Bodies in the Classroom: Integrating Physical Literacy

Abstract

The reflections above were written by in-service K-12 teachers in a masters program in literacy following an exercise called “Walk Through Your Life.” It is one of several Memory Search activities I designed to enable research into the knowledge we carry in our physical movements and postures. At first I tried it as a guided pre-writing exercise in writing classes. Later, I began to use it in education classrooms where graduate students have found it helpful to recall their own child-like physicality in order to relate to the physical and emotional states of their young students. We begin by clearing space in the room. Students stand and stretch as needed, then move randomly. I caution them against making eye contact or directly observing anyone else's movements, and I encourage them to make safe spaces for themselves and others. They usually need some time to dispel their initial awkwardness until they feel more comfortable meandering about. It is then that I describe the intention of the activity: to allow their bodies to move as they did

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