20090921 -- Students Have a Ball (1)

Students Have a Ball

Sitting on exercise balls brings more than a smile to students and teachers

Sitting on a chair all day in school can make anyone want to move around. So, more and more teachers are letting students have a ball. By replacing chairs with exercise balls, teachers find students' posture and attention improve.

Dottie Pownall, a fifth-grade teacher in West Virginia, has been using balls as chairs since December 2008.

"The students love them," she says. Pownall took a survey of her students. She found that 80 percent thought sitting on the balls helped them focus better.

Former teacher Lisa Witt felt so strongly about the use of balls as chairs she started WittFitt. This company encourages the use of balls. In addition, the company educates not only teachers but also students on how to use them. "We have clients in 24 states, three provinces in Canada, Puerto Rico and Japan," says Witt. "Research shows that sitting on the balls promotes sitting up straighter. You can slouch on a ball," says Witt, "but it feels awful." Because the students are moving their blood flow increase. That carries more oxygen to the brain, so the kids have more energy and can focus longer. "Furthermore, they're fun," says Pownall.



re- 再一次
replace v. 取代
replace with
eg: Ken replaced his old blue car with a new red truck.
eg: Henry got replaced when he became ill.
eg: The company will replace all PCs with notebooks.

survey n. 調查
eg: The company's employee survey discovered everyone wanted to leave work at 4:50 p.m. instead of 5:00 p.m.

oxygen n. 氧氣
eg: People get oxygen from the air they breathe.

furthermore adv. 而且
=> in addition
eg: I can't finish my work tonight. Furthermore, I can't finish it tomorrow, either.
eg: The car is not big enough for four of us, and furthermore, it's too expensive.
eg: I don't know what Bobby said about me. Furthermore, I don't really care.

posture n. 體態/姿勢/姿態
=> the position/way that the person is sitting or standing
eg: She needs to improve her posture if she wants to be a model.
eg: His bad posture made him uncomfortable.

slouch v. 沒精打采地站(坐或走)



//== Chat room ==//

state 州
province 省

territories 地區
加拿大的三個地區:
Northwest Terrtories
Nunavut
Yukon

Puerto Rico=> 美國的一個地區

provincial adj. 地方的/鄉下的

//== Grammer on the go ==//

Former teacher Lisa Witt felt so strongly about the use of balls as chairs she started WittFitt.
=> Former teacher Lisa Witt firmly believed in the use of balls as chairs, so she started WittFitt.

feel strongly 深信
=> believe in the importance or value of something

eg: They feel strongly about protecting the enviroment.
eg: Miranda feels strongly about finishing school before getting married.

feel stronly against 深信(用於反面句子)
eg: Richard feels strongly against racial discrimination.
eg: Jack feels strongly against animal abuse.


feel stong
eg: Jake always felt strong after exercise in the gym.


//== More Info ==//

About the WittFitt stability ball, one kindergarten teacher said,
"I absolutely love ball chairs in my classroom.
I try them because I had an "active" class that couldn't sit still in their regular chairs.
I wish I would have tried them sooner, it has been very effective and my class has responded beautifully.
I am seeing more independence and responsibility, therefore more teacher sanity!