Brain breaks for kids are super important to get their bodies moving. Staying active is proven to help kids learn and stay healthy.
For the most part, reasoning, deducing, inferring, and critical thinking are not skills that come naturally to our students. Rather, they must be nurtured and developed. We want our students to become critical thinkers so they can reason and apply logic to solve novel problems throughout their lives. These skills will set them up to...
Awesome illustration of the PARA organizing method I teach from @Silly_Strokes, who is part of cohort 14
Do you teach a wiggle worm? Or perhaps your learner(s) have been sitting for a while and you can see the energy level going down. Enter wiggle brain breaks! These wiggle brain breaks can help wake up and recharge the brain, something I particularly need after lunch! *This post contains affiliate links. **The free printable can ... Read More about 20+ FREE Wiggle Brain Breaks
If you're thinking of a fun way to teach your kids about the human brain, try these awesome Human Brain Activities for Kids that they will definitely enjoy.
Most young children can not sit still for long periods of time and quite frankly neither can I. Our brains are incredible organs, but they are limited in how much they can stay focused and motivated. We need movement to create more oxygen and blood flow to the brain for it to function optimally. Studies […]
An Upper Elementary Collaborative blog written by 13 teachers. Includes teaching ideas and resources for grades 3, 4, and 5.
If you're thinking of a fun way to teach your kids about the human brain, try these awesome Human Brain Activities for Kids that they will definitely enjoy.
Here is a set of 96 FUN & ENGAGING Brain Breaks, which are perfect to refocus and reenergize your students during lessons. They are simple and fun quick movement cards with student-friendly directions. There are enough brain breaks that you won't get tired of them. On each brain break card, ther...
Today my class was featured in an article in The Edmond Sun. The reporter discussed our growing class brain in her article. This has prompted questions from other interested teachers, so I’ve decided to give an update. The Edmond Sun article is here: Students Give Thumbs Up for Brain-Based Teaching. The Beginning of the Class Brain The Brain Earlier this school year I was inspired by one of my BrainSMART classes to create a lesson on metacognition. I did a post about the lesson here: metacognition lesson. In that lesson, students twisted pipe cleaners together to represent related concepts and subjects. Next the pipe cleaners were connected to show how information connects in the brain. It became our class brain! Our brain has continued to grow all year. Students love it! The Update Once the class brain was constructed and strategically located (see the previous article for the process), we were able to begin adding new connections. We periodically gather around the brain to reflect on new learning and how it connects to what the students already know. When a student proposes a new connection, I give the student three pipe cleaners to twist into an axon. I also quickly make a label for it on a small rectangle piece of paper. (Otherwise I forget…oh, the irony!) I fold piece of paper over the completed axon (pipe cleaners) and staple it. Then the new axon is attached to the appropriate connection in the brain. As each student proposes a new connection, the process repeats itself. Some things I have learned: · I connect the new axons to the brain myself. The more complex the brain gets, the more difficult it is for 2nd graders to get into it. Upper-grade students might not have this issue. · I write the labels myself to help me keep track of things. · I write the label on both sides of the small paper so it can be seen from more than one viewpoint. That becomes very important later as the brain gets more complex! · Hang the brain low enough where students can interact with it, in a location with no regular traffic. The Result The brain today. It is difficult to see the complexity. By using this method, we are continually reviewing things learned all year. For example, when studying China, students made a connection from the invention of paper to an earlier lesson on Sequoyah since Sequoyah invented a writing system for the Cherokee people. While making connections about the Erie Canal students made a connection from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi. The length of the Mississippi had them connecting it to the Nile, Amazon, and Yellow Rivers. They learned about the Amazon and Yellow Rivers earlier in the year, and the Nile in first grade. See the growing connections? To add to the fun, former students of mine come by frequently to see the brain grow. They are intrigued by the connections and beg to make their own. Finally This metacognition lesson continues to be wildly successful. This has provided a fun way to review and solidify learning all year.
Met de app "Symmetry exercises for kids lite" voor iOS kan je kinderen heel stapsgewijs leren spiegelen. De app bouwt stapsgewijs op, zodat kinderen niet eens doorhebben dat ze aan het werken zijn met een symmetrie-as!
