60 brain breaks for the classroom
A brain break is a one- to three-minute pause the whole class takes together between stretches of focused work. These sixty are sorted by what they do: practice something while moving, work with a partner, play a quick game, reset in under a minute, calm down, or get out of the room. Each says what to do, what you need and the grades it suits. Our free card deck has sixty more movement and calming breaks, with a timer.
Learning breaks
1. Skip-count squats
Count by twos, fives or tens together, with a small squat or an arm raise on every number. Go up to 100 by tens, then back down.
Grades K–3You need Nothing
2. True or false stand-up
Read a statement aloud. Students stand if it's true and stay seated if it's false. Ask one student to fix each false statement before you read the next.
Grades K–8You need A few statements about today's lesson
3. Even or odd arms
Call out a number. Students put both arms up if it is even and both hands on their head if it is odd. Speed up as they get it right.
Grades 1–3You need Nothing
4. Spell and stretch
Spell a word letter by letter. Students reach high for tall letters (b, d, h, k, l), put hands on hips for short ones (a, c, e) and touch their knees for letters that hang below the line (g, p, y).
Grades 1–3You need This week's spelling words
5. Vowel stomp
Spell a simple word aloud. Students clap once for each consonant and stomp softly for each vowel. "Cat": clap, stomp, clap.
Grades K–2You need A short list of simple words
6. Fizz buzz
Count around the room, one number each. Multiples of three are said as "fizz," multiples of five as "buzz," and multiples of both as "fizz buzz." A slip simply restarts the count at one.
Grades 3–8You need Nothing
7. Angle arms
Students make the angle you call with their two arms: right, acute, obtuse, straight. Then call a time, like 3:00, and ask which angle the clock hands make.
Grades 3–6You need Nothing
8. Clock hands
Students use their arms as clock hands and show the time you call: 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, then 12:30 and 9:15 for older students.
Grades 1–3You need Nothing
9. Compass turns
Call a direction and students turn to face it. Then call two steps ("North, then a quarter turn clockwise") and ask where they ended up.
Grades 2–5You need North, south, east and west signs on the walls
10. Syllable stomps
Say an animal name and students stomp once for each syllable: el-e-phant is three stomps, go-ril-la is three, frog is one.
Grades K–2You need A list of animal names
11. Word family sit and stand
Choose a word family, such as -at. Read a list of words; students stand for words in the family and sit for words that aren't.
Grades K–1You need A list of words, most from one family
12. Vocabulary charades
A volunteer acts out a vocabulary word with no talking for thirty seconds while the class guesses. Ask the guesser to use the word in a sentence.
Grades 3–8You need This unit's vocabulary words on slips
13. Place value poses
Write a three-digit number. Point at a digit; students show its place: arms up for hundreds, arms out to the sides for tens, hands on hips for ones.
Grades 2–4You need Nothing
14. Shape builders
Call a shape and students make it with their arms or fingers: a circle overhead, a triangle with two hands, a square with two fingers each.
Grades K–2You need Nothing
Partner breaks
15. Partner clap pattern
Partners invent a four-beat clap and pat pattern in one minute, practice it, then teach it to the pair next to them.
Grades 1–5You need Nothing
16. Finger sums
Partners shake a fist three times and show zero to five fingers on "go." The first to say the total wins the round. For older students, multiply instead.
Grades 1–5You need Nothing
17. Two-minute interview
Spin a question and partners take one minute each to answer it, standing up. Spin again for the next pair of turns.
Grades 2–8You need The getting to know you wheelUse Getting to know you wheel
18. Doodle swap
Each student draws a random squiggle in ten seconds, then swaps with a partner, who has thirty seconds to turn it into a picture.
Grades 1–8You need Scrap paper
19. Teach me a move
Each partner invents one simple move and teaches it to the other. Pick three pairs to teach their moves to the class for a quick routine.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
20. Air five count
Partners count to thirty, taking turns with each number, and give an air high five on every multiple of five.
