Newsletters / Oct 20, 2020
ClassTag Gazette: October 2020
Happy October! Fall breeze, autumn leaves! Or is it stressed, blessed and pumpkin-obsessed? Either way, grab…
3 min read
What activities can you do with students when they need a break from learning, you have some free time on your hands or simply want to get kids moving?
These essential brain breaks, while not strictly related to the curriculum, give learners regular opportunities to collaborate, learn from peers and develop friendships. Many of these apps and activities are perfect for circle time, too. Get inspired with these ClassTag teachers’ favorite brain breaks ideas.
Brain breaks apps
Shake it off with GoNoodle
Our friends at GoNoodle know how to get kids active! 1 in 3 teachers already use GoNoodle, so join the movement and see your students getting active in the most endearing, silly, energetic, playful way.
Elevate quiz games with Teacher Sounds
Drumroll, please! Use this app to liven up classroom quiz games with a wide range of sounds. Includes buzzers, drum rolls, applause, and even theme music for answering questions.
Draw and Tell
A fantastic app to increase creative confidence in kids. A child starts by drawing something, then tells a story about it and shares their creation with the group.
An interactive treasure hunt with MotionMaze
This simple maze game is guaranteed to get kids up and moving. To solve a series of mazes, you’ll need to stand up and start running in place, tapping the screen to change direction when required, as your on-screen pirate dot character collects treasures and locates the exit. Genius!
A different kind of conversation with Sock Puppets
What if you set time aside for kids to simply have a conversation with each other? We can bet they would find it rather dull… unless these puppets are involved! Encourage friends to work together and interact through conversations with their puppets. They can also present their story to the rest of the class.
https://edshelf.com/tool/sock-puppets/
Brain breaks ideas
Encourage communication and problem-solving with Twenty Questions
This classic game helps students understand how to ask strategic questions to identify a person or an object. It’s also a good way to get a shy or withdrawn child to interact.
A Communal Story
Starting with one sentence on the board, get students to take turns and add a sentence to the story. With the combined creativity of all of your students, the results are guaranteed to be beyond hilarious.
Would You Rather…
A good activity to get to know your students better and encourage bonding in a new group. Prepare a list of questions for your students starting with “Would you rather…”. Ask students on each side to explain the reasoning behind their choice so that they can learn more about each others’ preferences.
Red Elbow
A great energizer! Call out a color and a body part – students’ task is to find an object that is that color and then touch the selected body part to that object. For example, if the teacher calls out “purple thumb”, then students need to find an object that is purple and touch it with their thumb.
Pose Like a Statue!
Waiting in line to the museum or out with the class needing a quiet game? This is it. One person is selected to be ‘it’ and calls out ‘Statue!’. The rest of the kids ‘freeze’, trying to look exactly like the statue. The “statue” then selects one person who looked most like them to start a new round.
“I believe free time is necessary for both teachers and students because it gives the teacher a chance to bond with their students” – says Danielle, a first grade teacher. ” I love being able to take a few minutes periodically to talk with them about anything, be silly or just turn the lights off, lay flat like a pancake and close your eyes while listening to soothing music.”
What are your favorite strategies to organize free time in the classroom? Are you an app aficionado or a tech traditionalist? Let us know in the comments below.
