session led by a certified yoga instructor. For most of my students, this was their first experience with yoga. This activity allowed my students to make personal connections to lactic acid fermentation through experience and participate in a mental wellness activity.
Lactic Acid Fermentation Through Yoga
My most powerful and fulfilling moment as a teacher was integrating yoga into my science curriculum. As an educator, I have made it a personal goal to teach with a trauma-informed lens. I introduced my students to a variety of coping strategies that promote mental wellness. I leveraged my deep content knowledge design an activity that was culturally relevant to my student population, promoted mental wellness, and fostered a deep understanding of scientific content. Following the yoga session facilitated by a certified yoga instructor students reflected on their experience. A few students began to attend a weekly yoga class in the area and appreciated yoga as a workout and mental wellness strategy.
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Please click this link to see my students participating in a yoga session led by a licensed instructor
https://www.torshtalent.com/video/ePK3hfHvzCRjYRSYQ
In this video, a class of 10th-grade biology students are participating in a yoga session led by a licensed yoga instructor. Students are developing their understanding of lactic acid as they feel a burning sensation in their muscles. In the video, the students are participating in a breathing exercise to relax and bring their workout to end.
This is an exit ticket my students took after they participated in the lactic acid yoga. Students are describing the burning sensation they felt in their body during the workout and connecting it to quick energy and the lactic acid fermentation burn. Integrating movement allowed my students to create a personal connection to the content which creates an enduring understanding.
Laboratory: Physical Exercise and Body Systems
In this laboratory activity, I had my students create two work 15-minute workout plans. My students were designing workout plans that engaged long term and short term energy which triggered cellular respiration or lactic acid fermentation. It was challenging for students to conceptualize which type of energy consumption led to which pathway, having a kinesthetic activity allowed the students to make memorable connections to the rigorous content.
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Please click here to see a video of my students engaging in the lactic acid workout lab
https://www.torshtalent.com/video/NnJvyvh2p7rttaXn7
In this video, students are applying their understanding of the body's energy systems. Two 10th-grade students are implementing a part of the workout plan they created to use quick energy.
The slides in this presentation demonstrate how I developed my students' deep understanding of lactic acid. This artifact is my slideshow presentation during our cellular respiration unit. This slide show spans 12 instructional days and contains direct instruction, videos, questions, exit tickets, and announcements.
This artifact is the lab I created for my students. This lab requires students to create two workout plans that use different energy systems in the body. The lab positions students as scientists as they create a hypothesis, design and implement two experiments, and collect and analyze data. Students apply their existing knowledge of energy systems to design their workouts. Integrating movement allows students to form a personal connection that develops their understanding of energy systems.
Musical Chairs and Biological Organization
In this activity, my students were each secretly designated a level of organization (cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism) and they were tasked to find students who had the same level of organization as them. I added music to make the activity more engaging and relevant for my students. The musical chairs component of this activity helped me achieve 100% participation for my students. Leveraging movement for this activity increased participation which helped my students develop an understanding of the hierarchy of biological organization.
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Please click this link to see my students engage in this activity
In this activity, each student was given a slip of paper indicating their role in the activity. Students had to form groups according to the level of organization. For example, a student who was lung cell 1 would find the student would is lung cell 2 to form a lung cell tissue. Incorporating movement into this activity made it easy for students to see how the levels of biological organization build upon each other. Students formed the following groups: tissue, organ, organ system, and organism. This activity developed my students understanding of biological organization leveraging movement made the activity more engaging and emphasized how each level builds upon the previous.
Gallery Walks
I utilize gallery walks for a variety of activities in my classroom. I have used gallery walks in lieu of taking notes, to analyze and examine exemplars of student work, and for vocabulary. The focus during a gallery walk is on the content, not the movement. However, adding the physical element to this activity makes it more engaging and transforms a traditionally passive learning experience into an active one.
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Please click this link to see my 6th-grade science students participating in their first gallery walk.
https://www.torshtalent.com/video/nN7PSsLAsyZWYMzK8
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In this video, my 6th-grade science students are participating in their first gallery walk. They are roaming the room to gather the definitions for all their vocabulary words for cells. Active learning makes it easier for students to develop understanding and retain the information. In the video note the engagement of the students. All are diligently and actively gathering information as they develop their understanding of bodies and body systems.
This is the vocabulary that I hung around the room during the gallery walk. Students fold their paper into three columns: one column for the vocabulary word, one column for the definition, one column for a picture. Incorporating movement makes the learner take an active role as they roam the room gathering the knowledge they need. This activity developed their understanding of bodies and body systems.