How I do Brain Breaks
I set the timer on my phone for 15 minutes after I take attendance and do my no-phone ritual at the beginning of class. When the timer goes off, we stop what we are doing and do the Brain Break or do it as soon as we finish the activity we were doing. I do not do Brain Breaks when students are working independently because of the self-paced nature of such activities.
What I like about Brain Breaks
They refresh the students' brains - and mine! - to continue what we were doing - receiving comprehensible input in Latin. I also like to remind my students that Brain Breaks are a chance for me to make my students' well-being a priority. Our students are in class for 6+ hours with little downtime (they have to be "learning from bell to bell," remember?). Let's not forget the immense pressure on students to be involved in extracurricular activities, do homework, study, hold jobs, and tend to the needs of their families. Brain Breaks are my way of telling my students, "Downtime is a good thing. It is okay to take a break."
Some Brain Breaks I love (so far)
- Tangite (Touch) - kind of like Simon Says, but without the tricking. In the first week of Latin I, I introduced three body parts (head, nose, chin). Every week I introduce a new body part, so students are getting repeated input of body parts without having to have a body parts unit or requiring the students to memorize body parts vocabulary.
- Name Game - I like to do this one within the first week of school. I select a student in one corner of the room. They say their name. Then their neighbor has to say the first student's name and then their own name. The third person then says the previous two students' names and then their own name. And so on until we go through all the students. Then I have to name all the students in order. This helps me put names to faces. That I have to do it last and know all the names takes the pressure off of the students too.
- Sentence-by-Sentence Story - The students make their own story. I start with one student, who says one word. The next student adds another word to the student and so on. Since I teach Latin I and II, I have only done this in English, but I may try it in Latin with my Latin II students in the spring.
- Line Up - The students have to line up based on a particular criterion, such as height, age, hair length, et al.
- Class Wave - The class does the wave from one end of the classroom and back. I have also done a variation on this with clapping; one student claps, the next student claps twice, the third student claps once, the fourth student claps twice, and so on.
- 4 Corners - The students move to a corner of the room depending on how they answer a question (so the question must have four answers or 3 answers and an "other" answer). Questions I've used are: what is your favorite color? Favorite time of day? Favorite season? Birth month? Favorite sport? Favorite pet? Favorite type of movie?
- Would you rather? - I project two options in Latin, count the number of students who choose each option, state the number of students in Latin (e.g. Duodecim discipuli malunt habere pecuniam.). Questions I've used include: Would you rather have true love or money? Know the day when you will die or how you will die? Have more time or more money?
- Do Nothing for 2 Minutes - Just as the title states. If students do anything (e.g. talk, eat, make noise), then we resume class. I project this on my screen: http://www.donothingfor2minutes.com/
- Silent Ball - The students throw a ball to each other, but they cannot talk or noise. If they do, the Brain Break ends.
I'm always looking for more Brain Break ideas, so please share yours with me! 🧠
