Past studies in child development have clearly established that motor development is the basis for later, higher-order developmental processes. The motor developmental approach to learning focuses on the acquisition of skills and concepts in various academic subjects through motor activities. It is based partly on the theory that children, being predominantly movement-oriented, will perform better when "academic learning" occurs with some kind of pleasurable physical activity. Three recent studies have shown that children have become better readers and more favorably oriented to academic activities when a motor developmental approach augmented reading and other types of language instruction. (RL)