EZ Movement Framework       By: Karen Weiler, University of North Texas & Jennifer Bridges

Why is it important for children to become competent with the “basics” in physical education? Children have needs to develop their thinking, feeling, and moving abilities. Without each of these, the child will be limited, and likely be limited as an adult. Most of us know that every academic content area has basic fundamentals upon which most every other concept is built. What most of us fail to recognize is that this is also true for physical education content.

Our focus is to present an EZ framework for teaching physical education with which many of you may be already familiar, the movement education framework (MEF). We suggest that it serves as the “core” of physical activity, particularly at the elementary level. Finally we will provide this basic foundational content information in physical education in an easy to understand, meaningful, and practical manner for all elementary physical education teachers, and maybe some classroom teachers as well!

The movement education framework is not a new idea. It was popular in the 1960s, 1970s, and even into the 1980s, but seemed to lose favor over the next two decades as a teaching method. However, with the development of the first set of national standards for physical education; “Moving into the Future” (1995) by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), movement concepts became recognized as a critical component for all physically educated persons to know and do. Movement education fits most directly into the standards (NASPE, 2004) as explicitly stated in the first two of the six national physical education content standards.

Language in Physical Education
The NASPE national standards have made it clear children not only need to move, but they should also know how to move, and should have a vocabulary for communicating appropriately about movement. Thus we have developed a version of the movement framework for teaching and understanding the movement concepts that children can be introduced to (the ladder), and a more complete version that older children and adults should know (the “Flip-n-fold”). To help teachers, in both the gymnasium and classroom present this material, we have developed some specific teaching tools (pocket chart cards and word wall). Finally, we provide a few examples of implementing these ideas.

MEF: The EZ Version!
We begin with identifying the four basic movement concepts, and their associated movement elements that form the same type of foundation in physical education as the “A, B, C’s” do for literacy and the “1, 2, 3’s” do for mathematics.

There are four movement concepts (body, space, effort, and relationships) that are the essence of the movement education framework. Presentation of the MEF can be represented in an overall manner by a ladder. This tool is designed as a simple visual aid to help teachers present the Movement Education Framework in a way in which young children can relate. The movement concept ladder is an easy to understand idea using a symbol easily recognized by children. The ladder can help a teacher to prioritize and organize answers to the basic movement concept questions: What do we move, Where do we move, How do we move, and With whom or what do we move?

Basically, the movement concepts begin with the body, which is the tool of movement. In order to move, one must have a means of moving. The Body, its parts, and its most basic or fundamental movements serve as the foundation of this framework: it is then, Step One of the ladder. So, now that there is something to move with, the body needs to go somewhere, or be able to use the Space for movement; therefore, the movement concept of Space is Step Two of the ladder. How one moves in this space is the movement concept of Effort and thus it follows Space as Step Three of the ladder. The most complex of the movement concepts is Relationships, so it is the top rung of the ladder.

Progression of the concepts is not purely linear, and one does not have to complete each step prior to moving on to the next. There is plenty of overlap as concepts are reviewed, and challenges are created at higher levels of complexity. However, the basic idea of the ladder is simple and easy to remember, making it a good introduction to the organization of movement concepts.

The Complete Framework
We have provided a presentation of the entire movement framework. The Movement Education Framework: Concepts, Categories, and Elements book fold reference was created to facilitate an easy visual organization of the material. The size of this book fold reference makes it easily stored in a pocket, or on a clip board when teaching, and makes a handy tool for the teacher and even for the students! Each page of the book fold document (which we gave the nickname: “Flip-n-fold” because of the two folding procedures to make an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper) reads like a book.

Although the concepts and categories are important, it is really the movement elements that describe the actual movement to be performed. Teaching the movement elements is the priority over any of the other content/terms (i.e. movement concepts or movement categories). The elements can be combined into activities and tasks. Definitions for all movement elements can be found in Movement education: Foundation for active lifestyles, published by Human Kinetics (April 2009).

New Tools to Help Teach the MEF!
The first of these tools includes the use of pocket charts, and pocket chart cards that are designed specifically for use with physical education content. Pocket charts and pocket chart cards are an old standby for elementary level classroom teachers. The elementary classroom teacher who is very often also responsible for fulfilling mandated Physical Education minutes can use these cards and teach with materials and methods where they as teachers already excel!

