Wednesday 27 August 2014

30+ Brain Breaks for the Elementary Classroom

Original photo credit: frankjuarez

Many school are now back in session and as I'm preparing to go back, I have been scouring the internet, searching for new brain breaks.

You see, as soon as fall hits, the rains come. We have a ton of indoor recesses and sometimes it is too much for the kids (and teachers!) to handle.

Enter brain breaks. I love using the SMART Board to get the kids up and the easiest way I've found to do this is to pull up a video on YouTube. The great thing about this is that it's a) quick b) free c) entertaining for the kids. The kids love doing the dance videos and they are a great way to get the kiddos settled and ready to work.

So without further ado, here we go - 30+ brain breaks for the elementary classroom!

For the kindergarten kiddos . . .



A few Disney hits . . .


4. Prince Ali - Disney's Aladdin - Just Dance 2014 (Wii U)

5. Just Dance Disney - Under The Sea (Wii Rip)


A couple fun ones . . .


17. Just Dance Kids 2 Despicable Me

18. Just Dance 2014 - Ghostbusters (Classic 5 Stars) PS3

19. Just Dance 3 Baha Men Who Let The Dogs Out

20. [Just Dance 3] Ubisoft meets Nintendo - Just Mario


A few popular songs . . .


28. JUST DANCE 2014 | HAPPY by Pharrell Williams

29. Just Dance 4 - One Direction : What makes you beautiful


Holiday inspired . . .



And some oldies but goodies!



The students always seem to find their favourites so often, I'll let the V.I.P (or students of the week) choose the brain break.

I also like to switch it up by turning any of these songs into a freeze dance game. Rather than have the kids sit out if they move, I just have them dance in a designated area (like the carpet) so that they are still moving!

In completely unrelated news (because I am too tired to start another blogpost!), I have completed my Daily Language Back to School pack for 2nd Grade.



This pack contains 20 days of questions that review the 1st grade common core state standards - just print and hand out. These kind of reviews are great for the beginning of the year because not only do they give kids a refresher, but they can also act as a quick assessment tool - at a glance, you know where most students stand.

This pack reviews both language and reading foundational skills. Some of the topics covered include:

- upper- & lowercase letters- common, proper & possessive nouns- singular & plural nouns- past, present & future tense- writing sentences with proper structure (capitalization, & end punctuation)- root words- sorting words into categories- long & short vowel sounds- initial, medial vowel & final sounds- digraphs & blends- sight words- syllables

If you're interested, you can click {HERE} for a closer look, thanks!

Have a great rest of the week!


No comments:

Post a Comment