Brain breaks are activities that encourage movement and can help students get the "wiggles" out to refocus their minds for academic learning. Brain breaks can also be used to assist students in transitioning from one classroom activity to the next, to reduce feelings of stress or anxiety, or to energize their bodies to complete a longer work project. These activities do not require any materials or preparation, however, it is recommended that educators provide clear expectations for behavior during the activities and a "stop signal" to alert students when the activity is over. This resource guide provides helpful tips to prepare students for brain breaks.
This guide provides General Brain Breaks, and activities for specific academic subjects, like Vocabulary/Spelling Brain Breaks, Math Brain Breaks, Social Studies Brain Breaks, and Science Brain Breaks. Directions are provided for each activity.
This resource provides information about precorrection, a low-intensity strategy that can be used to prevent inappropriate academic and social behaviors in the classroom. Precorrection, also called prompting, is exactly as it sounds. The teacher or adult identifies a potential time and place an undesirable behavior may occur and then prompts and praises the appropriate behavior. This strategy can be used daily, at multiple points throughout the day.
The resource includes guidelines and examples of precorrection statements that educators can utilize in classroom instruction.
