Ask any teacher or parent what worries them about modern childhood, and screen time will be near the top of the list. Tablets, phones, games consoles and streaming have become part of everyday life, and many children now spend a large share of their waking hours looking at a screen.
Technology has its place in education, and nobody is suggesting we ban it. But there is a growing appetite for learning that doesn’t rely on a screen. The good news is that there’s a simple, practical answer sitting right in front of us: active learning.
The screen-time problem in plain terms
Children spend long stretches of the school day sitting down, and the evenings often bring more sitting, this time in front of a screen. The UK Chief Medical Officers recommend that children and young people do an average of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a day, and many children fall short of that.
Too much sedentary screen time can affect sleep, mood, concentration and physical health. Teachers often see the effects first-hand: children who find it hard to settle, stay focused or manage their energy.
It’s tempting to see “learning” and “screens” as increasingly linked, especially when so many educational resources are digital. But learning doesn’t have to happen on a device. For primary-aged children in particular, some of the best learning happens when they’re up, moving and doing.
What is active learning?
Active learning means building movement directly into the learning itself. Rather than sitting still and then having a movement break as a reward, children learn through movement.
In practice, that might look like:
- Counting in multiples by jumping from spot to spot around the hall
- Acting out a story to explore character and setting
- Solving number problems in teams using floor markers or hoops
- Spelling words by moving to different areas of the room for each letter or sound
The curriculum content stays the same. What changes is how children engage with it: using their whole bodies rather than just their eyes and a pencil, or a screen.
Why active learning is a natural fit for reducing screen time
1. It replaces passive time with purposeful time
When a lesson gets children moving, there’s no need to hand out a device to keep them engaged. Active learning gives teachers a ready-made, low-tech way to deliver the same objectives, so screens become a deliberate choice rather than a default.
2. It uses what children naturally want to do
Primary-aged children are full of energy. Active learning works with that rather than against it. Instead of asking children to sit still and then wondering why they’re restless, we channel that energy into the learning itself.
3. It supports concentration
Many teachers notice that children return to their seats calmer and more ready to focus after moving. Short bursts of movement can help children reset between tasks, which is useful when you’re trying to hold attention without reaching for a screen-based activity to do it.
4. It makes learning memorable
When children physically experience a concept, such as stepping out a number line, they’re building a different kind of memory. Moving, talking and doing give learning more hooks to hang on to than watching or reading alone.
5. It builds the skills screens can’t
Active learning naturally encourages teamwork, communication, turn-taking, resilience and problem-solving, all through face-to-face interaction. These are skills that develop best in real-world, social situations.
Maths and English, without the screen
One of the common worries is whether active approaches can really cover the core curriculum. They can. Maths and English lend themselves brilliantly to movement:
Maths: Number bonds, times tables, place value, fractions and measuring can all be explored through jumping, throwing, building and travelling around the room. Abstract ideas become physical and visible, which can be a real help for children who find concepts hard to grasp on paper.
English: Phonics, spelling, grammar and vocabulary can all be taught through games and movement. Children can act out verbs, travel between sentence “stations”, or physically sort words into word classes.
The learning outcomes stay rigorous. The delivery simply becomes more engaging.
Starting small: simple ideas for the classroom
You don’t need to overhaul your timetable. A few easy starting points:
- Try an active starter. Open a lesson with a quick, movement-based activity linked to what you’re about to teach.
- Swap one worksheet for a game. Take a task children would normally do at their desks and turn it into a movement-based challenge.
- Add a movement break between tasks. Even a couple of minutes can help children reset and refocus.
- Take it outside. If the weather allows, the playground is a brilliant learning space for measuring, counting and writing.
- Make it a habit. Little and often tends to work better than occasional big events.
Bringing it home
Active learning isn’t only for the classroom. Parents can use the same ideas at home: practising times tables while bouncing a ball, spelling words on a hopscotch grid in chalk, or measuring ingredients while baking together. These simple activities give children quality learning time and a natural break from screens.
A healthier balance
The goal isn’t to remove technology from children’s lives. It’s to restore balance, so that screens are one tool among many rather than the default way to learn or to fill time.
Active learning offers exactly that. It keeps children engaged, supports their physical and emotional wellbeing, and helps them learn Maths and English in ways that are memorable and enjoyable, all without needing a device.
If you’d like to see how active learning can work in your school, explore Teach Active’s free resources and try a movement-based lesson with your class. You might be surprised how quickly children take to it.