Objective: The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of applying Merrill's Learning Sequence in teaching Persian content on mental health components and motor motivation of students.



Methods: The research employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test/post-test and a control group. The statistical population included all fifth-grade elementary students in Tehran, from which 30 eligible students were selected via purposive sampling and randomly assigned to two groups of 15 (experimental and control). Data collection instruments included the General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg & Hillier, 1979) and the Children's Motor Motivation Questionnaire (Nazarpouri et al., 2018). The experimental group received 12 sessions of instructional intervention based on Merrill's model integrated with physical activities, while the control group received conventional instruction. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS version 26.

Results: The results showed that after controlling for the pre-test effect, the instructional intervention based on Merrill's sequence led to a significant reduction in the scores of somatic symptoms (F=7.403, P=0.010), anxiety and sleep disorders (F=12.813, P=0.010), social dysfunction (F=16.279, P=0.010), and depression (F=6.876, P=0.010), as well as a significant increase in motor motivation (F=14.403, P=0.010) in the experimental group compared to the control group.

Conclusion: Designing learning experiences based on Merrill's five-phase model and integrating it with purposeful physical activities is an efficient approach to promoting students' mental health and motor dynamism, and can be used as an effective model in teaching core elementary school subjects.