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You are here: Home / Sensory Regulation / Why Teachers Should Never Take Away Recess

Why Teachers Should Never Take Away Recess

April 14, 2017 by Amy Smith

One of the most “popular” forms of punishment for  bad behavior in the schools is sitting out of recess.  Glance at any elementary school during recess time and chance are, you’ll see a handful of kids standing by a wall because they are in trouble.

Learn the reasons why recess shouldn't be taken away and alternative ideas to use instead

 

Losing recess is a quick and convenient punishment for kids who are misbehaving, but is it actually beneficial for anyone?  No.  Kids do need consequences BUT there are much more effective ways than losing recess.  Find out the why teachers should never take away recess and get some ideas for alternate punishments to use instead.

Reason #1- Recess can improve classroom behaviors 

There are plenty of research studies that have concluded that recess helps to improve fidgety and off task behaviors.  One study highlighted that fidgety time increased the longer recess was delayed and decreased after recess time had ended.  Kids who are constantly fidgety (which are often incorrectly thought of as misbehaving and consequently in trouble) can especially benefit from recess.

Students driving the teacher crazy at the elementary school

Reason #2- Recess can improve attention in the classroom

According to a 2013 study, controlled experiments have shown that children who have recess breaks show increased alertness in academic tasks in the classroom.  It’s sadly ironic that the children who often lose their recess time for “not paying attention in class” are the ones that need the breaks the most.Why teachers should never take away recess

Reason #3- Recess can improve various school skills 

Playground equipment contains an abundance of academic benefits.  For examples, monkey bars build fine motor skills needed for better handwriting and cutting.  The swings provide vestibular input which improves coordination and an internal rhythm needed in reading fluency.  There are many other links between playground equipment to academic performance found in this post here.

Why teachers should never take away recess

Reason #4- Recess can improve test scores

Missing out on recess can negatively effect test scores? Although there are a lot of factors that can affect  test scores, there have been studies showing direct correlations between increased physical activity and achievement on academic testing.

why teachers should never take away recess

Reason #5- Recess can improve social skills

Chances are, many of the kids who are frequently in trouble are also having difficulty communicating appropriately with peers or teachers.  These are the kids who often don’t know how to resolve conflicts or problem solve on their own.  Recess time helps to develop those essential social skills because kids are placed in an unstructured situation that requires them to interact, problem solve, resolve conflicts, take turns, and engage in imaginary play with each other.

why teachers should never take away recess

Alternatives Ideas to Losing Recess

  • Instead of “sitting out” of recess, have the student walk laps or do exercises during recess time
  • Have the student miss time from a more sedentary classroom reward such as a movie or free choice screen time
  • Assign that student to “clean up duty” after recess by running to pick up all the balls and equipment left on the playground
  • Have the student write an apology note for inappropriate actions
  • Have the student do “classroom jobs” such as washing blackboards, organizing books, sharpening pencils, etc…

pencil-sharpener-2000622_1280

Keep those ideas coming for alternative ideas to losing recess in the comment section below and as always, thanks for reading and INVESTING in your child!


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Filed Under: Sensory Regulation Tagged With: school success, student discipline

Disclaimer

Kids Play Smarter is a blog about general ideas, theories, and concepts related to the field of occupational therapy and the growth and development of all children. The information presented on this blog is not intended to serve as or replace occupational therapy services for your child. The information on this blog is for entertainment, informational, and educational purposes only. This blog is not meant to replace formal professional consultation or evaluation from a qualified clinician. All children need to have the approval of a physician to participate in physical activities, including those described on this blog. In addition, children need to be supervised by a responsible adult at ALL times when completing activities that are illustrated and described on this blog. The author of this blog is NOT responsible or liable for any damage, injury, accident, illness, death, or adverse reaction due to participation in the activities described on the website.

Comments

  1. Chuck at Bouncing Teeter Totters says

    April 18, 2017 at 4:20 pm

    As always, we at the Bouncing Teeter Totters like Amy’s article. She does a great job of arguing against cancelling recess for students and in giving alternative corrective actions. We firmly believe that recess is very important to children. We have even voiced our opinions in favor of reestablishing a recess period for students here in Florida. We support SB-78 and HB-67 that would require at least 20 min of recess a day for students. Thanks again Amy for your positions.

