Teacher Treasure Hunter Spring 2015 | Page 34

In my class, we begin each day with reading intervention for students
who have been identified with needs in this area. The other students
are expected to sit quietly and read. As I mentioned above, my class is
very energetic. This 30 minutes is painful for most of them. As soon as
that time period is finished, I read from our read aloud novel. That is
followed by our math Problem of the Day. By this point, the students are
about to pop. Enter the Brain Break! We get up and dance. At first, I
was worried about how it would work. I mean, I was actually
encouraging my students to dance and move. I was totally surprised to
see that they actually focused more when we were finished. It took a
few times before the routine was established, but now the brain breaks
function like clockwork.
Are brain breaks for everyone? Yes. Is my method the best? Yes…but
only for my class. Your classroom may be completely different.
However, I would highly recommend that you give your students a break
from work several times throughout the day. You may feel like you are
“losing instructional time,” but the benefits completely outweigh that
short amount of time.

~By Jonathan @ Mr. Pearson Teaches 3rd Grade
3rd grade teacher & curriculum writer
Visit his TPT store for resources for your classroom.

Keep reading to learn how Brittany, a kindergarten
teacher, uses brain breaks in her classroom.

©2015 Teacher Treasure Hunter