PLAYFUL STRATEGIES IN TEACHING LATERALITY: A PROGRESSIVE PEDAGOGICAL PROPOSAL AT THE DARCY RIBEIRO SCHOOL UNIT

Abstract

A didactic sequence on laterality is a planned set of playful and progressive activities that help children identify and use the right and left sides of their own bodies. For children up to 6 years old, the focus is not only on "memorizing" names, but on developing body awareness and spatial orientation, fundamental skills for future literacy and logical reasoning. The objective of this study was to analyze the contributions of playful and psychomotor activities to the development of laterality in elementary school students, based on experiences recorded in an experience report in Physical Education classes. This experience refers to the application of a didactic sequence composed of three lesson plans with pedagogical progression – initial, intermediate, and advanced, organized with playful and dynamic activities that respected the students' learning pace, focusing on the development of laterality, applied to a 2nd-grade class at the Darcy Ribeiro School Unit in Timon, Maranhão. The class, composed of 24 students aged between 6 and 7 years, demonstrated the need to strengthen essential psychomotor aspects at this stage, such as laterality, which directly influences the organization of the body schema, motor coordination, and spatial perception. The application of structured psychomotor activities promoted advances that surpassed physical development, positively impacting the socialization and attention of the students. The strategic and meaningful methodology facilitated the recognition of the body schema and the distinction of the sides of the body, ensuring the active participation of the class.