The Importance Of Recess On Elementary School

First of all, recess can allow students to relax and release energy. According to “Do You Need Recess?” by Mackenzie Carros, “...’Recess is the one break in the day to relax and have fun!’...” (pg. 31) When a student is relaxing or having fun, it helps them take a little break to run or even walk around. That can help teachers with students that have a lot of energy and disrupt class because they will lose some of that energy outside having fun. That is one reason why middle schools should have recess.

When imagining a well-rounded school, one might think of a school filled with discussion based English classes, interactive Math classes, exciting labs, and rich History classes; one may also think of an endless list of extracurricular activities and athletic teams. Sadly, many public schools across the country do not have these opportunities. The Diane Ravitch book: Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools, focuses upon Ravitch’s opinion on this important issue. Since the No Child Left Behind Act was passed in 2001, schools have focused on math and reading scores; because of this, schools have disregarded and cut back on other subjects that they are not being tested on such as

Did you know that 15 minutes of recess each day could make your child smarter. In studies made across the world, researchers have found that recess has many benefits for our brains. Recess could help us from our behavior to our health and concentration. That’s why I think schools should have recess in middle schools.

Having recess in schools gives students a chance to communicate with their peers. Time at recess with their peers

Recess is a period of time during the school day in which students take a break from learning and socialize with each other. The students get to do whatever they want, and they have fun with each other. A typical recess involves unstructured play which means that the students engage in their own activities without adults. Recess can also be structured which means that teachers set up mandatory activities for the students to play instead of letting them be free. There has recently been debate about whether or not recess should become structured or unstructured. Schools should agree with structured recess because the students can be able to interact within the same activity. It can also promote teamwork and teach the students how to help each other out.

In every K-8 graders day recess, call it what you will, lunch hour, break, flex time, is a time to look forward to. In the New York Times “Do Kids Need Recess” Michael Gonchar quotes professional opinions in his educational article to prove the importance of recess. Recess is taken away on a regular bases, yet it’s scientifically proven to boost academic, social, and cognitive achievement. Recess an important part of the school day, and should not be taken away.

Recess. To an elementary student, it's the time to run where they want, scream when they want, and discover what they want. A little girl may discover a dollar bill, basking in the sunlight, lying lonely underneath the raggedy swing set. When she picks it up, she examines it and analyzes her options. Rather than pocketing the crisp, green bill, she turns it in to her teacher, knowing that she will be rewarded for her good --yet somewhat selfish-- behavior. Even if we believe that we’re doing a task for someone else, we know that it's for our own benefit.

I have reviewed five research articles that have done studies on the benefits of physical education and recess may have on elementary students, and their performance and in some reviews on behavior as well.

Much has been made of the role of recess at Global Monarch Academy. Yet little has been said about the importance of recess, and why it is needed at Global Monarch Academy. Recess has traditionally been a regular practice in primary school settings, today it is being either reduced or eliminated all together in an effort to provide more instructional time. Research documents that recess affords many physical, cognitive, and social benefits for primary school children. These benefits have a positive effect on classroom behavior and achievement. In the current era of evidence-based practice, it is important to utilize empirical research when making decisions regarding educational policy.

The goal of this action research project is to determine if a structured recess program would decrease aggressive behavior on the playground which in turn would decrease the number of behavior referral forms that would have to be written. There is a growing problem in our schools; children do not know how to play during recess time. Children are spending more and more time in front of the television, video games, or other sedentary non-play activities. They are not learning how to play properly with other children and are coming to school not knowing what to do during their recess (Patrick, 1996). As they enter school it is now the schools job to teach the students how to correctly interact while playing at recess. Recess needs to be the fourth ‘R’ taught in school (Pellegrini, & Bohn, 2005). Putting students on the playground for recess time when they do not know how to play and interact with other students will only lead to boredom and inappropriate behavior. To avoid these inappropriate behaviors schools have started to use a more structured recess approach to teach children how to play and interact while on the playground. The question then becomes what structured recess program to use and will this program be truly affective?

Don't you hate being inside all day? Why not have recess, students can be themselves and interact with other students that they don't have classes with. Recess is found in many elementary schools across the United States so why can't we. When kids play outside they are having fun and that would brighten up our days in Middle School. The students at Middle School South in Lake Zurich Illinois would like recess. Having recess has many benefits to students, great research to help students, and survey data taken by LZ95 students. Most importantly, there are many learning benefits to recess.

Yaaaaa, that is what fun sounds like!! Children are not really looking forward to recess to play, but mainly to get out of class. We need more playground equipment so children actually look forward to recess.

Everyone has experienced a high school lunch and all of it’s glory. Some lunches are different for other high schools; some get thirty plus minutes to eat their food, and some get less than that. In my school we get twenty-five minutes to eat our lunch, go to the bathroom, go to our locker if need-be, talk to our friends, and maybe talk to a teacher if we need to. Maybe it’s just me, but that sounds a little bit ridiculous, when all of the parts of lunch are added up. Having a sufficient amount of time to eat and not feel rushed can tremendously impact a student who is trying to learn and focus for eight hours, so Sullivan High School needs to stop promoting twenty-five minute lunches as if they are decent enough and give students enough time to eat.

Although I support many of your ideas, I have to argue that Cordillera Elementary School should not shorten or exclude recess. This has become more common among schools; however, this practice can be harmful to classroom dynamics and recess is needed for better work habits. Kids should have recess for physical, optimal intellectual, and social/emotional success reasons.

When picturing an elementary school, teachers standing in front of their students lecturing is probably the image that comes to mind. Or maybe it is children outside running and playing for recess or physical education. Does the question come to mind about whether or not those children have eaten breakfast? How about when will they be served lunch? Or even, when will be their next meal? When they arrive home after school, will they have a nutritious snack or evening meal? What about how they got to school? Did they walk, ride their bike, or get a ride? We all question things we do not know. On the other hand, we can be confident students could eat breakfast and lunch if the school provided the opportunity.