Grades 1–3You need Nothing
21. Balance and recite
Partners stand on one foot facing each other and take turns saying the alphabet or the days of the week. Switch feet halfway.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
22. Finish my sentence
One partner starts a sentence ("Yesterday I saw a dog that...") and the other finishes it. Three rounds each, standing up.
Grades 1–5You need Nothing
Quick games
23. Do the opposite
Give a command and students do the opposite: "Hands up" means hands down, "Stand up" means sit, "Look left" means look right. Go faster each round.
Grades K–3You need Nothing
24. Zip, zap, zop
Standing at desks or in a circle, students pass the words zip, zap and zop in order by pointing at someone. Keep the rhythm going as long as you can.
Grades 3–8You need Nothing
25. Group count to twenty
With eyes closed, the class counts to twenty with one voice at a time and no set order. If two people speak at once, start again from one.
Grades 2–8You need Nothing
26. Pass the clap
Send one clap around the room, student to student, as fast as possible. Time it with the stopwatch and try to beat the record.
Grades K–8You need The stopwatchUse Stopwatch
27. Alphabet around the room
Going around the room, each student says the next letter and an animal that starts with it: A, ant; B, bear. Try foods or places for a second round.
Grades 1–5You need Nothing
28. Guess my number rule
Write numbers that fit your secret rule on one side (4, 8, 12) and numbers that don't on the other (5, 9). Students guess the rule after each new number.
Grades 2–6You need The whiteboard
29. Freeze frame
Groups of three make a frozen scene from the read-aloud in thirty seconds. The class guesses which moment it is.
Grades 2–8You need A story the class knows
30. Wave around the room
Start a stadium wave at one end of the room. Send it back the other way, then try it twice as fast.
Grades K–8You need Nothing
31. Category clap
Set a rhythm of clap, clap, snap. On each snap, the next student names something in the category (fruits, countries, mammals) without breaking the beat.
Grades 2–8You need Nothing
32. Thirty-second draw
Call a word and everyone draws it in thirty seconds, then holds the drawing up. Pick a few to show and see how different they are.
Grades 1–8You need Scrap paper or mini whiteboards
33. Silent line-up
Students line up in alphabetical order of first name, without talking. They can use gestures. Check the order aloud at the end.
Grades 2–8You need Nothing
34. Stand up if
Call out "Stand up if you have ever..." (seen snow, ridden a bike, eaten a pickle). Students stand, look around, and sit again before the next one.
Grades K–8You need Nothing
35. Echo voices
Say a short line and the class echoes it in the voice you name: whisper, robot, opera singer, tiny mouse, then back to normal.
Grades K–3You need Nothing
36. Spin a break
Spin the brain break wheel on the projector and the class does whatever it lands on for one minute.
Grades K–5You need The brain break wheelUse Brain break wheel
Resets in under a minute
37. Shake out 5-4-3-2-1
Shake your right hand five times, then left hand, right foot and left foot. Then four times each, then three, down to one. Finish still and quiet.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
38. Rhythm echo
Tap a short rhythm on your desk and the class taps it back. Make each rhythm a little longer, then end with a very quiet one.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
39. Cross-crawl
Standing, students touch their right hand to their left knee, then their left hand to their right knee, twenty times at a steady pace.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
40. Wall push-ups
Students stand an arm's length from the wall and do ten slow push-ups against it. Take turns if wall space is short.
Grades 2–8You need A clear stretch of wall
41. Reach and sit
Stand up, reach for the ceiling for a count of five, then sit. Repeat ten times, faster and then slower.
Grades K–8You need Nothing
42. Laugh break
Everyone fake laughs as loudly as they can for fifteen seconds. Real laughter usually follows. End with three slow breaths.
Grades K–8You need Nothing
43. Ten-second tidy
Give the class ten seconds to tidy everything on their desks while you count down aloud from ten. A clear desk makes the next activity easier to start.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
44. Robot to statue
Students move like robots for ten seconds, then freeze as a statue when you say "power off." Repeat with other characters: a penguin, a slow turtle.
