North Texas Students Get On The Ball

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Students in one North Texas classroom are learning and improving their health at the same time.

Fifth grade teacher Sarah Wright says she was looking for a way to keep her students motivated, when she came up with the idea to swap chairs for exercise balls.

"When we have parents and people walk by the hallway, they kind of look in and say what is going on in there?" she says.

What's going on…is classroom exercise of a much different kind.

"It really increased their attention span because their body is engaged and their mind is engaged," Wright explains. "It's also burning calories so they're not as fidgety throughout the day."

The idea did take some time for students to get used to.

Wright taught the students to keep their feet on the floor and sit up straight. She says it's improving their posture, performance, and in some cases, behavior.

"Students who've had behavior problems, I've said 'If you're not acting appropriately I can't trust you with them,' and so I've seen an improvement in behavior and in class."

So far the idea is sitting well with Wright and her students.