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Brain Breaks for Bright Minds

The following Brain Breaks can be modified to be used with students one on one, in a small group, or whole class. This list was collaboratively created as a service plan for a graduate class at Rhode Island College. The Brain Breaks have been broken up into five categories: Sensory and Motor Skills, Mindfulness, Movement Type, School Life, and Curricular.

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Sensory and Motor Skills

Category: Bilateral Coordination and Crossing the Midline

Name: Clapping Bubbles

Materials:

  • bubbles (store bought or make your own: mix 4 cups of water, ½ cuplight corn syrup, and 1 to 1 ½ cup dishwashing liquid (let the mixture settle for several hours)

  • Water or hand wipes for washing hands

Directions:

What the adult can do:

  1. Blow bubbles towards the child

What the child can do:

  1. Clap at the bubbles to make them pop.

  2. Alternating hands, punch the bubbles with fists, or poke the bubbles with pointed index fingers.

  3. Tip and balance on the rocking board while clapping.

Link/Resource: The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction by Carol Stock Kranowitz

Duration: Teacher choice

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Category: Sensory and Motor Skills: The Proprioceptive Sense

Name: Positions, Everybody!

Materials:

  • Your own bodies

Directions:

What you and the child(ren) can do:

  1. Strike a pose

  2. Take turns suggesting and imitating positions

Link/Resource: The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction by Carol Stock Kranowitz

Duration: Teacher choice

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Sub-Category: The Auditory Sense

Name: Tapping Tunes

Materials:

  • A pencil to tap, hands to clap, or a drum to beat

Directions:

What the adult can do:

  1. Say, “I’m going to tap out the rhythm of a tune you know. Listen and tell me what the song is.”

  2. Tap, clap, or drum the rhythm of a song your child knows well, such as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” or “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” (Hum the tune, or sing a keyword or two, if necessary, to make the game easier.)

  3. When the child guesses correctly, tap, clap, or drum, and sing the song together.

What the child can do:

  1. Guess the songs.

  2. Tap, clap, drum, or step to the rhythms.

  3. Sing along with you.

  4. Think of a tune and tap, clap, drum, or step its rhythmic pattern for you to guess.

Link/Resource: The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun: Activities for Kids with Sensory Integration Dysfunction by Carol Stock Kranowitz

Duration: Teacher choice

Mindfulness

Name: Coping Skills for Focus, Calm & Classroom Management

Materials:

  • Mindfulness cards with activities (follow the link to purchase) or make your own!

Directions:

  1. Choose a card

  2. Teacher or student reads the card while others follow the lead

Duration: 3-5 minutes

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Name: Rainbow Breath-Flow (GoNoodle)

Materials:

Directions:

What the adult can do:

  1. Click on the Youtube link

  2. Project for students to see

  3. Listen to the directions on the video

  4. Students will move their arms like a rainbow

  5. Use the visual on the screen to keep focus

Duration: 4 minnutes

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Name: Melting- Flow GoNoodle

Materials:

Directions:

  1. Click on the Youtube link

  2. Project for students to see

  3. Listen to the directions on the video, “Practice melting away that icky frozen feeling you get when you're scared, frustrated, or angry.”

  4. Use the visual on the screen to help you stay focused

Duration: 4 minutes

Movement Type

Name: Forwards, Backwards, Armwards (Go Noodle- video)

Materials:

Directions:

  1. Go to Go Noodle website

  2. Go to categories

  3. Select Movement Type

  4. Select Brainercise

  5. Find video Forwards, Backwards, Armwards

Duration: 1 minute, 40 seconds

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Name: Move & Groove

Materials:

  • Brain Break cards (free here! >http://www.allstudentscanshine.com/2013/01/brain-breaks.html)

Directions:

  1. Punch a hole in the white circle situated in the top left corner of each card.

  2. Put your cards on a ring to have them handy whenever you need them.

  3. Ask student(s) to choose which which brain break they would like to do by choosing a card. (directions for each brain break located on card)

Duration: 2-3 minutes

School Life

Category: Socialization

Name: Friend Connect

Materials:

  • Your own bodies

Directions:

  1. Students will have 2 minutes to connect with a friend of their choice in class (student or teacher choice)

  2. Students will talk to one another about their weekend, their day, or just about how they are doing in general.

Link/Resource: www.coloradoedinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/CEI-Take-a-Break-Teacher-Toolbox.pdf

Duration: 2 minutes, Teacher choice

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Category: Stress Relief

Name: No Stress Test

Materials:

  • Your own bodies

Directions:

  1. Create a tradition with the students in the classroom to take a 2 - 5 minute walking break before a test, oral presentation, etc. to help everyone unwind and relax.

Link/Resource: www.coloradoedinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/CEI-Take-a-Break-Teacher-Toolbox.pdf

Duration: 2-5 minutes

Curricular

Category: Literacy

Name: Exercise, Rhyme, and Freeze

Materials:

  • List of rhymes pertaining to content vocabulary

Directions:

What the adult can do:

  1. Instruct the students to rise from their seats and ensure there is ample elbow space around them.

  2. Explain that the game is like “Simon Says.” When two words rhyme in the teacher-led song, students should begin moving their bodies. When two words do not rhyme, students must freeze.

What the child can do:

  1. Students can exercise.

  2. Students can freeze.

Link/Resource: Jack Hartmann Kids’ Music Channel (YouTube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSPmGPIyykU

Duration: 5 minutes

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xo,

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