Educational Pathways Academy serves students with language-based learning differences, primarily dyslexia. In addition, a high proportion of students also have ADHD. Our school’s literacy intervention model is structured around an evidence-based approach, and we are always seeking ways to fully engage our students in their learning journey. I have designed a classroom learning tool specifically with the needs of my students in mind. The goal of this project is to create an interactive classroom obstacle course that combines reading fluency practice with purposeful physical movement. This project will provide an engaging, multisensory approach to strengthening both literacy skills and physical development.
I have designed an easy-to-assemble obstacle course that students can move through while completing targeted reading activities. By pairing literacy instruction with movement, the project is designed to meet the needs of kinesthetic learners while supporting focus, engagement, and retention. The physical components will also target core strength, coordination, and fine and gross motor development.
The project specifically addresses the need for movement-based, multisensory instruction for students with dyslexia and ADHD. Reading can require significant concentration and stamina for students with learning differences and can sometimes be associated with frustration or anxiety. Incorporating structured movement creates a lower-stress, high-interest environment in which students can practice essential reading skills while remaining physically engaged.
This project closely aligns with EPA’s Multisensory priorities by integrating physical movement directly into reading instruction, supporting EPA’s specialized approach for students with dyslexia, ADHD, and language-based learning differences.
Students will actively participate in an interactive obstacle course that combines physical movement with targeted literacy practice. At key points throughout the course, students will pause to read sight words, decodable sentences, or short passages, allowing them to practice reading fluency in an active, multisensory environment.
The project will meet the needs of students with dyslexia and ADHD by providing a structured opportunity to learn through movement. The obstacle course will reinforce skills already being taught during literacy instruction while providing physical activity that supports engagement, focus, coordination, and task stamina.
The project will utilize multisensory, structured literacy strategies to combine evidence-based reading instruction with active physical movement:
Explicit & Systematic Phonics Integration: Instruction will use decodable text, sight word mastery drills, and targeted phonemic awareness tasks integrated directly into physical activity stations.
Multisensory Learning Modalities: Students will engage visual, auditory, and kinesthetic pathways simultaneously. Ex: decoding a target word card before completing a physical movement sequence which reinforces learning and retention for struggling readers.
Active Engagement & Fluency Building: Combining physical movement with oral reading practice will increase student engagement, provide a lower-stress opportunity to practice challenging skills, and promote automaticity in word recognition and oral reading fluency.
Physical Skill Development: Obstacle course activities will incorporate movements that strengthen core stability, balance, coordination, and fine and gross motor skills.
Student participation in the obstacle course will directly reinforce core classroom instruction by transforming literacy practice into an active, multisensory experience. Reading activities can be adjusted to align with the phonics patterns, sight words, and fluency skills students are currently learning, allowing teachers to use the obstacle course as an engaging extension of daily literacy instruction.
By integrating movement with targeted reading practice, the obstacle course is expected to produce meaningful improvements in both literacy skills and student engagement. Expected benefits include:
Increased Sight Word & Skill Word Automaticity: Students will more quickly and accurately recognize targeted words and apply phonics skills during reading.
Measurable Growth in Oral Reading Fluency: Students will increase reading fluency, measured in words correct per minute and through weekly skill assessments.
Sustained Engagement & On-Task Behavior: Incorporating purposeful movement into literacy practice will help students maintain focus, increase task stamina, and remain actively engaged.
Reduced Learning Anxiety & Improved Confidence: The obstacle course will provide a fun, lower-stress environment for practicing skills that can be challenging for students with dyslexia, helping students become more willing and confident readers.
Physical Development: Students will strengthen coordination, balance, core strength, and fine and gross motor skills through structured movement activities.
The project will be considered successful when students demonstrate enthusiasm, active participation, increased willingness to tackle challenging reading tasks, and measurable growth on weekly literacy assessments. I will monitor students’ fluency scores, reading accuracy, engagement, task stamina, and confidence throughout the project.
Weekly assessments will provide measurable evidence of growth in reading skills and fluency, while teacher observations will document changes in participation, focus, and willingness to read. An additional indicator of success will be students looking forward to reading and actively engaging in literacy practice on obstacle course days.
Ultimately, the project will provide students with another way to practice challenging literacy skills in a format that recognizes and responds to the different ways they learn.
I will use grant funds to purchase the items needed to create my classroom's obstacle course: Indoor stepping stones, a balance beam, and a tunnel.
