FIVE BRAIN BREAKS

Paper Plate Promanade

Pass a paper plate to each student. Play a song and have them walk around the room
while balancing the plate on their heads. Of course, plates will start to fall off heads.
Students are NOT permitted to pick up their own plates. Instead, a peer can come to
pick up the fallen plate (without dropping their own) and return it to the dropper's head.

The game can last the length of the song.

Save the plates and reuse them another day.

No-Talking Game - Order Line-up

This is a simple strategy to get students up, moving, and communicating using
nonverbal skills. You will need to provide basic ground rules.

1. When the bell/chime rings, light flickers, I say ____, there will be no talking
permitted.

2. Select a category and ask students to line up in that order—for example, by height,
shoe size, birthday by month and date, and alphabetically by middle name. Provide
clear instructions on where students should form a line. Allow students to ask questions
before signaling the start of the challenge.

3. Use the same signal to end the challenge once it appears they are all in line.

4. Evaluate success as a class and allow students to self-correct.

If you want to add a layer of challenge, you can also participate in the no-talking rule!

Beach Ball Bump

You will need a BIG beach ball. Have students line up against the wall in the classroom.
If you need more space, move to the hallway. Have students lie down, so their legs and
feet are up against the wall.

The challenge is for students to move the beach ball from one end of the line to the
other, then back again. The catch is they are only able to use their feet. This will
challenge students to isolate small movements in their legs and feet to pass the ball
successfully. If the ball rolls away, grab it and restart at the opposite end of the line.

Up or Down
You will need a bag of colored plastic cups. Divide the class into two teams: Team UP
and Team DOWN. Give each student 2-3 cups and have them place them on the floor
facing up or down, depending on which team they are on.

When you give the signal (bell, whistle, magic word, etc.), a 2-minute timer starts and
students will move about the room, trying to get the cups facing up or down, depending
on which team they are on. Students step back when the timer is up, and whichever
team has the most cups facing their way wins.

Take it to the next level by adding a third team who tries to get all the cups lying on their
sides.

The Yuck Factor

This brain break aims to gross out your class and totally nerd out. It takes a little extra
planning, but it is definitely worth it every once in a while.

You can also refer to the book. Share a page with students and find a short Youtube
video to understand the science behind it to watch. It is surprising what the Yuck Factor
and a few minutes of discussion can do to energize a class.