Parents everywhere know that KidsPressMagazine is the place to go for quality printables! Our dot to dot games for kids are
UPDATE: Brain Boxes were a huge success in my classroom! I'm in my second year of using them and they've worked even better than I could've imagined. I originally thought I'd have to switch them out each month or so... but believe it or not, my class used these same boxes ALL YEAR LONG. That almost makes me feel like a tiny bit of a rotten teacher for not going nuts trying to make them fresh and seasonal, but guess what- no worries, because they LOVED them! All. Year. Long. I love to share so... I'm giving away the "Fine Motor Mats" I use in my boxes for FREE! You can grab them by clicking on the big pic above. So here we are 2 months into year 2 with the same boxes (these things will last forever) and basically the exact same activities as I used last year. I've replaced the pipe cleaners for the bead stringing and decided to swap out the hole punchers (they got messy) with tinker toys I found at a garage sale (they're a total hit). I'd recommend Brain Boxes to any teacher looking for SIMPLE, fine motor work kids can do at the beginning or end of the day or when they finish work quickly. Here's the original post: I'm so excited to launch these BRAIN BOXES in my classroom soon! Apparently it's an idea that's been around for a long time (my teacher/sister says she did them with her class 10 years ago, but I've seen them becoming "hot" again lately... so I wanted to share my management plan, what's in mine, where I got the stuff and all that in case YOU want to try them to! How fun do these look?! So pre-brain boxes, my kiddos would come in, do their morning routine (backpack, folder, order lunch, etc) and plop down on their sit spot to visit with friends while we waited for the school news to begin. It'd usually take 10-15 minutes for the news to come on so honestly, I realized I probably COULD have been doing something more valuable with their time than sitting and chatting (although that's good too in some ways, right?). I've never been a fan of "morning work" worksheets... so brainboxes are the perfect solution! MOST of these focus on fine motor skills which are PERFECT for the beginning of the year! My 4 and 5 year old "product testers" hard at work! LOVE. Padlocks and keys from the dollar tree = $4. It takes some problem solving to figure out which key goes in which lock! They all came with 2 keys so I am keeping one in my desk (because chances are good one may get lost or broken... it's okay). My plan (at least initially- we'll see how this goes!) is that kids who arrive early/on time can do their morning routine and then grab a brain box of their choice to work on quietly in the room. $1 mini hole punchers from Walmart with some $1 fun colored note cards. My smart teacher-sis suggested putting an example of a "done" card in the box so I don't end up with oodles of cards with one punch out of them. Haha! I'm not going to assign them (too complicated- what teacher needs one more job to do?). I'm not going to keep track of who does what (again- no time for that! If they choose the same thing everyday, NBD). :) I'm not going to make them sit at a table (we can be flexible!). I'm not going to switch out the boxes very often. Maybe a few times per year? Playing that one by ear. They'll only be working in them maybe 5 minutes per day so they should be interesting for awhile. A little puzzle my kids don't play with anymore. Fits perfectly at an angle! I LOVE Leap Frog Letter Factory and it's one of the only videos I feel really, really good about showing my class. It's how all my own personal kiddos learned their letters and sounds super early on. So these are just flashcards that go with that video. Many kinds of flashcards could go in these boxes. How fun are these cards pictured below? They fit perfectly in the boxes (more on where the boxes are from in a minute!). I had to make them because I couldn't find what I was looking for on TPT. Everything I found was mostly black and white and full sized pages. These are super fun and colorful (obviously, right?!) and they have little grey circles that show kids where to place the pom poms. Not sure if you can see the circles from this pic, but they're easy to see up close. I purposely made the circle light so they wouldn't overpower the pictures. :) See them HERE! Probably one of the hottest boxes so