Incorporating Student Physical Movement in the Elementary School Setting

With the increase in academic demands on elementary students, students are lacking opportunities for physical movement within the classroom which is adversely impacting student achievement. Research was conducted in order to determine the importance of physical movement for children and possible correlations between student physical movement and academic achievement. Jensen (2005) concluded that physical movement is an integral component in brain development for children that supports engagement and focus which positively impacts academic achievement. Rosenstreich et al. (2022), Wiebelhaus & Hanson (2016), and Reed et al. (2011) found positive correlations between groups of elementary-age students, who were provided frequent opportunities of physical movement during the school day, and an increase in student academic achievement. As a result of these findings, professional development slides were created to educate teachers and administrators around the importance of integrating student physical movement into the classroom setting and provide them with strategies and examples for how to integrate and increase student movement which will help increase student academic achievement