11:30am Monday morning. You’re enthusiastically teaching that Maths lesson you spent all weekend planning. You turn around to a sea of tired faces, hunched over tables. What’s the answer?
Brain breaks!
Studies show children can concentrate for around 10 minutes at a time, and regular, short energising brain breaks are perfect to ignite their thinking brains again. A brain break is any short activity that gets children out of their seats, getting glucose and oxygen to their brains. Embedding brain breaks into your day ensures productivity; children have the concentration to complete tasks to their full potential. A mental breather if you will.
Great for breaks are short dance routines, there are some fun instructional dance videos on Youtube (Just Dance via bit.ly/uked15nov19 are my personal favourite).
Another great website supporting brain breaks is Gonoodle.com, where you can sign up as a class for free, and earn points every time you complete a brain break together. There’s a selection of dances, games, and sporting challenges to choose from.
For more information, you can check out my blog at swbrainbreaks.wordpress.com for more!
What do children want to do more than anything? Move and make noise! Regular brain breaks give them ample opportunity for this, whilst enabling them to make the most of their learning.
@smwordlaw London – Teacher and KS2 Phase Leader
This ‘In Brief’ Article Originally appeared in the October 2015 Edition of UKEdMagazine. Click here to freely read the full version online
You need to Login or Register to bookmark/favorite this content.
Be the first to comment