    • Amy SmithAmy Smith says

      April 19, 2017 at 1:32 am

      Thanks so much Chuck! I couldn’t agree more and I support your efforts in making recess mandatory! Please keep me updated on how this goes…

  2. Pat says

    April 18, 2017 at 9:59 pm

    I agree with all of the positives about recess. However, here in NC, it is mandatory to provide recess each day to students and it is illegal to take it away. That is actual legislation that is on the books. In addition, our district has literally no alternative consequences. None. Most of the alternatives mentioned in the article are simply not allowed here. Walking laps – no. Doing exercises – no. Clean up duty – no. Classroom jobs as a punishment – no. Missing a special time happens maybe once a quarter, so makes no impression. Writing a note of apology might make some students reflect, but if the parent objected – no. I’d love to hear some other ideas that could possibly be approved and allowed. This is a great conversation!

    • Amy SmithAmy Smith says

      April 19, 2017 at 1:30 am

      Wow- very interesting. I”m glad to hear recess is mandatory in NC but I’m very shocked to hear exercise and walking is not allowed?? I’d love to hear more ideas too… thanks!

      • Pat says

        April 20, 2017 at 6:54 pm

        Oh, yes parents took away walking and exercise instead of free play, saying that it “singled out my child for public humiliation”. Another parent emailed a STATE SENATOR (I swear you can’t make this stuff up), saying we were making whole classes of students walk in the hot sun until they dropped. It never happened! It came all the way back down the line to the superintendent to our principal, who had to abolish walking at recess. As a mother of 3 and a teacher of hundreds, I certainly want children to have play time, but we simply have no consequences any more. And people wonder why kids behave the way they do.

    • Katie says

      April 19, 2017 at 6:31 pm

      I know exactly what you are saying! I teach first grade in WV and my school actually had the state BOE called on us because we were making kids walk during recess for 5-10 minutes if they got in trouble before recess time. We were told by the state that it was corporal punishment! There are no consequences for a child’s behavior in school. People wonder why kids behave the way they do! No consequences for their actions. We are not allowed to take away anything, especially recess, as a cosequence.

      • Amy SmithAmy Smith says

        April 20, 2017 at 6:45 pm

        Wow… that’s very interesting. Thanks for your reply

      • Pat says

        April 20, 2017 at 6:55 pm

        I feel your pain! We had a similar incident. Sheesh!

      • Donald Trumop says

        March 11, 2019 at 11:10 pm

        take A dump BOI!!!!!!!

    • lauren says

      June 11, 2017 at 11:37 am

      I’m pretty late to the game here but I also teach in NC and at my school we have recess zones. The least favorite is the blacktop area so students are assigned to that zone for the day or a period of time if they misbehave. They are free to do whatever they want, in that area. Works well for us.

      • Amy SmithAmy Smith says

        June 16, 2017 at 2:48 am

        That’s an idea I hadn’t heard of before… thanks for sharing!

  3. Lester says

    May 16, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    I needed to thank you for this fantastic read!! I undoubtedly loving every
    small bit of it I have you bookmarked to take a look at new material you post.

    • Amy SmithAmy Smith says

      May 18, 2017 at 6:54 pm

      Thank you!! 🙂

  4. Miquel says

    May 17, 2017 at 7:31 pm

    The article has actually peaks my interest.
    Iwill bookmark your site and keep checking for new info.

    • Amy SmithAmy Smith says

      May 18, 2017 at 6:51 pm

      Great- thank you for reading!

Welcome to Kids Play Smarter

Amy Smith I am an occupational therapist with over 10 years of experience working with children. I created this website to offer parents, teachers, and therapists FREE ideas, strategies, and activities that they can do with their children to improve their fine and gross motor skills, handwriting, academic learning, and regulate their sensory system all while "playing" (just playing smarter)! Read More…

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