We all know how important exercise is for good health. But if you have an intellectual disability, that may be less obvious to you. Nevertheless, we want to ensure that exercising in school is happening with all of our students, even those with some of the most significant challenges.
How do we get our students to exercise at school in a safe, effective, and fun way? Here are some tools and strategies to get you and your students moving more.
Conducting an interest inventory
If we want our students to exercise more in general, we need to figure out what motivates and excites them. One way to do this is to have your students (with parental input) complete a questionnaire on different types of exercise and related considerations.
I have put one together for you that you can download by clicking the button below. It has 18 questions with picture symbols for answers that your students can circle themselves to indicate how they feel about exercise.
Some of the things that may or may not motivate your students are some of the same things that may or may not motivate you when it comes to exercise.
First, exercise comes in all different types.
- Cardio-type workouts that get your heart rate up and get you sweating
- Endurance workouts that are longer but less strenuous
- Strength-building workouts
- Flexibility and mobility routines
Second, exercise can look different and require different supplies.
- Some require specialized equipment, like machines you find in a gym
- Some require more than one person
- Many can be done alone, but some require an instructor
- Then some require no equipment at all
Third, there are lots of environmental considerations.
- Can they be done outside or only inside?
- Could they use music? Do they use music?
- How much space do you need?
- What type of surface works best to be on?
Safely exercising in school
As special education teachers, our students often have very unique needs and challenges. Therefore, when exercising in school, there may be additional details we need to consider to ensure our students are not only successful and motivated but also safe.
After conducting the interest inventory, take a look and see what special accommodations or modifications you may need to make for your students. If you plan to do this as a whole-class or small-group activity, try to develop a single plan that works for the entire group. It will be much more difficult to manage and likely less safe if you have a wide variety of equipment.
Assess the number of staff you will need to help you. At least, in the beginning, you will probably need to do quite a bit of prompting and modeling. This means you will need more adults to help guide students and make them feel successful.
Effectively exercising in school
What is your main goal of adding movement to your classroom in a purposeful and healthy way? Knowing WHY you have decided to add exercise to your students’ daily routine is critical to determining whether you are being effective.
Here are some questions to ask yourself in the beginning. To find the answers, plan to collect data over the next 4-6 weeks to determine whether your exercise plan has been effective.
- How often do you want your students to exercise each week?
- How long will each exercise session be?
- Where do you plan to exercise? If you choose to go outside, what will you do if the weather does not allow you to?
- Do you have all the equipment (if any) that you need?
- Where will you store any equipment in-between sessions?
- Have you gotten approval from the administration?
- Do you have parent support? How will you communicate progress with parents?
- Do you have enough staff?
- Are staff supportive and in agreement with the plan?
- What happens if you are out sick or in a meeting?
- Finally, what does success look like 4 weeks from now? What are the specific measurable goals you hope to achieve with your students in the next 4-6 weeks?
Consistency is the key
Truly, the key to safely and effectively adding exercise to your classroom routine is consistency. In fact, it is likely the biggest key to success in any exercise program.
To learn more about how to achieve consistency in your classroom, visit my blog post Consistency is the Key to Success. It will give you specific guidelines on how to improve the likelihood of doing anything on a long-term, regular basis.
But here is the key takeaway. Make it doable. You can always increase the number of times per week, the number of minutes per session, or even the number of laps you walk once you have your routine and expectations firmly in place. Start slow, but keep the goal in mind: building a habit that will follow your students throughout their time with you.
Additional Resources
If you are looking for some research on why exercise is beneficial in the classroom, then read this article: Youth Fitness: Exercise Helps Children Excel in School. This article also has a great list of suggested exercises to add, depending on the age of your students.
I have a social story unit all about Exercise. It has a book and visuals to use at some exercise stations. Check out my unit on Let’s Exercise here.
