Reflection:
I am glad I chose a topic that I could use in my own classroom. When I emailed my kindergarten teacher she told me about midline cross stretching, and I changed my project to mainly focus on this. She told me how it helps develop left and right brain so I decided to look into it and found that it also helps develop a dominant and helping hand. To me midline cross stretching is an important part of developing things as you get older. When I become a parent I am going to make my own children do midline cross stretching as they age.
My main product was making short videos that teachers can play for their class, and their students can follow along. I made them short because I know teachers don't have free time in their classroom because now school seems like it is all about teaching and learning all the time with no free time. With the short videos, teachers are easily able to play the videos with their morning routine and right after lunch. I didn't want to only have videos so I made a weebly to explain what midline cross stretching does and how it affects your body. (http://midlinecrossstretching.weebly.com/)
When I was searching what to do for my product, and went to many website most of them talked about different stretching. After reading several websites I came up with the idea to make a video to demonstrate some stretches. I didn't choose many because teachers don't have free time to do many things that they want to do. I was very interested in the topic I ended up doing, and I am glad we got to choose something that we wanted to do.
I was very pleased how the showcase went, and I must have presented pretty well because people didn't have too many questions to ask me. I only had two people come up to me, but both people told me that I did good so I was very pleased!
Monday, December 2, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Brainstorm of Product
How does exercising/stretching help students in Kindergarten to Second grade stay focused on a task?
Progress check:
So far I have learned that doing stretches that cross your midline will also help the development of your right-brain, left-brain. I also learned that students need about twenty minutes worth of exercising, and even though you won't be able to do that much in your classroom it would still be helpful to take short breaks to do a few exercises just to help your students stay focused on their school work. I think the main thing I really need to focus on is getting my stretching/exercises to use in my final product.
Target audience and Product:
My final project will mainly be projected to teachers, but I think parents could find use in it as well. Teachers could use these activities for short stretching break(s) when she (the teacher) sees her students start fading out during the day and especially after lunch. I think parents can use this idea of midline stretching to help their child with right-brain, left-brain activities at an early age.
For my product I am thinking about videoing myself doing certain midline stretches and explain how to do it (kind of like in magazines but in a video). If I don't do the video I will do pictures of me doing the stretches and explain how to do them. With the video or pictures I would create a website to post them on so teachers and parents can go look at them or even play them in front of the classroom/children so they can follow along with me.
Progress check:
So far I have learned that doing stretches that cross your midline will also help the development of your right-brain, left-brain. I also learned that students need about twenty minutes worth of exercising, and even though you won't be able to do that much in your classroom it would still be helpful to take short breaks to do a few exercises just to help your students stay focused on their school work. I think the main thing I really need to focus on is getting my stretching/exercises to use in my final product.
Target audience and Product:
My final project will mainly be projected to teachers, but I think parents could find use in it as well. Teachers could use these activities for short stretching break(s) when she (the teacher) sees her students start fading out during the day and especially after lunch. I think parents can use this idea of midline stretching to help their child with right-brain, left-brain activities at an early age.
For my product I am thinking about videoing myself doing certain midline stretches and explain how to do it (kind of like in magazines but in a video). If I don't do the video I will do pictures of me doing the stretches and explain how to do them. With the video or pictures I would create a website to post them on so teachers and parents can go look at them or even play them in front of the classroom/children so they can follow along with me.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Midline Cross Exercising/Stretching
How does exercising/stretching help students in Kindergarten to Second grade stay focused on a task?
I asked my kindergarten teacher why she thinks young students can not stay focused on a task and how might exercising/stretching help them. This is what she told me:
I asked my kindergarten teacher why she thinks young students can not stay focused on a task and how might exercising/stretching help them. This is what she told me:
Children
between Kindergarten age and second grade generally have a short attention
span, and some more than others. By breaking up their “on task” time with
intermittent intervals of quick exercise or movement children will be able to
better focus on the task at hand.
She also mentioned that exercises that "cross the midline" helps with developing right-brain, left-brain activity. Our bodies are divided in half (right side/left side) from head to toe. It is important for children to be able to do exercises that cause limbs (arms & legs) to cross over the mid-section of their bodies.
Ex. Stand straight with arms stretched out, feet apart. Bend over and touch left foot with right hand. Or touch right knee with your left elbow.
So I went to google and typed in cross the midline exercises and I found a great website that talks about vigorous physical activity gets the blood flowing and releases stress and some activities helps the brains more alert and to help improve learning. It also mentions that children need to "stand up and stretch" about every 20 minutes. The website also gives me four exercise movements you can do: cross the midline, elbow tap, windmills, backwards. For smaller kids it mentions that you can put a piece of painters tape in the middle of their bodies so they can be aware of crossing the midline.
This is another website that talks about how important it is for crossing the midline. 3 or 4 years old, a child should have mastered the bilateral skill (using both sides of the body together). The crossing the midline also helps you develop a dominant hand and a helping hand. The website also has right brain/left brain teasers that will help develop your brain.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Responses from Other Blogs
What are some commentaries or lessons did I learn from other blogs?