far, at least with my niece, nephew, and Kindergarten aged daughter who have been busy "testing" these out for me! It's pom poms from Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby. I think the kids will like them so much I dedicated 2 boxes to this. I got medium, little, and even itty bitty sized poms for extra fun! The big blue plastic tweezer is from Dollar Tree ($1 obvs) and I also got 2 of the cheapest metal tweezers from Target (less than $1 for 2). I put a metal one and a plastic one in each box. They BOTH work great for pinching pom poms, which surprised me because I wasn't sure the little metal ones would work... but happy surprise- they totally do! Good ol dominoes. They can stack them, build, match them up, line them up, whatever they want! Dollar Tree had some 6 cute little piece puzzles (4 for $1). I put two of them in this box and will save the other 2 for later in the year. I am going to have them keep all the pieces in the container (ESPECIALLY for boxes like the beads and pom poms... yikes!). They can work while keeping most pieces in the box.... no need to dump it all out. I am going to have them clean up 1 minute before the news begins. Some kids may never get to work in brain boxes if they get to school late or are pokey doing their jobs. That's okay. I am going to let them work alone or with ONE other person (because I have less boxes than kids). The volume in the room should be pretty chill because they're focusing on their work. They can talk, but it's not like a party. :) The other HOT ticket so far! So I made TWO of these. Stringing beads on pipe cleaners! Remember- I'm going to expect them to leave these IN THE BOX and just pick up one at a time to put on the pipe cleaner. I'm already mentally preparing myself that these MIGHT spill someday. Ha! But the lids do snap on pretty securely so maybe I don't have to worry. OF COURSE I had to use the 25 cent twisty crayons, right? So this is just coloring with some special crayons that are different from what they usually get to use. My rule will be one note card per kid per day. Make it fancy and use both sides cause you only get ONE. :) These are some blocks that hook together that my husband played with when he was little. No idea what they are exactly, but kids might think they're fun?! THESE made me happy cause they're so dang cute and they fit so well in these boxes. Dollar Tree has some Frozen puzzles that are 12 pieces each (4 for $1). They fit PERFECTLY into these adorable little boxes that are only $1 each from Walmart. I'll warn you that I bought several other little 12 or 24 piece puzzles- and even those 6 piece Mickey puzzles, but none of those fit in these little boxes. Only the Frozen ones. Oh well. These are a WINNER though! Also a cute little box. A mixture of nuts and bolts that cost a few dollars. They have to see which nuts fit on each bolt cause they're different sizes. This one is kind of like the locks and keys. I'm not sure I'll be brave enough to do Play Doh (I have carpet!) but I'm sure kids will LOVE it so I might need to give it a shot. The cards I made can also be used with play doh if I teach them how to roll the doh into little balls. Cute! If you'd like to grab a set of the cards I'm using with the play doh and pom poms, you can find them HERE:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fine-Motor-Mats-for-Brain-Boxes-Exploration-Boxes-Busy-Boxes-or-just-FUN-2746268 I know a lot of teachers who were going with plastic shoe boxes for this idea, but mine are just 3x5 index cards from Walmart. They have clear lids that snap on so easy, yet tight. I love that they won't take up tons of space in my classroom.
The effects of psychological and narcissistic abuse come with many devastating consequences, but there are two that almost no one knows about. Learn why going No Contact is vital.
Lacy Phillips net worth crossed a couple of million USD in 2023. Why? We covered all the details you want to know about her. Get updated with a simple scroll!
Do you want to unlock the secrets of your mind? Take this brain color test and understand how colors have a fascinating connection to your dominant brain side.
Brain breaks for middle school students are extremely important not only for everyone's sanity, but for their brain development.
I teach reading at an elementary school. I love what I do! I wanted to share some "ways to praise" that we use in my classroom. These ...
