The Effects of Recess Before Lunch on Students Behaviors

Introduction When I was younger recess was a daily activity in my school. Like most of my fellow peers, I felt that recess was my favorite part of the day. As I continued my education and later became a teacher in New York City, I slowly saw recess disappear. At my current school, recess is almost nonexistent. Students only get recess when the weather is above 60 degrees and an administrator is available to accompany the aids outside. I currently teach a fifth grade class in an urban community. Many students in my classroom and students throughout the school have behavioral issues that are affecting their academic and social relationships. The purpose of my action research was to see if providing recess fifteen minutes before lunch plays a positive role in improving student’s behaviors during the rest of the lunch period. My hope is that by providing behavioral at-risk students with the opportunity to play outside before they eat lunch, there will be a decrease the amount of behavioral incidences. I strongly believed that incorporating recess time everyday would help students release energy and be more focused throughout the rest of the day. As a classroom teacher, I feel that if students are more focused they will know how to handle behavioral issues more appropriately. This research helped me find out what the effects of daily recess are on student’s behavior. The participants in the study were a mix of girls and boys. I decided to focus my attention on third, fourth and fifth grade students who frequently are suspended because of inappropriate school behavior that disrupts their learning and others.

This action research is important because of the pressure to increase activity in school has come from efforts to combat childhood obesity, because the results may aid in the awareness of the importance in having daily recess as a part of students’ curriculum. Many organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National

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