Grades K–3You need Nothing
45. Pencil balance
Students balance a pencil across one finger for ten seconds, then try it on the back of the hand. A small, quiet challenge.
Grades 2–5You need A pencil per student
46. Clap the answer
Say a simple sum, like three plus two, and students clap the answer, counting each clap aloud together.
Grades K–2You need Nothing
47. Tiptoe lap
The class walks one silent lap of the room on tiptoes, following a leader, and returns to their seats.
Grades K–3You need Nothing
48. Big stretch, small stretch
Make yourself as big as you can for five seconds, then as small as you can for five seconds. Repeat four times.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
Calming breaks and card decks
49. Lights-low listening
Turn the lights down and play one calm piece of music for a minute while students rest their heads or close their eyes.
Grades K–8You need One calm piece of music from your school's approved list
50. Quiet doodle
Two minutes of drawing anything at all, in silence. Play calm music if you like. Collect nothing; the drawings are theirs.
Grades 1–8You need Scrap paper
51. Watch the disc shrink
Set the visual timer for one minute and the class watches the colored disc shrink in silence, breathing slowly until it is gone.
Grades Pre-K–2You need The visual timerUse Visual timer
52. Calming card
Draw one card from the calming deck of breathing and settling breaks, read it aloud and do it together.
Grades K–5You need The calming brain break deckUse Calming brain breaks
53. Stretching card
Draw one card from the stretching deck and the class follows it, standing or seated.
Grades K–8You need The stretching brain break deckUse Stretching brain breaks
54. Seated card
When there's no room to stand, draw a card from the seated deck. Every card works from a chair.
Grades K–8You need The seated brain break deckUse Seated brain breaks
55. Quiet focus card
Before a test or silent reading, draw a card from the quiet focus deck, which has silent resets with no sound at all.
Grades 2–8You need The quiet focus brain break deckUse Quiet focus brain breaks
56. Energizing card
Draw a card from the energizing deck when the class is flat after lunch. Each one is safe in a crowded room.
Grades K–5You need The energizing brain break deckUse Energizing brain breaks
Out of the room
57. Silent hallway lap
Walk the class on a short hallway loop with no talking, using hand signals for stop, turn and go. Check with your office first if your school has a rule.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
58. Stair count
Walk up and down one flight of stairs as a class, counting the steps by twos on the way up and by fives on the way down.
Grades 1–5You need A staircase near your room
59. Fresh air minute
Step outside together for two minutes, take three slow breaths, and name the weather. Come straight back in to start the next lesson.
Grades K–8You need A door to the outside
60. Follow the leader walk
A student leads the line on a walk around the room or the hallway and changes the way of walking every few steps: tall, small, slow, marching.
Grades K–3You need Nothing
Making it work
- Keep breaks short: one to three minutes, timed. A break that runs long becomes the lesson.
- Give a clear start and end signal, and go straight back to work when it ends.
- Choose the kind of break the class needs: a moving break after long sitting, a calming one after recess.
- Teach a few breaks well, then let a student leader pick from those. Our brain break cards can be drawn at random with a timer.
- Offer a seated version of any standing break, so every student can join in.
Questions teachers ask
- How often should I give a brain break?
- A common rhythm is a short break between lessons, or every twenty to thirty minutes of sitting for younger students. Watch the class: fidgeting and glazed eyes are a better signal than the clock.
- How long should a brain break be?
- One to three minutes is enough for most breaks. Use a timer so it ends on its own, and keep the next task ready so the class goes straight back to work.
- What if my class gets too wound up?
- Use calming or learning breaks instead of energizing ones, and end every break with a slow, quiet move, such as three slow breaths, before the next lesson.
- Do brain breaks work in middle school?
- Yes, with less silly framing. Fizz buzz, category clap, zip zap zop, group count to twenty and a quick stretch all suit older students.
Written for teachers by Peabody Teach. No ads, no affiliate links. Something wrong or missing? Tell us.