Need for Movement.
Sometimes the only reason for student misbehavior is that they are sick of sitting still. Students are kids who need to exert their energy. Often times we force our students to sit in their desks for hours upon hours which causes them to get fidgety. They then begin to lose focus and distract other students. Therefore, the best way to avoid students' fidgetiness is to prevent it!
- Incorporate movement into your lessons! (i.e. body mapping, games, stand up to say an answer, etc)
- Allow students to bring in an exercise ball in exchange for their seat. It has been proven that students actually focus better when sitting on a ball because their energy is being exerted.
- Try to not have students sit for more than 45 minutes at a time.
- Provide "stretch" breaks where you do an inclusion activity or interactive game to get student moving.
- Have manipulatives that YOU provide for students to play with during lessons. Set guidelines for these toys. The manipulatives are not to leave their hands and it cannot be a distraction to the student or class.
Additional Resource
http://brainbreaks.blogspot.com/
- This blog provides great ideas on how to get students moving. The activities are referred to as energizing break breaks.