Preventing Winter from Wreaking Havoc in the Classroom

Tis the season….Thoughts of a blustery winter season full of snow and cold may be at the top of everyone’s holiday wishes; just not at the top of those working in education. The winter season brings focus to a couple of matters teachers experience every year. Educators grumble at the thought of their students cooped up inside a warm, cozy classroom all day long. When the temperatures bottom out and children are kept in from the brutal elements, they tend to lose focus and their learning drops like the temperatures outside. If lost learning isn’t enough, when students finally get the opportunity to get outside for some much anticipated exercise, time spent transitioning can limit the necessary instruction time.

Brain Breaks: One of the biggest problems that comes up during the winter chill is dealing with the arctic freeze. Once temperatures hit the low point and students are inside for recess, it is important to get them up and moving. Children, and many adults, need activity to maintain focus. Having PE available is essential, but it is certainly not enough time. On days without PE, students can be sitting for up to 3 hours with little or no breaks.

In a recent article in the Washington Post, Angela Hanscom, a pediatric occupational therapists, states “In order for children to learn, they need to be able to pay attention. In order to pay attention, we need to let them move.”  Movement actually does “turn on” the brain. As detailed below, a 20 minute walk can make a huge difference. 

As teachers, we need to be able to sense when a movement break is needed. As students get ‘squirrely’ it is easy to react as though it is a behavioral issue, when in reality it isn’t. Hanscom notes that “Children naturally start fidgeting in order to get the movement their body so desperately needs and is not getting enough of to ‘turn their brain on’. What happens when the children start fidgeting? We ask them to sit still and pay attention; therefore, their brain goes back to ‘sleep’.”

Brain Breaks are necessary for students to perform at the best of their ability. These short, energy bursts of activity can boost blood flow, send oxygen to the brain, and help children retain information. These “breaks” can be as simple as 5 minutes to stand up, stretch, and even run in place. Or, since we our personalizing our students learning, why not embed it in our lessons. Students know when they need a break. Allowing them to make their own decision on when they need that boost could be the charge they need for the day.

While visiting classrooms it is evident that teachers are beginning to utilize these “breaks” in their daily routine. Most recently, I stumbled upon a classroom studying arctic animals. Students were following a learning path and a part of their “choice” was a movement break. The choices given at various stations were to “pose like their animal”, “move around like their creature”, or “create movement of an animal of their choice”. This mini-break was viewed as a part of student learning and enabled students to regain their focus and successfully complete their task.

There are so many different ways that teachers can incorporate Brain Breaks into their teaching and it allows them to get the most out of our students. Having them sit for so long, especially when indoor recess occurs frequently, is not giving them the opportunity to perform as well as they can. The winter season is upon us- plan ahead and be creative in getting your students up and moving!

Transition Time: Out of nowhere, November hit us with a snowstorm that dropped almost a foot of snow. The storm left us with a snow day and an early “dress rehearsal” full of snow pants, jackets, boots, gloves, and so much more. It left many scrambling to put together a game plan on what to do with all the gear and how to control the chaos come recess time and the end of the day preparations. To many the clutter is already a difficult concept to deal with, but the real tragedy is the amount of instructional time that is lost while  trying to get students organized.

At the beginning of the school year teachers spend countless hours focusing on academic transitions, but why don’t teachers place that same emphasis on getting our students to transition into their winter clothing? It sounds silly, but if you break it down in time, it is startling to realize the loss of instruction due to struggles because we never set guidelines concerning winter clothing. Spending time to address these transitions can cut down on wasted time throughout the winter season.

Typically in an elementary building children tend to spend more than an ample amount of time getting ready to head outdoors. There are times, especially at the primary level, that students may be taking 5-10 minutes to prepare themselves for the winter elements. Whether this lengthy transition is due to the inability to put on winter clothes in a logical order or the fact that maybe students don’t remember where that missing glove went, it is important to get organized during these transitions. Five to ten extra minutes EACH time we take our students outside adds up to approximately 1 ½ hours of instruction weekly. It only gets worse when we go past these minutes. The secret to smooth transitions during this season is modeling and practice.  

  Here are some quick tips to smooth out those winter transitions:

  • Post an Order of Operation (you’d be surprised how many kids think boots and gloves are the first to go on)
  • MODEL the process of how to put winter clothes on
  • Find a convenient place for students to get dressed and ready
  • Have students store their items in a reusable shopping bag (Store hats and gloves/mittens inside the sleeve of student coats)
  • Designate a “Classroom Specialist” to help out others
  • PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE (after about 2 days, students should get it)

 

 

 

Happy Holidays!!!!!

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