1. LET’S MOVE! Early Childhood Strategies to Increase Physical Activity using Children’s Literature as a Springboard by Barbara Trube, Ed.D.

2. LET’S MOVE LET’S MOVE is a three- tiered approach to
increasing motor activity in
early childhood
classrooms.
LET’S MOVE is a series of
strategies integrating
movement with language
and literacy learning in
prekindergarten

3. LET’S MOVE uses
movement to increase
understanding of and
encourage use of rich
vocabulary, that is
introduced in extraordinary
themes and active
experience projects.

4. LET’S MOVE promotes motor skill acquisition – an
essential goal of any program that addresses the
needs of the whole child. As children acquire skills,
they develop awareness of:
space (where the body moves),
effort (how the body moves) and
relationships of body parts, objects and people.

5. LET’S MOVE promotes literature-based active learning experiences.
Quality children's literature can:
spark a range of motor responses
stimulate imagination
increase creativity (fluency, flexibility, elaboration, originality)
elicit playful interaction with story elements

6. incorporates best practice during interactive
LET’S MOVE addresses all domains of learning and
incorporates best practice during interactive
movement, or motor activity stations, and/or a
motor learning laboratory.

7. Daily physical activity is important!
Educators plan for daily physical activity because
movement is essential for children’s growth and
development in all domains:
Cognitive
Social
Emotional
Physical
Domains work together to facilitate learning.

8. Planning for physical activity is purposeful and intentional!
“Development in one domain
influences and is influenced
by development in other
domains.” (NAEYC)
Brain research supports
linkages between cognitive,
social, emotional and
physical development.

9. The National Research Council (2001) reports in
Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers that
“quality preschool programs address cognitive,
social, emotional, and physical development, and
because young children vary considerably in each
of these domains, teaching strategies need to
be adapted to meet the specific needs and prior
knowledge and understanding of individuals and
groups of children.” (p. 224)
Follow Universal Design for Learning principles!
Activities are planned with all children in mind.

10. Proactive early childhood programs meet the activity needs of all children.
Motor skill development and children’s
attitudes toward motor learning are established in
the early years.
Exercise habits become established during
childhood.
Increasing physical activity opportunities each day
provides important health benefits for all children.

11. Three Tiers to implementation of LET’S MOVE
Three Tiers – Based on themes in children’s literature are:
Tier I: Interactive Movement
Tier II: Motor Activity Station(s)
Tier III: Motor Learning Laboratory / Obstacle Course

12. Interactive Movement (IM)
IM takes place during a read
aloud, shared reading, chant or
fingerplay. Children react to
story elements (plot, setting,
character, theme) using physical
activity.
Elements of movement (time,
force, flow, space, body) are
explored as children respond to
a selection or selections of
children’s literature.

13. Interactive Movement with Reading and Chanting

15. Motor Activity Station (MAS)
A MAS is an area of the indoor
or outdoor classroom where
movements are performed.
MASs give children non
locomotor, locomotor and
perceptual motor experiences
that use fine, gross and
manipulative movement
opportunities.

16. MASs promote Vocabulary Development
Basing motor development
(fine, gross, perceptual)
activities on themes in
children's literature helps
teachers extend children's
movement-related
vocabularies:
children talk about movement concepts
children experience elements of movement

17. MAS promote Vocabulary
Information is presented
and reinforced in the
context of children’s daily
experiences through
strategies:
non-verbal
verbal
kinesthetic
visual

18. Movement experiences facilitate learning in all domains.

19. Systematic physical activity assures motor learning and development.
Planning systematic physical activity assures time
for fundamental movement skill development
through :
Engagement
Practice
Refinement
Integration
Automaticity
Coordination
Other

20. Motor Learning Laboratory (MLL)
A MLL incorporates mini lab-like areas or stations
in the classroom’s indoor and/or outdoor physical
environments where movement activities are
based on themes supported by children’s literature.

21. A MLL includes safe
and developmentally
appropriate areas for
exploring, practicing
and refining gross, fine
and manipulative motor
activities to enhance
coordination, balance,
visual spatial
integration, endurance,
flexibility, agility, and
strength.

22. Highland Survival Island Adventure
MLLs incorporate
information from a song,
poem, story/several
stories that may be fiction
or non-fiction. These
selections inspire and
prompt movement base
on themes, plots,
characters and settings.

23. Survival Test: Crossing the Snake Pit

25. Implications for incorporating daily physical activity through LET’S MOVE
Young children learn best by doing;
Movement programs are success oriented;
Successful completion of motor tasks promote feelings of competence;
Motor exploration (process) is more important than performance (product);
Integrated content areas have greater relevance than an isolated content area.
A set of prekindergarten standards are
Available from the National Association for
Sport and Physical Education (NASPE)

26. NASPE Motor Skills/Standard 1
All students will demonstrate the
use of fundamental skills and
motor patterns.
Fundamental Movement Skills:
Movement patterns that involve
different body parts:
legs
arms
trunk
head

27. Fundamental Motor Skills
Running
Hopping
Catching
Throwing
Striking
Balancing
Other

28. Fundamental Motor Skills are…
Foundational movements and precursor patterns leading to more specialized and complex skills used in:
games
sports
dance
gymnastics
outdoor education
physical recreation

29. NASPE Learning Concepts/Standard 2
All students will begin to
understand and develop
a vocabulary of basic
concepts associated
with movement, and
use them to guide their
performance.

30. NASPE Active Lifestyle/Standard 3
All students will participate in at least one activity they enjoy that is associated with each component of fitness.

31. NASPE Physically Fit Standard 4
All students will have fun participating in health-enhancing activities which promote physical fitness.

32. NASPE Personal & Social Skills Standard 5
All students will
demonstrate
responsible
personal and social
behaviors in
physical activity
settings.

33. NASPE Diversity Standard 6
All students will demonstrate cooperation, sharing and consideration of others, in a physical activity setting, regardless of differences among them.

34. Values Physical Activity Standard 7
All students will begin to show enjoyment and self expression through interactions with others during a variety of physical activities.

35. Credits
Huntington Elementary Summer Kindergarten Jump Start (Mona Kellar, Caridi Detty)
Ohio University – Chillicothe Teacher Candidates (Julia Bateman, Carlene Behana, Renee Borland, Heather Clark, Rachel Finley, Sharon McComas, Emily Park, Trina Reynolds, Heather Tarlton, Tara Williams)
Pickaway County Head Start (Ms Kim, Donna Solvey)
Ross County CAO Head Start Ross County Joint Vocational School Preschool Program (Connie Page, Sally Simmons)
Scioto County Head Start & ELI Programs for Highland Survival Island Adventure (Sarah Sloan & Teachers)
Unioto Elementary Summer Kindergarten Jump Start (Linda Collins, Linda Miller)
YMCA Washington Courthouse (Melissa Smith)