The relationship between whole body movement and the retarded child's ability to learn selected geometric forms

Seventeen students from the trainable retarded class at the Charles Moore School in Greensboro, North Carolina, participated as subjects in this study. The study was to investigate the effect of large motor movement on the ability of retarded children to draw and walk selected geometric forms. The seventeen children were divided into Treatment #1 and Treatment #2. The children in Treatment #1 remained in the classroom and received no large movement experiences, while the children in Treatment #2 performed whole body movements around a circle, square, and triangle. All the children were given a pre-test, second test, and posttest consisting of five test items. The children were asked to put a formboard together, trace, copy, draw, and walk a circle, square, and triangle. Tests #1, #2, #3, and #5 were rated subjectively by the writer. Five raters, using a rating scale, rated Test #4