How Does Recess Affect Children
The Impact of Recess on the Development of Children
Many elementary schools have reduced or eliminated recess during the school day in an attempt to improve test scores. That has been especially true since the No Child Left Behind Act introduced in 2001. In order to allow for more instruction time for achievement standards to be met, more time was spent in the classroom resulting in something having to be cut out of the school day. In most cases, that is recess. However, doing so has not had the desired results and children have been losing out on very important aspects of their development. Having recess is vital to the development of children because it helps them to perform better academically in school, it gives them the opportunity to learn the social skills needed throughout life, and it improves their physical well-being.
Children improve academically when they are given the opportunity to have unstructured breaks during …show more content…
Recess gives children the opportunity to learn social skills that are not able to learn in the classroom. Through play, they improve their communication skills, they practice negotiation and cooperation, and they learn how to be part of a team (Murray, & Ramstetter, 2013). For instance, when children invent games to play at recess, they practice listening and communicating as the rules are negotiated and compromised. They ask questions to get clarification about how to play. Once the rules are set, they practice following them. They learn that they have to take turns and work as a team to accomplish their goals. If a conflict arises, they work on resolution skills in order that the game can continue. Many of the social skills that are needed throughout life are practiced out on the playground at recess. As important as all of those skills are, the benefits of recess extend into children’s physical well-being as
Many elementary schools have reduced or eliminated recess during the school day in an attempt to improve test scores. That has been especially true since the No Child Left Behind Act introduced in 2001. In order to allow for more instruction time for achievement standards to be met, more time was spent in the classroom resulting in something having to be cut out of the school day. In most cases, that is recess. However, doing so has not had the desired results and children have been losing out on very important aspects of their development. Having recess is vital to the development of children because it helps them to perform better academically in school, it gives them the opportunity to learn the social skills needed throughout life, and it improves their physical well-being.
Children improve academically when they are given the opportunity to have unstructured breaks during …show more content…
Recess gives children the opportunity to learn social skills that are not able to learn in the classroom. Through play, they improve their communication skills, they practice negotiation and cooperation, and they learn how to be part of a team (Murray, & Ramstetter, 2013). For instance, when children invent games to play at recess, they practice listening and communicating as the rules are negotiated and compromised. They ask questions to get clarification about how to play. Once the rules are set, they practice following them. They learn that they have to take turns and work as a team to accomplish their goals. If a conflict arises, they work on resolution skills in order that the game can continue. Many of the social skills that are needed throughout life are practiced out on the playground at recess. As important as all of those skills are, the benefits of recess extend into children’s physical well-being as