My Spanish 2 class recently read the book The Circuit for our literacy unit.  I used the socrative website to better facilitate our class discussions.  I posted the discussion questions and had students respond in the socrative website.  Then I projected the responses for all to see.  The great thing was the students' names were blocked.  I found students were more open in their discussion and were more willing to share in this manner.  This was an easy way for me to check for comprehension as well.  There was no fear of getting the answer wrong and there was better participation in class discussions.

Exercise and thinking

“Every teacher is looking for ways to make their students better readers, thinkers, and problem solvers.”  This was the first line on a previous entry in our Curriculum and Instruction blog, and I agree with this even as a PE teacher.  One of the best strategies teachers can use to help make better thinkers is by promoting exercise.  There are many, many studies that prove that people who are exercising are better thinkers.  We teach this information to our PE students through our “Fitness Knowledge” lessons.  For example, here is a slide where we teach students what documented evidence there is for the effect of exercise on the brain:

Students learn that there is documented proof that exercise helps with greater attention, faster cognitive processing, and better performance on standardized test. 

Physical activity improves brain activity and capacity on three different levels:

1.        It improves alertness, attention, and motivation.

2.       It encourages nerve cells to bind together which is, essentially, how we are able to log new information.

3.       It encourages the development of new cells.

So, if you want your students to become better readers, thinkers, and problem solvers, you should promote and model exercise in your classes, as well.