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What are Brain Breaks?

 

Brain Breaks are simple exercises designed to equip the teacher with tools to manage the physiology and attention of the class. Research shows that structured physical movement can enhance our readiness for learning.

Physical movement increases the oxygen in the blood stream and leads to improved concentration. In addition, adding a movement or physical action to a learning point will help recall.

 

"Following your visit I have used brain breaks and magic spelling in my classes not just in English but in maths and science. The difference it has made is spectacular....In maths I used the ideas to calm and focus the children...it helped eliminate careless mistakes. The scores in SATs were the best ever"

 

Brain breaks can be used to energise or relax the class, to enhance fine and large motor movement, improve co-ordination and link to learning. A teacher might use a brain break in maths to help children remember the shapes of numbers, or practise mental arithmetic or to rehearse formulae in a distinctive way. In English it can be used to improve handwriting, awareness of shapes of letters and spelling. Children are not good at sitting for long periods of time. Nor should they have to. A well chosen brain break can help them stretch, develop flexibility and be more alert for the learning which is to come.

 

7 examples of Brain Breaks

1. With your forefinger and thumb of each hand pinched together, extend your hands out in front of your face and trace large circles in the same direction. Keep your lips and teeth together. Now trace the circles in the other direction. Now try with one hand going clockwise and the other anti-clockwise. Swap again.
2. With your writing hand hold an imaginary pencil in front of your face and write the keywords from your lesson in the air. Say the letters of the word as you write. When you have finished try and write them backwards. For fun, write the keywords in the air but with your nose! Watch your neighbour and try and guess what the word is. Now try it with your ear!
3. Hold your ears and slowly roll your ear lobes between finger and thumb. Do it nice and slowly and all the way around your ear. How does it feel?
4. With your elbows at shoulder height, practise making big circles, then small circles, forwards and backwards.
5. Do finger aerobics! With a partner sit alongside each other or either side of your desk. Your partner should place both hands flat on the desk and so should you. Take turns to lift different fingers without taking any other fingers off the desk. Do it together and in sequence. Start with simple lifts with each finger in turn, then taps, then bends, then big stretches! Now one of you be the aerobics instructor and the other has to do exactly the exercises the instructor demonstrates!
6. Practise shoulder shrugs. Roll your shoulders forwards, then back.
7. Use finger sums by showing your partner a number sum with your fingers and then seeing if your partner can get the correct answer. Remember crossed hands means add, one hand across your face means take away, hands in a diagonal is multiple and a hand across your face with a dot above and below is divide. Start with 5 times 4 equals...?

 

To learn more about the use of Brain Breaks, see The Alps Approach and The Alps Approach Resource Book.

 

To order a copy of Alistair Smith's book, Move It, a fully-illustrated text with practical ideas for using Brain Breaks, click here.

To read more about Alistair Smith's book, Move It!, a fully-illustrated text with practical ideas for using Brain Breaks, click here

Buy Move It!

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