a MENU of
Body
&
Brain
BREAKS
created by Jaime Locke
So much to teach, yet so little time to fit it all in.
And as we have more and more on our teaching plates to fit in, we
have to remember that our students need breaks to keep them
going with all of that curriculum coming at them.
!
It seems like ‘brain breaks’ are the popular buzz words these days
but when you think about it, it’s not just a student’s brain that
needs a break . . . it’s their body too.
!
Even though I know that short breaks are needed, I tend to forego
them and keep teaching so I can get everything in . . . and I’ve
learned the hard way that there are consequences for doing that.
!
So I came up with a very easy to use menu of various brain & body
breaks. All you need is a dice, the menu and some spaces for kids
to get up and move.
!
These ideas were existing ones I stumbled upon, ideas I tweaked to
fit my needs and ideas that I came up with.
1. Print off the menus and the explanations.
2. Glue the menus to a piece of black paper and fold it.
3. Shrink the explanations down (with the copy
machine) so they can be cut out and glued to the
back of each menu for easy reference.
4. Keep a dice handy, because whatever is rolled is the
break you get.
5. Use 1 of the menus for a while and then switch to
the other one, to keep things fresh.
! Trading Places
" Body Part 2 Body Part
# Totem Pole
$ I Like to Move it, Move it
% Balance Battle
& Koosh Pass
! Group Up
" Animal Lost & Found
# Jump Skip Counting
$ Who Are You?
% 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
& Jump Skip Counting
5-4-3-2-1
Students stand up and the teacher has them do five
different movements in descending order: jacks, hop, spin,
air punches, donkey kicks, arm circles, chomps, head rolls,
chicken wings, high knees, shooting stars,
Trading Places
Students stand behind their chairs. Call out a trait and
everyone who has that trait must change places with
someone else (students who do not have the trait stay
where they are).
Six Spots
Number six spots around your room from 1-6. Have
students each go to a spot of their choice. Roll a dice. All the
students at that number must go back to their seats.
Students that are left go to a new spot and the dice is
rolled again and again until a few are left.
Group Up
Students walk quietly around the room until
the teacher calls out a number. Students must then get
into a group of that many kids without talking and show
you by: linking arms, holding hands, sitting down, all hand in
the middle. Leftovers have to jump that many times in the
air.
Yoga Poses
Do each of these 6 yoga poses for 10 seconds each with a
mini shake break in between each one: tree, snake, cat,
chair, Superman, dog.
I Like to Move it, Move it
Students walk around the room quietly until the teacher
calls out an action that students must stop and do in place
until the teacher says, “Move on!” and it starts again.
Jump Skip Counting
Count by __’s while jumping (2 feet, 1 foot, open/close legs,
scissor legs, side2side)
Balance Battle
Students choose a spot in the room. The teacher will ask
students to balance a certain way for 10 seconds and then
challenge them to do it again with their eyes closed.
(1 foot flamingo, 1 foot figure skater, 1 foot tree, 1 foot knee-
up, 1 foot baby circles, 1 foot crossed leg)
Totem Pole
Students walk around and when the teacher says, “Totem
Pole”, they have to get into groups of 3 and make a totem
pole (sitter, kneeler, stander) with a _____ (emotion) face.
Body Part 2 Body Part
Students walk around the room and when the teacher calls
out a body part, each student must find a partner and
touch those two body parts together.
Animal Lost & Found
Students stand up and close their eyes. The teacher walks
around tapping each on the shoulder and whispering the
name of an animal (2 choices). When all students know
what animal they are supposed to be, the teacher says,
“Lost and found.” Students open their eyes and can only
imitate the animal vocally to find all the other same
animals. The first animal team to find all their members
wins! (dog, cat, bird, cow, pig, sheep, horse, lion)
Animated Alphabet
Students, in small teams, must work together and use their
bodies to make whatever letter the teacher calls out (laying
or standing).
Who Are You?
This is a full body version of
Rock/Paper/Scissors
Students find a partner and stand back-to-back. Each one
decides which animals they will be: chicken, fish or monkey.
The teacher calls out, “Who, who, who are you, you, you?” and
everyone says “1, 2, 3 show me, me, me.” and then partners
jump/turn around to face each other while doing the
gesture for their animal. Were partners thinking of and
then doing the same animal? Switch partners and repeat.
Koosh Pass
Students choose a spot in the room to stand. The teacher
passes out a few Koosh balls (or something similar). The
teacher says, “Go!” and students walk around the room until
the teacher says, “Koosh!”. If you do not have a Koosh ball
you must stop in your tracks and put out your hands to
possibly receive a Koosh. If you have a Koosh ball, you
must continue walking and give it to someone without one
and then stop in your tracks. When all Koosh balls have
been passed on the teacher says, “Go!” again and the game
continues.
Thank you for your interest in this teaching resource!
Learn more about my resources @ The First Grade Bloom.
My Blog
http://firstgradebloom.blogspot.com
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My classroom website
www.asdk12.org/staff/locke_jaime/pages/1stgradeMrsLocke
E-mail
firstgradebloom@gmail.com
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