From the several blogs I read, most of them talked about making the lesson challenging and not let it be very easy where the students will get bored. Another thing that stood out to me was to encourage the student to compete against themselves. I never really thought about that but I really like it. I could see me using that in my classroom even if it is to encourage my students to see how fast they can say the alphabet without messing up if I teach kindergarten. I also read where it mentions to let the students work together and even play "teacher." This is where each of them can get in the front of the class and tell everyone what they have learned. This would be a fun activity to do with the classroom after we do a class project or activity. I think what will help all the students if I tell them the connection of the lesson with why they will use it out in the real world and not just in school. All of these points that I read from other blogs helps me add on to my list of how I can motivate my student to want to learn.
Looking at blogs about stretching I came across this to help students de-stress themselves. Gentle movement — such as stretching or yoga, or even a slow stroll around the block. Even 5-15 minutes can release tension and activate calm-down chemicals. If my students get too rambunctious or too tired to keep doing their class work, I will make my class take a short break from work and we will all do some stretches together. Another blog post I read says that exercising will help brain memory; it mentions that "exercise for a long period of time your brain secretes a beneficial rush of hormones which stimulates memory and improves clarity (Boot Camp Sydney).
From the information I read over the two blogs I'm thinking about talking some about how to motivate your students with intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. I am thinking about showing pictures of myself and explaining each stretch.
How does exercising/stretching help students in Kindergarten to First grade stay focused on a task?
From the several blogs I read, most of them talked about making the lesson challenging and not let it be very easy where the students will get bored. Another thing that stood out to me was to encourage the student to compete against themselves. I never really thought about that but I really like it. I could see me using that in my classroom even if it is to encourage my students to see how fast they can say the alphabet without messing up if I teach kindergarten. I also read where it mentions to let the students work together and even play "teacher." This is where each of them can get in the front of the class and tell everyone what they have learned. This would be a fun activity to do with the classroom after we do a class project or activity. I think what will help all the students if I tell them the connection of the lesson with why they will use it out in the real world and not just in school. All of these points that I read from other blogs helps me add on to my list of how I can motivate my student to want to learn.
Looking at blogs about stretching I came across this to help students de-stress themselves. Gentle movement — such as stretching or yoga, or even a slow stroll around the block. Even 5-15 minutes can release tension and activate calm-down chemicals. If my students get too rambunctious or too tired to keep doing their class work, I will make my class take a short break from work and we will all do some stretches together. Another blog post I read says that exercising will help brain memory; it mentions that "exercise for a long period of time your brain secretes a beneficial rush of hormones which stimulates memory and improves clarity (Boot Camp Sydney).
From the information I read over the two blogs I'm thinking about talking some about how to motivate your students with intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. I am thinking about showing pictures of myself and explaining each stretch.
How does exercising/stretching help students in Kindergarten to First grade stay focused on a task?
Monday, September 9, 2013
Motivation/Stretching
How can I motivate students to learn and does stretching stimulate anything to help learning?
http://offbeathome.com/2013/05/at-work-outs
This website talks about how exercising or stretching can help give you a mood boost. If I see my students starting to get tired and not wanting to do there work I will ask my students to stand up and stretch to get them focused again. According to this website, seven exercises and three stretches that will get you started on the right path to boost your energy and help stimulate your brain are: marching in place, push-ups against your desk, leg lifts, tricep dips, chair squats, over-head side reaches, modified jumping jacks, hamstring stretch, reach for your toes, and chest stretch.
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motivation.html
From this website it mentions intrinsic and extrinsic ways to motivate students. One way I can help my students to get motivated to learn is by letting them choose partners, letting them play educational games on an ipad or computer when they finish an assignment, making sure I am supportive of my students, and so much more.
http://www.nea.org/home/10308.htm
Another website has suggestions to motivate you students by building a strong relationship with them, tell them why it matters, give them a voice and a choice, make it fun, make it relevant, make it real, and use technology.
Just from reading two different articles using technology is a way to motivate my students. This day in age technology is the basis for everything. Students are more into technology and most the time they know how to work something better than adults. If I can embrace technology in my activities and make my students get up and stretch when they are feeling tired, maybe I will be able to get my students to stay focused longer in class.
http://offbeathome.com/2013/05/at-work-outs
This website talks about how exercising or stretching can help give you a mood boost. If I see my students starting to get tired and not wanting to do there work I will ask my students to stand up and stretch to get them focused again. According to this website, seven exercises and three stretches that will get you started on the right path to boost your energy and help stimulate your brain are: marching in place, push-ups against your desk, leg lifts, tricep dips, chair squats, over-head side reaches, modified jumping jacks, hamstring stretch, reach for your toes, and chest stretch.
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/affective/motivation.html
From this website it mentions intrinsic and extrinsic ways to motivate students. One way I can help my students to get motivated to learn is by letting them choose partners, letting them play educational games on an ipad or computer when they finish an assignment, making sure I am supportive of my students, and so much more.
http://www.nea.org/home/10308.htm
Another website has suggestions to motivate you students by building a strong relationship with them, tell them why it matters, give them a voice and a choice, make it fun, make it relevant, make it real, and use technology.
Just from reading two different articles using technology is a way to motivate my students. This day in age technology is the basis for everything. Students are more into technology and most the time they know how to work something better than adults. If I can embrace technology in my activities and make my students get up and stretch when they are feeling tired, maybe I will be able to get my students to stay focused longer in class.
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