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Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

Brain break wheel: spin for a movement break

Fourteen quick movements and calming moves that take one or two minutes and need no equipment.

Tap, flick or press Space

14 entries

Hide a note behind a slice with a bar: cat | a small furry pet. It shows after the spin. Start a line with an emoji to draw it big. Two columns pasted from a spreadsheet work too.

After a spin

Anyone can come up again. Repeats are fine.

Who's away today?

Tap anyone who is away. Their slice is hatched and skipped today only; at midnight they are back. Nobody is deleted.

Drag the wheel round and let go to flick it. Your flick sets the show. The draw is already fair: your browser's secure random generator picks the winner before the wheel moves.

The contents travel inside the link after the # sign, which browsers never send to any server. Anyone you give the link to can read them.

Space spin, or stop sooner · R new round · M sound on or off · F full screen · Esc leave it

Your edits are saved in this browser only, and never sent anywhere. Turns and away marks never go into a link.

How to use it

  1. The wheel already holds 14 entries for “Brain break wheel”. Edit, add or delete lines in the box and it redraws; your changes stay in this browser.
  2. Tap the wheel, press Space, or drag it and let go to flick it. The winner is drawn first with your browser's secure random generator; the pegs, the clicks and the big reveal only show it.
  3. Choose Fade the winner or Remove the winner to use every entry once, or Keep everyone in for repeats. “Original list” brings back the starting entries, and Print makes a paper spinner of the list.

Ideas for class

  • Set a timer for 60 seconds, spin, and have everyone do the move together at their desks or on the carpet.
  • Use calm moves such as deep breaths, tree pose and slow motion after recess or before a test, and energetic ones when the room is sleepy.
  • Let a student helper of the day spin and lead the break, which is a small but real job.
  • Teach the moves first: in week one, show each of the fourteen once so nobody wonders what a robot walk is.
  • Take the winner off after each spin so the class does not repeat a break until it has done them all.

Related

Questions

How long should a brain break last?

One to three minutes is plenty. A short break that happens often tends to work better than a long one that happens rarely. Pair the wheel with a visual timer so the break ends on time.

What is wall sit?

Students lean their back against a wall with knees bent as if sitting on a chair, and hold it for ten to twenty seconds. Skip it if a student cannot do it comfortably; every move can be done seated or replaced.

Are these suitable for students who use wheelchairs or have limited movement?

Many are: deep breaths, shoulder rolls, shake it out, robot arms, slow motion and mirror a partner can all be done seated. Edit the box so every student can join in every spin.

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