Analysis of Children’s Physical and Mental Growth During Class time.
What activities does the teacher provide to facilitate physical movement in the lesson leads to improved concentration and attention in cognitive activities?
Continuous physical activity during a lesson can enhance good concentration among the students. For instance, according to a study done, walking briskly for 30 minutes or 40 minutes can three times a week can enhance one’s concentration. It reduces the brain aging clock by 1-2 years and allows for proper brain activity. Most scholars suggest that having physical activity done during class, after or before class can go along ways increasing the children’s concentration in class, as well as ensure both brain and heart development (Johnstone & Ramon, 2011).
During the class, the teacher incorporated a number of activities that ensured that the class remained lively and the concentration of the student was not curtailed. The teacher divided the class into 10 minutes’ sections since it was a 40 minutes’ class. In every 10 mins, the students were involved in a 3 minutes’ exercise. The exercise was also different during each section. During the first section, or the first ten minutes, the teacher asked the children to stand up and asked them to stretch their hands and legs. They were also asked to breathe in and out while holding the breaths for about 10 seconds. It was an amazing exercise which kept the students lively. The next exercise was to ask the students to stand up, move to the front and then asked them to close their eyes. After having their eyes closed, the teacher asked each at time to move slowly to their sitting position. Notably, the teacher walked closely behind the student to ensure that they did not get hurt. It was an amazing experience as the children jumped up in laughter while watching their fellows miss their sitting position. The exercise allowed the student to increase their concentration and pay attention to details. The third exercise involved asking the student to stand up and spell out a number of names with their bodies. They had to position their bodies together and the best name they had a good engaging moment spelling out was the name “spree”. It was fun watching them trying to spell out the letter “e” and “P”. The exercise ensured creativity among them and teamwork. The last activity was done at the end of the lesson. The teacher had prepared a small test into different sets of papers. The test was about the whole video that the students had just watched. Such a test is commonly referred to as “Snowball”. The activity was as follows; the teacher folded each paper that had a question into a paper ball, tossed it to a student, the student unfolded it, and responded to the question. There were enough papers and questions for every child.
Describe how the teacher has modified the lesson for students with special physical needs.
Also, the other students without any physical disabilities were taught on how to address the children with disabilities so as to avoid discrimination. Another great way that the teacher modified the classroom for students with physical disabilities is by introducing what she termed as the “buddy system”. This was a way to ensure that students with disabilities received the assistance they needed from their fellow students. For example, for the student who could not write properly, another student with better writing skills could take notes for her. Modifying the lessons for the physically disabled students helps them boost their concentration in class as they tend to feel more involved in the classroom activities (Sherrill, 2004).
Many children like sweet foods and if they are let to choose what to eat, they would always opt for junk food which is sweeter yet so unhealthy. Healthy eating habits are essential in aiding mental and physical growth among children (Shield, 2012). Since most children spend most of their time playing, they need a steady source of energy which should always come from the consumption of healthy foods. The children I was studying had a uniform eating habit as the food they consumed throughout the day was provided for by the institution. Not all parents are educated on which foods are healthy for good mental and physical growth of their children, and that is why the learning institution I was conducting my study at offered to provide all the necessary meals for the children during the day. The energy requirements for children are high and, therefore, children need to have several meals spread out during the day (Shield, 2012). After the children have had breakfast at their homes, the school offers the rest of the meals during the day until the children leave for home in the evening. A healthy snack comprising of cornflakes, milk and fruit is offered to the children during their 10.00 AM break. During their playtime, the children are offered healthy candy or glucose to help them with rejuvenating their energy after playtime, before lunch. A light lunch comprising of cereals, vegetables and meat is offered to the children to ensure that they have a balanced diet. They are also offered water constantly during the day as they lose a lot of fluids in the form of sweat. At 4.00 PM in the evening, another snack is offered to the children before they leave for their homes. The school offers the children with healthy meals since it is essential for their mental and physical growth. For instance, at lunch break, the meat they consume is mostly from fish so that they can get the essential omega 3 fatty acids which are essential for their cognitive development. Healthy foods also prevent the children from gaining excess body fat which may make them inactive in class and during physical education classes (Wen, 2012).
References
Johnstone, J. A., & Ramon, M. (2011). Perceptual-motor activities for children: An evidence-based guide to building physical and cognitive skills. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Sherrill, C. (2004). Adapted physical activity, recreation, and sport: Cross disciplinary and lifespan. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Shield, J., & Mullen, M. C. (2012). Healthy eating, healthy weight for kids and teens.
