Fundamental movement skills (FMS)

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are a set of physical skills requiring motion of the arms, legs, head, feet, and other body parts. Most FMS are very basic, such as balancing, running, and jumping, but are meant to establish essential skills and habits in young children, allowing them to grow into physically capable and active adults. Categories of FMS may differ, but generally include body management skills, locomotor skills, and manipulative skills. Body management skills mainly involve balance and stability in different situations. Locomotor skills involve all dynamic motions from place to place, including walking, running, jumping, and swimming. Manipulative skills, sometimes called object control skills, involve mastering simple tools such as balls, hoops, and bats. Teaching FMS can help improve student health and happiness, confidence in their physical abilities, and performance in many sports and games. It can also help to decrease unhealthy levels of sedentary lifestyles that have contributed to obesity and disease among children and adults worldwide.

Background

Traditionally, children and adults alike underwent physical activity on a regular basis. Many people worked on farms, where they would perform many physical tasks related to tending crops and animals, or other jobs requiring ongoing movement. Many other people were responsible for building, tending, and repairing their own living places, meaning they spent much of their time moving around to upkeep their homes. In addition, the lack of modern transportation technology meant that most people walked where they were going. Generally, small, close-knit communities allowed children to go outside to meet and play.

By the twentieth century, many aspects of world societies had changed, as did the relationship between humans and physical activity. Agricultural workers largely shifted to cities, where many people took jobs in factories in which they performed limited movement due to assembly lines and manufacturing equipment. Other people took jobs in offices and other indoor locations in which most activities took place while sitting at desks with papers or, later, computers. Televisions, computers, and other electronic devices became major occupations for many people. Millions of children stayed home to watch television or play video games rather than play physical games with friends.

The sudden societal shift from regular physical activity to inactive, sedentary lifestyles has led to a host of problems. Many children grow up not accustomed to physical activity and unprepared for manual labor. Their sedentary lifestyles have contributed to a sharp rise in child and adult obesity as well as a host of other related diseases. In addition, some underactive children do not develop the basic motion skills and abilities that are necessary for active, healthy lives.

In modern times, schools and other educational facilities have attempted to combat the increasing sedentary lifestyle and its negative effects through physical education programs. Regular games, sports, and exercises have become a required element of most school curriculums. Such programs may have many benefits for students, including improving their health, developing their bodies, and teaching them to reach healthy levels of activity.

Another aspect of physical education has been termed "physical literacy." Achieving physical literacy is a lifelong process, with different levels, goals, and restrictions for all phases of life: infancy, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood, and older adulthood. Someone who is physically literate has learned his or her potential for movement and physical activity and decided to strive to meet that potential. These people know how to use physical movements in the healthiest and most economical ways in a variety of situations. This awareness helps people be mindful of their surroundings, adapt and thrive in different situations, and learn more about their bodies and how to nourish them with proper nutrition, sleep, and exercise.

Schools and other educational facilities worldwide have investigated or adopted the principles of physical literacy. One of the most important aspects of a physical literacy program involves fundamental movement skills (FMS). In the twenty-first century, FMS-based lessons have appeared in educational curriculums in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia, and similar movement-based lesson plans have appeared around the world. Many educators believe that teaching FMS to students, particularly the youngest ones, may have a major positive impact on decreasing the rates of sedentary lifestyles and associated problems.

Overview

Fundamental movement skills (FMS) are an important aspect of physical literacy. FMS involve a set of physical skills that activate different body parts, including the arms, legs, head, feet, and torso. These skills by themselves are very basic, but they are intended to help establish physical knowledge and habits that can help people move forward to increasingly more difficult and challenging physical activities as they grow and develop. FMS can help students stay healthy, learn about proper physical movement, become confident in their abilities, excel at sports and other activities, and develop interest in and dedication to using their physicality throughout life.

Most FMS work closely with other skills. In addition, different educators may list the components of FMS in slightly different ways or by using different terms. However, the basic categories of FMS include body management skills, locomotor skills, and manipulative skills. Each category addresses different forms of motion, purposes, and body parts and systems.

