About This Lesson
Explore the intersection of positive psychology and autism intervention by teaching your students how to benefit from moving their bodies to maximize their happiness!
This comprehensive bundle includes everything you need to leverage Movement for happiness in the classroom, including teaching slides, a teacher's guide, printables for each activity, and supplementary resources.
Learning Objectives
1. Students learn to identify the connection between movement and happiness.
2. Students learn to engage in a variety of movement practices at moderate to high intensity.
3. Students learn to track their movement practices and their impact on happiness over time.
Here’s what you’ll get:
An entire Movement for Happiness unit, including,
- Student instruction in Google slides format
- Teacher's guide
- Printable worksheets and materials for students
- Ideas to incorporate the skill into an IEP and BIP
Begin teaching Movement for Happiness!
- Activity 1: An Introduction to Movement for Happiness
- Activity 2: Identifying Types of Movement for Happiness
- Activity 3: Personal Reflection on Movement for Happiness
- Activity 4: Exploring Movement Types and Mood-Boosting Additions
- Activity 5: Build your Movement for Happiness Recipe
Integration into Current Instruction
- Do you already include movement in your classroom or students’ daily activities? Use this skill to explore ways to enhance the benefit of that movement on happiness. Try increasing the intensity or duration to reap greater benefits. What about adding music or creating a more playful approach to movement? Could you explore different movement forms? Or maybe even take your movement outside and into nature?
- Are students learning to respond to alarms or keep calendar appointments? To ensure students engage in movement regularly, add Movement for Happiness alarms or appointments.
- Movement for Happiness isn’t one size fits all. A movement that brings one person innate joy might feel hard and daunting to another. Try exploring your students' individual needs when it comes to Movement for Happiness.
Why you’ll love this unit study:
*The lessons and activities are easy to read and implement.
* You can use each lesson as a standalone activity or as part of a comprehensive, science-based unit study.
* The Movement for Happiness unit comes with activities, downloadable worksheets, and even IEP and BIP recommendations tailored specifically to students with autism
Ways to Use
- Incorporate into SEL curriculum
- Integrate into small groups and/or individual counseling sessions
- Families can use this at home, too!
What is Movement for Happiness?
Movement for Happiness is a wellbeing practice that emphasizes the importance of joyful movement for mental and physical health. Engaging in joyful movement can immediately lift your mood, with no minimum amount of movement required to experience the positive effects. Over time, regular movement can lead to greater happiness and life satisfaction.
For autistic students, who are often less physically active, integrating daily movement breaks and reflections can be a powerful way to boost physical wellbeing and happiness. This wellbeing skill offers tools and strategies to help educators, students, and staff start incorporating movement into their lives and teaching others to do the same, promoting happiness both inside and outside the classroom.
Science of Movement for Happiness
Movement has been known to trigger the release of endorphins, the brain's "feel-good" hormones. These hormones promote mental health and mood enhancement, famously referred to as the "runner's high." Recent research has revealed that muscles also play a vital role in mood regulation. They secrete chemicals during movement that promote positive emotions, courage, and social connections, feeding the brain through the endocrine system.
The benefits of regular movement include:
- Higher levels of happiness
- Enhanced mood and immune function
- Improved sleep quality and duration
- Better cognitive and behavioral functioning
- Increased social inclusion and overall wellbeing for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Looking for more Movement for Happiness Resources?
* Explore the free Movement for Happiness Unit Study, which includes teaching slides, additional worksheets and activities, and even IEP and BIP recommendations tailored specifically to students with autism.
Proof Positive’s resources are and will always be free. Be well!
Bonus access to full lesson plans and unit studies on the skills of happiness at our Skill Center