PULSE Moving Stories:


An innovative approach to enhancing physical literacy and literacy among key stage one school children


Richard Cheetham MBE Senior Fellow in Sports Coaching and Michele Byrne MSc University of Winchester


The development of physical literacy among children is an area of continued focus, as it is currently regarded as a key element in establishing the foundation for lifelong participation in sport and physical activity.


. It has also been highlighted that the inconsistency of effective delivery of these skills in early years education, combined with a lack of free play and access to the outdoors among children, reduces the likelihood these will be developed to their full potential. It is therefore essential that innovative ways of enhancing physical literacy are developed, in order to reduce the risk of the emergence of a new generation of children who are less physically active and less physically educated.


The purpose of this study was to introduce an innovative delivery method linking both literacy and physical literacy in two infant schools in Hampshire, where selected children’s stories were taught through the use of movement. Author Rae Pica in her article ‘Learning in Leaps and


Bounds’ stated, “word comprehension is immediate and long-lasting when children physically demonstrate action words”. The project was called ‘Moving Stories’ and was developed at the University of Winchester with students on the Sports Coaching degree. The approach used selected children’s books from which the characters, their characteristics and the narrative of the story were brought to life through movement.


Pirates if used as an example, would need to demonstrate good balance on deck when there was a storm at sea. This was then played out with a series of exercises such as moving laterally from one side of the room (or ship) to the other as the ship rocked from the imagined waves striking its hull. The sea monster in the story (an octopus) required the inclusion of an evasion game where agility was the focus in order to avoid the tentacles.


Opposite is an example from one of the stories used and how it was reconstructed into a movement narrative.


6 The Kent & Medway School Sports Magazine


ROOM ON THE BROOM BY JULIETTE DONALDSON Witch


Dog


“Down cried the witch and they flew to the ground”


As the witch takes off on the broom the ‘whoosh’ marks acceleration and slowing to land is the deceleration. Encouraging the children to go from low (sat on an imaginary broom) to high (as they take off into the sky). These are some of the early movements required from leaving the blocks in a sprint start for example.


Frog “The frog jumped for joy”


Jumping for height and jumping for length, as well as ensuring balancing on landing. In the practical we used some circular floor markers to represent lily pads which the children jumped from one to another.


“…there bounded a dog with a hat in his jaws”


Double or single leg bounding (added something to represent the hat and held in their hands). Again, the aim is to focus on athletic skills here which are essential movement foundations.


Witch and the ‘cast of characters’


“She filled up her cauldron and said with a grin - Find something everyone, throw something in”


Here we used a bucket as the imaginary cauldron and the children threw bean bags into it from a set distance, in order to work on throwing and targets. They could shout out whatever ingredient the bean bag represented when making the potion.


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