Teaching the Moving Child: OT Insights That Will Transform Your K-3 Classroom

Because sensorimotor and environmental factors have a profound effect on children's learning, every teacher should know how to weave strategies from occupational therapy into their everyday instruction. This is the guidebook K–3 teachers need to "think like an OT"—and form effective partnerships with OTs in their schools—so all students can achieve their full potential.

A clear and reader-friendly guide from an OT with nearly 35 years of classroom experience, Teaching the Moving Child gives elementary educators the solid foundation of knowledge they need to

• maximize the link between movement and learning
• meet the needs of students with sensory processing issues by modifying the classroom environment and task demands
• improve students' writing skills (includes an easy-to-use, five-step process for handwriting instruction)
• facilitate children's fine motor ability, including using pencils and scissors and drawing lines and shapes
• optimize learning through strategic use of classroom seating, space, lighting, and visual and auditory stimuli
• promote imaginative play as essential to every part of the learning process
• recognize and minimize students' stress, especially during transitions and waiting times
• decrease restlessness and increase attention through environmental planning strategies
• collaborate skillfully with OTs to address sensorimotor issues before they become a barrier to learning

To help inform their instruction, teachers will find thorough, research-based explanations of the movement-learning link and the effect of sensory processing issues on school performance and outcomes. Plus they'll get a wide range of simple tips and strategies they can use to support their students' motor skills, task engagement, and management of sensory issues.

As this eye-opening book puts the wisdom of OTs in their teaching toolbox, educators will expand their perspective on how children learn—and break down the preventable obstacles to positive academic and social outcomes.

Sybil M. Berkey, M.S., OTR, LOT, has worked in the field of occupational therapy for more than three decades. She currently works in the Lake Washington School District in Redmond, Washington.