Early on in student learning we are instructing and assessing students on how well they understand and or how well they can sequence events.Sequencing is one of many skills that contributes to students' ability to comprehend what they read. Sequencing refers to the identification of the components of a story, such as the beginning, middle, and end, and also to the ability to retell the events within a given text in the order in which they occurred.

It is an integral part of their learning. Without this primary skill in place, a child may have gaps in their learning as sequencing is one of those first building blocks to learning.

Neurobiologist Dr. William Calvin believes that our early ancestors developed bigger brains by throwing rocks to kill their prey. 

​

WHAT?

​

Indeed...to throw a rock at a more distant target requires more accuracy, just as a running pass in football, it requires more neurons. Calvin believes that this "natural selection" of accurate throwing skill led to humans developing larger brains with better timing and sequencing abilities. He also believes that humans generalized these sequencing abilities to create tools, music, the facial movements of expressive language, and the sequential structure of sounds, letters, words and sentences in our spoken and written language.

If sequencing is simply a generalized ability in the brain, then sequenced movement activities (their effectiveness amplified by the adaptive challenge of the Balance Board) should improve reading, spoken and written expressive language, and even arithmetic and spelling (remember they are based on the understanding of numerical sequences.)

This is indeed the case! In practice, the different sequencing activities are combined...For example, if a student would count by three as they perform a memorized sequence of movements - the combined sequencing practice is more effective than any one sequencing activity done in isolation. That is why we include pendulum ball and  balance board activities into our students' learning programs. It has a far greater impact on their learning!

​