The first category of FMS is body management skills. Body management skills relate to a person's ability to remain physically stable and balance the body while it is resting or moving. These skills may vary widely. Some balance skills while remaining in place include rotation activities such as bending, stretching, and twisting. Performing these activities without losing balance is an important milestone in a child's physical development. More active balance skills include rolling on the ground, climbing on simple structures such as steps or boxes, and landing safely and securely after jumping into the air. Tests of balance include standing on one foot and walking on a line or beam. Children as young as three can learn to walk on balance beams, although these beams must be shorter and wider than for older children.

The second category of FMS is locomotor skills. (Locomotor means "the ability to move from one place to another.") These skills involve more dynamic activities that incorporate the balance skills into comprehensive demonstrations of movement. The most basic locomotor skills include walking, running, and jumping. Most children gain these skills on their own through instinct and experimentation, but some children need assistance. More advanced locomotor skills include skipping and dodging. Swimming is also a locomotor skill popular with many educators and children alike.

The third main category of FMS is manipulative skills, often called by other names such as "object control skills." These skills involve controlling various tools with the body, most often the hands and feet. For the youngest children, the implements being controlled are often balls. Later, bats and hoops become important for games and sports. The child learning FMS must master these objects and learn how to manipulate and use them safely, efficiently, and to the greatest advantage. Basic locomotor skills include throwing, catching, and kicking. More developed skills include bouncing, dribbling, and passing.

Experts agree that fundamental movement skills are an important aspect of a healthy lifestyle for children and adults. Even the simplest movement skills can contribute to a wide range of more advanced activities. For example, most sports including basketball, baseball, football, tennis, soccer, and track all require running skills. Baseball, softball, bowling, rugby, and many other activities require throwing and catching abilities. Balancing skills are important for all active sports and most physical life tasks.

Education in FMS may begin with very young children, often before they begin school. Parents and caregivers may help children learn basic FMS from the ages of three or four. A strong foundation in FMS should ideally develop prior to the growth spurts most people experience in adolescence. That early mastery of FMS helps ingrain essential and fundamental skills and assists people in dealing with the sudden changes that will take place in their bodies and abilities.

Children of different ages will generally reach different levels of FMS. The most basic level, achievable by the average three-year-old, includes the ability to run, kick a ball, briefly balance on one foot, and climb a small ladder. Four-year-olds generally develop quickly and master skills such as hopping on one or both feet, throwing a ball about ten feet, and kicking a moving ball. Five-year-olds can typically be expected to run while avoiding obstacles, throw a ball with better strength and accuracy, and balance on a moving surface. Children often vary from the average levels of accomplishment in FMS. Some children struggle in some areas and excel in others. Children with developmental disabilities may need additional support to learn the skills expected of their age group.

Educators in many countries have developed plans for teaching FMS to children of different ages and ability levels. Qualified physical educators should be able to encourage children to move and be mindful of their movements, identify and correct common errors in movement, and customize learning plans for children with disabilities. Through activities and feedback, these educators can teach children the movement skills they need to live active and healthy lives.

Bibliography

Clements, Rhonda L., and Sharon L. Schneider. Moving with Words & Action: Physical Literacy for Preschool and Primary Children. SHAPE America/Society of Health and Physical Educators, 2017.

"Fundamental Movement Skills." Coaches Association of Ontario, www.coachesontario.ca/nccp-training/fundamental-movement-skills/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.

"Fundamental Movement Skills." Physical & Health Education Canada, www.phecanada.ca/programs/physical-literacy/what-physical-literacy/fundamental-movement-skills. Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.

"Fundamental Movement Skills: Learning, Teaching, and Assessment: Preparing Children for an Active and Healthy Lifestyle." Washington Department of Education, 2013.

Gardner, Heather. Physical Literacy on the Move: Games for Developing Confidence and Competence in Physical Activity. Human Kinetics, 2017.

"Good Habits for Life: Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS)." ACT Government, goodhabitsforlife.act.gov.au/kids-at-play/fundamental-movement-skills-fms-1. Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.

"NCCP Fundamental Movement Skills." Coaching Association of Canada, www.coach.ca/fundamental-movement-skills-s16736. Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.

Pickard, Angela, and Patricia Maude. Teaching Physical Education Creatively. Routledge, 2014.

Whitehead, Margaret. Physical Literacy: Throughout the Lifecourse. Routledge, 2010.