Secondary Brain Break Ideas

Want to start the year off with scheduled physical activity and downtime in your classroom?  Read on to find out how I use both to capture my secondary students' attention!

1.  The Music Break: This is where I put on a song and everyone is required to walk (no running) around the classroom. They usually end up doing laps around the room, but some like to zig-zag between desks. They can also chat if they want. When the music goes off, everyone returns to their seat. 

Here's what you'll need:

Your phone Or Bluetooth-enabled music device

Appropriate popular songs (I download the instrumental version of songs with no lyrics)

A Bluetooth-capable speaker (I like the one below)

2. The Review Break: This is perfect for reviewing things like procedures and expectations or chunking larger pieces of information into smaller bites. 

I have students stand up, find two people from a different table, and tell each person the answer to a review question. For example, "What are the required materials to bring to class each day?"  That means that each student has repeated and heard the answer to that question at least four times. It reviews information and gets them moving and communicating. 

3.  The Whole-Class Longer Reward Break:  My classes earn points for demonstrating responsible behavior each day. Once the class has earned 20-30 points, I allow them to spend 20-30 minutes doing a chosen activity. Some of my favorites include:

Hour of Code

BreakoutEdu Digital

Online learning games

Sustained reading

Vocabulary games

What can you add to this list?  I'd love to hear your ideas!

Get-to-Know-You Name Tags

This get-to-know-you activity is quick and allows the teacher to quickly find out students' names and interests. They also share teacher interests with students.

I have supplies and name tag examples on each table. The examples share my information with my students, as well as show students what the finished product will look like.

This is the front (first and last name). We used construction paper and I asked them to make little "feet" to make it stand upright.

These are the the general categories on the back.  Students used markers to write their own answers. I write different things on each example so I can talk about different things with each table. For example, I might write "kickboxing" beside sports or "90s" beside music on a different name tag because I also like those things.

Some other categories I used:
Favorite band
Favorite author/book series

Feel free to change any of categories to meet your interests or needs of your students. 

What categories would you include?  

Teacher Savior: How to Get to Sleep Fast and Stay Asleep

Would you like to get to sleep faster?  Do you wish the sleep you do get was more restful?  Then this post is for you!

Teachers!  This time of year can do a number on our sleep if we let it. Confession: I have to really work on my sleep.

The following are the time-tested things that help me. 

1. Dim the Lights an Hour Before Bedtime

That includes all electronics, especially your phone. Change your phone's setting to "night shift mode". This is what it looks like on an iPhone.

2. Take a Warm Bath or Shower

There's just something soothing about washing away the day's cares. Plus, I like knowing I won't have to rush to shower in the morning. 

3. Essential Oils

I use a roller bottle of cedarwood, wild orange, frankincense, and serenity blend (DōTERRA).  I put it on the bottoms of my feet and big toe before bed. It gives me such amazingly restful sleep!  On nights I forget to use it I toss and turn a lot more. 

4.  Get in Bed 1/2 Hour Before You Need to Go to Sleep

This one is pretty simple. Put the papers that need grading and the to-do list down. Get yourself in bed with a good book or a meditation podcast. You know, things that make you feel relaxed. 

5.  Use White Noise or a Fan

For white noise, I use the White Noise Baby app. It does cost money but it's got a bunch of different noise options, such as air conditioner, hair dryer, and vacuum. Oddly enough, I always opt for the fan noise. I also like the real thing. So don't be afraid to get an actual fan if that appeals more to you. 

6.  Use a Sleep Mask

This might be too much for some people, but I swear it's increased my quality of sleep.  I like the Drift to Sleep mask. 

Those are my must-haves for a restful night. What are yours?  I can never have too many tricks up my sleeve for sleep!  

Setting Up a Middle School Student Binder and FREEBIE

Would you like a quick and simple binder set up for your students?  How about a set up that encourages self-reflections and easy organization?  Then this post is for you!

Even though they are older, the more simplified we can make organization for school subjects, the easier it will be for middle-schoolers to perform, study, and find what they need.  It is with that in mind that I design my binder setup each year.


Tips for easy set-up:

Start with a Composition Book OR a 3-Ring Binder:
I personally prefer a 3-ring binder with loose-leaf paper because papers can easily be added or taken out without disrupting the whole notebook.

Include a Table of Contents:
I find a table of contents to be absolutely necessary for students to easily look up information or tell what's missing from their binder.  This one is from my ISN setup pack, but you can easily have the students copy the headings on notebook paper and keep that in the front of their binder.

Use dividers to organize the other papers from your class.
I include the following:

• Table of Contents:  Put about 10 pages of blank notebook paper under this tab.
• Vocabulary:  Put about 15 pages of blank notebook paper under this tab.
• Notes: Put the rest of the pack of blank notebook paper in this section AFTER you place the required pages under the “Table of Contents” and “Vocabulary” tab.
• Labs
• Study Tools 

The following is the ENTIRE list of setup materials from my Interactive Science Notebook pack.

After the general set up, you'll want to give students a way to demonstrate their understanding of what you've been teaching.

In my Interactive Science Notebook ISN Setup Freebie, you'll find ways for your students to demonstrate their knowledge such as:

Note-taking strategies

Creating Flowcharts

Other output methods included in my complete ISN pack:

Cornell Note-taking

Textmapping

Thinking Stems

Question Starters

Acrostics

3-2-1

T-Chart (compare and contrast)

Venn Diagram

RAFT writing

Vocabulary

How do you set up your binders?  What else is important to you that's not part of this post?  I'm always looking to make my set-up better each school year!