Student Well-Being Video

Teachers, Try This: Combine Movement and Academics in the Classroom

By Jaclyn Borowski & Kaylee Domzalski — January 30, 2025 3:02
Students in Melissa Haggett’s first grade class start the day dancing along with Snoop Dogg’s affirmations video at Vergennes Union Elementary School in Vergennes, Vt., on Nov. 18, 2024.
Mute
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration Time 0:00
Loaded: 0%
0:00
Progress: 0%
0:00
Progress: 0%
Stream TypeLIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
 

Robyn Newton, Vermont’s 2023 state teacher of the year and Vergennes Union Elementary School’s longtime physical education teacher, places an emphasis not only on movement, but on combining movement with academics. Here, she explains how it works, and how other educators can incorporate something similar in their own classrooms.

Jaclyn Borowski is the director of photography and videography for Education Week.
Kaylee Domzalski is a video producer for Education Week.

Video

Student Achievement Video What the Dismal Nation's Report Card Means for Reading and Math
The latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress show declines in students’ reading with some modest progress in math.
Point Roberts Elementary School teacher Jessie Hettinga works with a group of first, second and third graders on reading at the school in Point Roberts, Wa., on Sept. 28, 2017.
Point Roberts Elementary School teacher Jessie Hettinga works with a group of first, second and third graders on reading at the school in Point Roberts, Wa., on Sept. 28, 2017.
Philip A. Dwyer/The Bellingham Herald via AP
Student Well-Being Video This School Keeps Kids Moving All Day. See How It Works
Inside a school where movement is woven into academics throughout the day.
4:11
Assistant Principal Beth Bearor and kindergartener Rhys Gallup practice letters and letter sounds while walking through a rope ladder during P.E. teacher Robyn Newton’s action-based learning class at Vergennes Union Elementary School in Vergennes, Vt., on Nov. 18, 2024.
Assistant Principal Beth Bearor and kindergartener Rhys Gallup practice letters and letter sounds while walking through a rope ladder during P.E. teacher Robyn Newton’s action-based learning class at Vergennes Union Elementary School in Vergennes, Vt., on Nov. 18, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Teaching Video Teachers, Try This: Incorporate Routine Student 'Vibe Checks'
A teacher's tips for mastering the art of digital organization and using student feedback to guide the classroom.
3:35
Teaching Profession Video Will the New Law on Teacher Retirement Benefits Affect You? Here’s How to Know
The Social Security Fairness Act has significant implications for educators who live in these 15 states.
A teacher leads a lesson in an eighth-grade Spanish class.
A teacher leads a lesson in an eighth-grade Spanish class.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed