3 Easy Ways to Keep Brain Breaks Fresh and Engaging
Guess what… I have something REALLY exciting coming soon and it is all about Brain Breaks. You’re going to freak out…
As you may already know if you’re reading this blog, Brain Breaks are a game-changer in the classroom. They bring energy, JOY, and engagement back when students and WE, as the teachers in the room, need it most!
However, one of the number one questions I get when I present on Brain Breaks is: How do I keep them novel and engaging? How do I keep Brain Breaks from starting to feel stale?
Last weekend, I was doing a presentation on the importance of using Brain Breaks in the classroom, and I shared that even I will ALWAYS resort to “uno, dos, tres, dale” if I am not very intentional about doing these three things to keep things novel, engaging, and interesting for my students. It always shocks people when I share that because I have SO many ideas for Brain Breaks at my disposal.
The reality is, teaching is mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausting. Even if we know Brain Breaks are essential for us and for our students, when it comes to deciding which Brain Break to do in the moment, we don’t have the mental capacity to think of which to use because the million other things that require our attention will always take priority.
So, if you’ve read this far and you’re nodding in agreement and feeling totally seen and heard, then I really hope this blog supports you in bringing some novelty to the way you implement Brain Breaks in your classroom!
1. Make a Brain Break Poster for Your Classroom
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT, and it takes about 10 minutes MAXIMUM! (and that is only if you want your poster to look super cutesy!)
As I explained above, decision fatigue is REAL, especially when you’re in the middle of teaching and suddenly realize you need a brain break NOW. Instead of scrambling to think of one on the spot, make a poster with all your go-to Brain Breaks and hang it in your classroom. It does NOT need to be in a place where your students can see it, so you don’t need to worry about losing precious word wall space. This poster is for your quick reference.
This way, when your class needs a reset, you can just glance at your poster and pick one—no extra thinking required! Bonus: If you let students suggest additions to the list, they’ll feel more ownership over Brain Breaks and get even more excited about them! That’s why I always suggest, if you’re going to make a poster, make sure you leave room to add more Brain Breaks as the year goes on.
My poster in my room has over 200 Brain Breaks on it so I am going to share one that is a little easier to read! (Plus, since I’m on maternity leave, there’s no telling where my poster is in the garage FULL of my classroom stuff right now!) You’ll notice that the poster is in short hand so that I can understand it, with the name of the Brain Break listed quickly. This poster was created in a workshop I did with teachers in Norwich, Vermont in 2020!
2. Plan Your Brain Breaks at the Start of the Day
Last year, in October, one of my last classes of the day complained that they felt we were always doing the SAME Brain Break every day. I was frankly taken aback because despite feeling EXTREME fatigue in my first trimester, I was really proud of myself for successfully managing nine classes per day and I definitely didn’t feel like we were always doing the same Brain Break.
Here’s the problem, when you’re a world language teacher, who has lots of different classes in a day, you might very well be changing up the Brain Break each time, but you may end up doing the same thing with the same classes every day without knowing it.
That’s when I decided to start choosing the 1-2 Brain Breaks I was going to use for that day at the very start of the day. I would use those two Brain Breaks in EVERY class for the entire day.
For example, you could choose two Brain Breaks for the day and use the same ones in every class. This way, you’re naturally rotating the Brain Breaks without repeating the same ones endlessly. You can still get these ideas from your poster!
3. Get your students involved!
One of the BEST ways to keep Brain Breaks novel is to let your students help reinvent them! They have the BEST ideas! Take a brain break you already know and love and ask your class how they’d tweak it to make it different.
For example, I recently wrote about how I took the “Giant, Fairy, Wizard” Brain Break and turned it into “Penguin, Polar Bear, Snowball” for a winter theme. My students have thought of countless other ideas like that one! They’ll come up with the most hilarious, creative variations that keep Brain Breaks fresh while still being familiar enough that you don’t have to re-teach them every time.
MANY times, during the process of the Brain Break “creation” you can guide them in the Target Language. Remember, the Brain Break itself should be a BREAK in the input and the learning of class but the process of creating one can often be a REALLY fun way to use the language they’ve been acquiring!
Want Even More Novel Brain Breaks?!
If you’re looking for even MORE ways to keep Brain Breaks engaging and fun, don’t forget I have a free 10 Day Brain Break Challenge that you can grab! You may have done it a few years ago and forgotten about it, or maybe you’ve never downloaded it before! Either way, it includes 10 different Brain Breaks that are guaranteed to add JOY, and simultaneously boost community and engagement.
The best part? You don’t even have to TEACH them if you don’t want to! Each brain break includes a video of ME talking directly to your students and leading them through it. Of course, if you’d rather teach it yourself, and you feel I’m a bit too LOCA, you can watch the video in advance to get the hang of it.
I hope you’re having a great week, and that you’re hanging in there! February and March are LOOOONG months for teachers AND students! You’ve got this! I am grateful for you!
Joyfully yours,
Annabelle