Movement education is a teaching approach that aims to develop children's fundamental movement skills like hopping, balancing, and throwing. These skills are important for physical activity, sports, and everyday movement. The approach uses active games to teach skills in a fun way while also promoting critical thinking. It has benefits like stimulating brain development, encouraging physical activity, and promoting healthy habits that can last into adulthood.

1. Movement Education
1A – we like to move it, move it!

2. What is movement
education?
• Movement Education is a teaching approach that aims
to support children’s development and increase their
physical skills (Sevimli-Celik & Johnson, 2016).
• These physical skills are referred to as fundamental
movement skills (FMS) and are the foundations for
everyday movement and physical activity (NSW
Department of Education and Training, 2000; Stodden
et al., 2008).

3. FMS and the syllabus
• The inclusion of FMS within the NSW Board Of Studies Primary
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education K-6
Syllabus, highlights its significance in children’s education (Board
of Studies Teaching & Educational Standards [BOSTES], 2007).
FMS are classified as:
• Locomotor skills e.g. hop, skip, run, jump, leap and gallop.
Syllabus outcomes - MOS1.4, ALS1.6, DAS1.7, GSS1.8, GYS1.10 (BOSTES, 2007).
• Non –locomotor skills e.g. balance turn bend, twist and sway
Syllabus outcomes - MOS1.4, ALS1.6, DAS1.7, GSS1.8, GYS1.10 (BOSTES, 2007).
• Manipulative skills e.g. kick, catch and throw
Syllabus outcomes - MOS1.4, ALS1.6, DAS1.7, GSS1.8, GYS1.10 (BOSTES, 2007).

4. Why use a Movement
education approach?
• The developments of these FMS is essential in ensuring
children’s effective involvement in physical activities, games
and sports (NSW Department of Education and Training,
2000).
• Implementing a Movement Education approach uses active
games to encourage the development of the FMS (Sevimli-
Celik & Johnson, 2016).
• Active games not only develop children’s FMS, they also
promote critical thinking skills as children use problem
solving techniques to move (Weiller Abels & Bridges, 2010).

5. Examples
• For example, in instructing the FMS side gallop, the teacher
will teach the skill and then introduce a student lead activity
to practice the skill, such as students working in pairs and
taking turns to mirror each others movements, using
problem solving skills (Department of Education and
Communities, 2012).
• Additionally, Movement Education also involves integrating
movement into other key learning areas being taught. For
example, students skip around hoops that are placed on the
ground, the teacher calls a number and the students form
groups equal to that number within the hoop.

6. What are the benefit's
of this approach?
• Movement Education, incorporating FMS, has many benefits to our children.
• Physical activity has shown to stimulate positive brain development which
further promotes FMS development building confidence in children (Stodden
et al., 2008).
• As the rates of physical inactivity and weight gain for children are rising, a
strong development of FMS has shown to encourage engagement in physical
activity, such as sports, reducing their chance of obesity (Stodden et al.,
2008).
• Furthermore, children who engage in physical activity during their childhood
years are more likely to continue with this activity well into adulthood, which
sets them up to make healthy life choices (Stodden et al., 2008).

7. References
• Board of Studies Teaching & Educational Standards NSW. (2007). NSW syllabus for the Australian
curriculum: K-6 Personal Development, Health and Physical Education Syllabus. Retrieved from
http://syllabus.bos.nsw.edu.au/pdhpe/
• Department of Education and Communities. (2012). Live Life Well @ School. Retrieved from
http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/primary/pdhpe/assets/pdf/fms_action.pdf
• NSW Department of Education and Training. (2000). Get Skilled: Get active: A K-6 resource to support
the teaching of fundamental movement skills. Get Skilled: Get active: A K-6 resource to support the
teaching of fundamental movement skills. Ryde, Australia
• Sevimli-Celik, S., & Johnson, J. E. (2016). Teacher preparation for movement education: increasing pre-
service teachers’ competence for working with young children. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher
Education, 44(3), 274–288. http://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2015.1079303
• Stodden, D. F., Goodway, J. D., Langendorfer, S. J., Roberton, M. A., Rudisill, M. E., Garcia, C., & Garcia,
L. E. (2008). A Developmental Perspective on the Role of Motor Skill Competence in Physical Activity:
An Emergent Relationship. Quest, 60(2), 290–306. http://doi.org/10.1080/00336297.2008.10483582
• Weiller Abels, K., & Bridges, J. M. (2010). Teaching Movement Education: Foundations for Active
Lifestyles. In Teaching Movement Education: Foundations for Active Lifestyles. Retrieved from
http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/what-are-the-origins-of-movement-education