Using pocket charts in the gymnasium is a logical and natural fit. In fact, the gymnasium offers an exciting environment to use the versatile pocket chart and pocket chart card tools. An example of a pocket chart with movement education cards placed in the pockets for a lesson can be seen on the figure to the left hand side. A sample of an entire deck of movement concept cards is shown below.

One of the first lessons should be to introduce the movement framework. It is helpful to organize the material into a few big chunks that the children can remember. To begin, place the pocket card “Movement Concepts” at the top center of the first pocket in the chart. Similarly, the teacher can point to the words “Movement Concepts” on a word wall.

Explain to the children that they are going to be learning about four big ways in which the body moves. The teacher should then place each of the four MEF concepts on a separate line of the pocket chart (i.e. Body, Space, Effort, and Relationship) or point to them on the word wall. Children can be asked to read the words.

After the movement framework and four concepts have been introduced, children can be challenged to remember them. The teacher can place the four movement concept cards among ten or so other cards from the deck randomly within a circle on the floor so that all cards can be seen.

It might be helpful to provide an analogy for the children; movement is like soup, we can put all kinds of things in our soup. Let’s see if you can find the four basic movement soup ingredients from the pot of soup on the floor. This teacher in Madison Wisconsin created simple pictures taped to the wall to make her movement soup analogy.

Word walls are great tools and can be used to bridge the gap between the gymnasium and the classroom. The Word Wall can also be used in the gym as well as in the classroom.

An example of a word wall designed specifically for gymnasium use, as well as classroom use, is shown in the figure below. Four examples of Word Wall activities (one from each concept area) are listed below. Many additional examples may be found in Movement education: Foundation for active lifestyles.

Body activity: Body shapes
1.We can make lots of shapes with our bodies. Some are tall and stretched, and some are wide. Who can find four types of body shapes we can make (have children point to narrow, wide, round, twisted)? In your own personal space, show me a narrow shape, a wide shape, a round shape, and a twisted shape. When the music begins, you will travel around all the general space and when the music stops freeze and make your body into one of the four shapes we practiced. Make your shape really clear and hold it for a count of three.

Space activity: Personal and General space
2. We have lots of room in our gym. This is called our general space. That is all the space we have available for us to move. Can someone find the words general space on the Word Wall? When you hear the start signal, show me how you can travel in all our general space. Remember, we learned about personal space, so as you travel, I do not want to see collisions. (Have children travel using various locomotor skills).

Effort activity: Time
3. I am wondering if anyone can find the words fast, slow, and acceleration on our Word Wall. We know what fast and slow means, but what does acceleration mean? (Make certain children understand acceleration refers to a change in speed). As you move all around our general space, can you show me fast movements, slow movements, and then changes in speed? Let’s start out with slow movements. (Younger children may wish to think of animals or cars that move slowly or more quickly). Now, let’s move more quickly. Can you show me changes in speed as you travel? Think of three different movements to do in a row, one slow, one fast, and one that shows changes in speed.

Relationships activity: Partners
4. What does it mean to work with a partner? (Children should reply with cooperation words). Today, we are going to work on finding partners and working with our partner. When I say go, find a partner who has the same color bean bag as you do. If you do not have a partner by the time I count to five, come see me. See if you and your partner can toss your bean bags back and forth. Can you toss them low, medium, and high? We are working on tossing and catching so you are showing me how you can work with your partner. I want you and your partner to think of three different types of tosses. You might choose to do one low, and two medium tosses, or you might choose to do one high and two low. You decide. I am looking for good partner work and tossing and catching. Go. (At the end of the task, ask students to tell you how they worked with their partner and to give their partner a thank you for being their partner).

In summary, children need to know as well as be able to do the basic movements outlined in the movement education framework. The ladder provides a simple tool to help children understand the four most basic ideas. However, the teacher needs a more complete framework, one that is practical, yet sufficient. The “Flip-n-fold” is our answer to this need, and we hope it provides a tool for daily use in the gym. We have developed a variety of tools to help teachers deliver this content in either the regular classroom or in the gymnasium; ideally both settings would use them. Finally, the MEF approach can provide all children with a view of physical education that fosters success, activity, and contribution by all! We hope you agree!!

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