Fit Lit: How Movement Impacts Learning

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Edutopia highlighted an interesting middle school trying something new. Fit Lit is Casey Middle School’s (in Boulder, CA, grades 6-8) fitness class combined with a language arts class. Students take a 45-minute fitness class followed by 45 minutes in language arts. Teachers have found that the right amount of movement before an academic class will help students focus and better retain information. Studies show that aerobic exercise boosts our capacity to retain information and the speed at which we take in and rework information. Anaerobic activity affects mood and helps to relieve stress, providing calmness and focus. Whether it’s language arts, math, or science, movement can impact learning in any subject area abilities. The idea behind Casey’s Fit Lit class came from research showing how exercise impacts the brain. Read more about Fit Lit, it’s class structure, types of activities, levels of integration, how they found the right teachers, and student recruitment.