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BRAIN BREAKS
Sometime you want your students to move, but you want to continue to stay on task and continue working and the students need to move.
1. Clock Buddy: This activity needs some time to complete initially, but after it is completed once, it is easy to do after as students have to find a buddy for each time on the clock. Give each student a blank template of the clock. It is up to you if you want to get students to find a buddy for all twelve hours or just four. To begin, start by getting students to find a buddy for a certain time, like 3 o'clock. Do this for each hour that you wish to. Have all students work on the same time to ensure all students are getting a buddy for each hour and ensure that students are getting different partners for each time. When you have your clocks all scheduled, anytime you want students to work with partners or do a turn and talk or think-pair-share you can simply tell them to find their 6 o'clock partner. Photo retrieved from: http://clipart-library.com/blank-clock-face-printable.html 2. Give One, Take One: This is another version of a Think-Pair-Share, it is a great way to start class with review or end a lesson as a closer, or even just in the middle of the lesson if you think students need time to refocus. Begin with student writing something that they learned in the lesson on a piece of paper. All students will then get up and move, students will move until you say stop, students will find a partner to share what is on their paper. Both students will explain what they have on their paper, ensuring both understanding the concept, they will switch the papers and move on. They will then move until you say stop, sharing their information with a partner and switching information again. Get students move to again, giving them just enough time to both share. Instead of telling students when to stop and move on, have music playing and when it stops they stop and when the music starts again, they start moving again. 3. Gallery Walk: Gallery Walks can be done in a variety of ways. Students could self teach themselves with different poster or pictures of information posted around the room, students wander to each poster with a prepared question sheet and their job is to answer all the questions. Another way is for the class to create their own posters individually or in groups as experts in one area and the class walks around. There are many more ways of creating gallery walks and implementing them into your classroom. Photo retrieved from: https://www.mudandinkteaching.org/new-blog/2016/8/18/best-practices-the-gallery-walk 4. Vertical Problem Solving: If you want to move away from worksheet and still want students to work on problems or show their work, use different vertical surfaces in your room such as windows, boards, or put whiteboards and paper around the room and students work on problems while standing up and move to a different surface when they want to. 5. Snowball: This is a great way to review material or check to see if there are any questions. Students all start with a blank piece of paper. Give students a prompt such as something they learned in the unit or any questions that they have. When they are done, they will crumple it up all students will form a circle. Everyone will throw their snowball into the middle of the room when you call out "Snowball" they will keep throwing until you stop them. Everyone will find a snowball and form a circle, going around the room they will read what is on their paper and answer any question. This is a great way to get students to ask questions as nobody know who asked it. 6. People Bingo This can be played with a variety of templates. It is the same idea as regular Bingo, but students have to walk around the room and and for each square try to get a different person to sign it. You could use it as a Get-to-Know activity or as the image on the left to do math. Retrieved from: https://beyondtraditionalmath.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/people-bingo-math-style-a-great-back-to-school-math-activity/ 7. |
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