Brain Breaks are important for students to take throughout the day: "Regular breaks throughout the school day—from short brain breaks in the classroom to the longer break of recess—are not simply downtime for students. Such breaks increase their productivity and provide them with opportunities to develop creativity and social skills." - taken from Edutopia.org, you read more on this HERE.
Below are a few links to get you started:
Jack Hartmann Brain Breaks Playlist
Go Noodle
Energizing Brain Breaks
Learning Coach Brain Break Resources
Below are some more ideas that Learning Coaches can do with their students:
5-4-3-2-1: Teacher has STs do “5 jumping jacks, 4 hops, 3 circle spins, etc.” or any activity at teacher’s discretion. Great to also have students choose the movements.
Simon Says
Seed-Flower Stretch: In a circle, students should start as a small seed, then slowly sprout and grow, eventually flowering toward the sun. Repeat, getting faster each time. On the final stretch, have students jump into the air and let out loud “ahhhs”!
Animal Yoga--kids make up poses based on animals they like and use those to stretch
Card stretch-- teacher has a deck of cards. Each suit represents a different stretch. Students perform that stretch with the corresponding number on the card. Could also use UNO cards with stretches for each color of card
Example: hearts=squats, clubs=jumping jacks, spades=sit ups, diamonds=toe touches
(other stretching ideas: knee raises, twists, push ups, sitting toe touches, supermans/bananas, lunges) alternate option: each suit represents a yoga pose and students hold a yoga pose for the number of seconds corresponding to the number on the card
Air Sports--Teacher calls out the following sports skills to mimic for at least 10-15 seconds:
Poetry Patterns--Teacher lists type of poetry and corresponding physical activity in the chat or on the LiveLesson board. Then the teacher reads a selection of poetry and students perform 20 seconds of a movement to reveal which type of poem they think was read.
Newtons Laws-- Students make a paper ball and perform the following activities for one minute each. They will record the number of successful catches for each activity.
Compare recordings and discuss Newton’s laws:
Below are a few links to get you started:
Jack Hartmann Brain Breaks Playlist
Go Noodle
Energizing Brain Breaks
Learning Coach Brain Break Resources
Below are some more ideas that Learning Coaches can do with their students:
5-4-3-2-1: Teacher has STs do “5 jumping jacks, 4 hops, 3 circle spins, etc.” or any activity at teacher’s discretion. Great to also have students choose the movements.
Simon Says
Seed-Flower Stretch: In a circle, students should start as a small seed, then slowly sprout and grow, eventually flowering toward the sun. Repeat, getting faster each time. On the final stretch, have students jump into the air and let out loud “ahhhs”!
Animal Yoga--kids make up poses based on animals they like and use those to stretch
Card stretch-- teacher has a deck of cards. Each suit represents a different stretch. Students perform that stretch with the corresponding number on the card. Could also use UNO cards with stretches for each color of card
Example: hearts=squats, clubs=jumping jacks, spades=sit ups, diamonds=toe touches
(other stretching ideas: knee raises, twists, push ups, sitting toe touches, supermans/bananas, lunges) alternate option: each suit represents a yoga pose and students hold a yoga pose for the number of seconds corresponding to the number on the card
Air Sports--Teacher calls out the following sports skills to mimic for at least 10-15 seconds:
- Shooting a basketball
- Running through tires
- Batting a baseball
- Serving a tennis ball
- Downhill skiing
- Spiking a volleyball
- Swinging a golf club
- Throwing a football
- Juggling a soccer ball
- Shooting an arrow
- Shooting a hockey puck
- Swimming underwater
Poetry Patterns--Teacher lists type of poetry and corresponding physical activity in the chat or on the LiveLesson board. Then the teacher reads a selection of poetry and students perform 20 seconds of a movement to reveal which type of poem they think was read.
- Free verse – fly
- Diamante – dance
- Haiku – hop
- Narrative – nod and jog
- Blank verse – bounce
- Cinquain – circle walk (walk in a circle)
- Limerick – lunge
Newtons Laws-- Students make a paper ball and perform the following activities for one minute each. They will record the number of successful catches for each activity.
- Toss and catch (to self).
- Toss and catch (to self) while hopping on left foot.
- Toss and catch (to self) while walking in place.
- Toss and catch (to self) while hopping on right foot.
- Toss and catch (to self) while jumping in place.
- Toss and catch (to self) while jogging in place.
Compare recordings and discuss Newton’s laws:
- force and friction impede motion
- for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction
- the greater the force, the greater the change in motion
- the object’s motion is the result of the combined effects of all the force acting on the object
- a moving object that is not subjected to a force will continue to move at a constant speed in a straight line
- an object at rest will remain at rest