Exercise is very good for the brain as well as the body:
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenew...althNews-2
How are you ensuring that your students get enough exercise? Do you make classroom lessons active? How? Do you take your students out of the classroom?
Thanks!
Christina
Freshmen who struggle in reading class have a new assignment this fall at Naperville Central High School: more time in the gym. Long regarded as a leader in physical education reform, the Naperville school's latest effort involves trying new research linking increased physical activity with academic success. The program is being closely monitored nationally by leading researchers studying the impact of exercise on brain function. Read the September 13th Chicago Tribune article dedicated to this topic:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/s....intercept
Cheers,
Christina
The word exercise derives from a Latin root meaning "to maintain, to keep, to ward off." To exercise means to practice, put into action, train, perform, use, improve.
Exercise is a natural part of life, although these days we have to consciously include it in our daily routine. Biologically, it was part of survival, in the form of hunting and gathering or raising livestock and growing food. Historically, it was built into daily life, as regular hours of physical work or soldiering. What is now considered a form of exercise – walking –was originally a form of transportation.
Physical Exercise Helps Higher Brain Functions
the cognitive abilities of the participants were tested in four areas: memory, executive functioning, attention/concentration, and psychomotor speed.
Compared to the medication group, the exercisers showed significant improvements in the higher mental processes of memory and in "executive functions" that involve planning, organization, and the ability to mentally juggle different intellectual tasks at the same time.
"What we found so fascinating was that exercise had its beneficial effect in specific areas of cognitive function that are rooted in the frontal and prefrontal regions of the brain," said Blumenthal. "The implications are that exercise might be able to offset some of the mental declines that we often associate with the aging process."
http://www.fi.edu/brain/exercise.htm#mentalexercise
For some reasons, however, not too many are inclined to doing physical exercise.
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john07
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I remember my daughter saying she hates PE in her girl boarding school[url=http://www.boarding-school-directory.com][/url]. As a mother, I became more convinced that students really needs to be active and find enthusiasm in learning. Teens tend to be lazy nowadays. We used to sing in our classes before to make us alert and sometimes our teacher incorporate actions in it. That would be a great way to get the attention of your students.