Well, now that October has begun, Halloween fever seems to be in full force. Let's jump on the Halloween train and talk about a few Halloween-themed brain break videos, shall we?
This is my first mystery pack that covers various standards: rounding, expanded form, written form, basic multiplication & division, double-digit addition & subtraction, triple-digit addition & subtraction, skip counting, multiplying multiples of ten by single digit numbers.
Not only does the mystery aspect help engage students, but the addition of the mystery phrase lets students self-check their work.
If you're interested, you can click {HERE} or the pictures above. If you'd like non-holiday related Math Mysteries, I have a bunch available {HERE}.
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!
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!
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!
I'm back . . . with more brain break videos! This time, I've chosen ten videos that would be best suitable for 2nd & 3rd grade.
I don't know about you, but I know that even though students seem to have a few favorite videos, I also like to switch it up from time to time. These videos are meant to get students up and moving. The last thing I want is a brain break video that the students find boring . . . and these videos are definitely not boring!
Well, it's almost June and if you aren't already on Summer Break, then I would bet your students just *might* be jumping off the walls. I think brain break are a necessity all year, but sometimes (like the last month of school) they seem to be of even more importance. I also think it's important to switch up the brain breaks to keep your students engaged.
So that's why I'm here today - to list some of my favourite brain break videos for kindergarten and first grade. As long as the end of the year craziness doesn't become more pronounced (though I'm sure it will), I hope to be back with some more videos for older students. I chose to break into up into age ranges because some of the videos might be too young for 5th grade and way to old for K.
I don't know about you, but every time I put this on for students, it brings back warm and fuzzy memories of playing Nintendo. Then I look around and remember that most of these kids have no idea what the original Nintendo was all about! It doesn't matter, they still love Mario!
Watching the students imitate all the animals is hilarious & so fun!
Just a quick word of advice: make sure to pull up videos from Youtube before you need them, or pull them up with the sound and SmartBoard off, because you really never know what ads will pop up!
What are your favourite brain breaks? Let me know, I'm always on the lookout for new ones!