I cannot believe I haven't blogged about this before, but even if I have, here's a fun refresher & freebie :) I have a rowdy bunch this year, so a lot of my teaching involves movement, Brain Breaks and Whole Brain Teaching strategies. One thing that rates at the top of my pet peeves is when kids start to transition the second I start giving the directions. It turns into a scene of me yelling over a group of moving kids who, of course, end up asking me what to do 2 minutes later.... grr! Enter Ms. Noonan, from Teaching Channel, and her great video about managing transitions using the Word of the Day. I love so many things about this video, don't you?! Rewatch it, you will find something new every time :) Every day, I end our Morning Meeting by introducing the Word of the Day. This word can come from our content units, character ed training, a new vocab word from Teacher Time, anything! Some recent examples include: schooner when we started our Westward Expansion unit herbivore when we researched our Colorado Animals profit when we began our economics unit compromise when our day included making decisions as a group I will intro the word using the "I say, you say" she highlights in the video above, then write it on the board and have a child define it aloud to the group. I will add on to his/her definition and provide a few examples. The word stays written on our board all day (and sometimes it's the Word of the Day for two days in a row if it's a really fantastic one!). Then, whenever it is time to transition and begin a new task, I begin all directions by saying, "When I say the Word of the Day..." This has worked out so incredibly well this year and it has also increased by students' vocabularies! During Birthday Circle today, one student's compliment to the Birthday Boy was, "You are always willing to find a compromise," and I knew it was because that had been our WOTD late last week :) Interested in my Word of the Day poster? Pick up your free copy HERE.
What does happiness look like in your brain? This little video shows molecules of the protein myosin dragging a ball of endorphins along an active filament into the inner part of the brain’s …
"Be patient with us as we learn to be patient with ourselves."
Here is a Whole Brain Teaching set of posters that will be FREE in our store. Right now they come in two styles, but we may add others! We wanted to share them with you! Please head over to our store to grab your set. While you’re there, please follow us for updates on more freebies and fun products to use in your classroom. Also, check out some of the other items we have in our store. Click on the picture below: We hope you have a great day! Happy Summer! Karen & Alison
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To start at the beginning of this book club with me: Buy the book Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids Read about Chapters 1 & 2 here Read about Chapters 3 & 4 here Read about Chapter 5 here Read about Chapter 6 here Read about Chapter 7 here Read about Chapters 8-10 here Join the Official Book Study here The Scoreboard is WBT's classroom management tool. They don't use clip charts, stoplights, or card-pulling systems. They don't use stickers charts, prize boxes, or classroom money. They use tally marks for when the class is good and tally marks for when the class is not so good. They are explicit about the good and not so good behavior and they have kids working for the teeniest little reward - and the kids love it! I've created some pretty huge freebies for you - 50 pages worth of Scoreboards and introductions. This freebie has two products - one that is just Scoreboards: portrait and landscape of 5 different designs, then additional Scoreboards for the variations, also in all the designs. The second product is an introduction flipbook to keep by the Scoreboard for your reference, for when you are ready to implement a different version of the Scoreboard and you want to read really quick how to do it. As a newbie to the Scoreboard, this little flipbook is going to save my behind next year! In chapter 11, we learn to give tally marks for positive behavior and also negative. This is a group reward and consequence, not individual. Students will need to work together to make good choices. Always use the 3 Point Rule - don't let there be more than 3 points between the two positive and negative. Tell the kids bout this, too. Tell them that if they are 3 higher in positive, you will be looking for negative behaviors, no matter how small. And if they are 3 higher in negative, you will be looking for the smallest amount of positive behavior. Even if one kid is sitting in their seat like asked, point that out and give the class the point. As for rewards, start small. Kids can work towards one extra minute of recess. If they win on the positive side, they get it. If not, they owe you. This can go towards a one minute YouTube video, an extra minute of free time, or an extra minute of math centers (my class always LOVEs these!). Make these rewards easy on yourself. They shouldn't be too much prep and shouldn't cost you anything. As you know, kids and teachers alike can get sick of the mundane. This Scoreboard is anything but mundane! There are 15 variations for how you can shake up your behavior system throughout the year. Use these sparingly, though. 3-4 of these spread out throughout the year is plenty. Even though we can get sick of doing the same thing over and over, we also know that kids thrive on structure and routine. Don't change it up on them too much. At my previous school, the counselor would use a type of behavior system like this with my classes as she would teach counseling lessons (about building friendships bullying, etc). She would label one side "Teacher" and the other side "Students". She never gave any reward at all! The kids were always just so excited when they beat her and got more points! I think I may start the year with this system of Teacher v. Students and no reward. As we progress through the year, I'll change the board to Smiley/Frowney and start adding in small rewards, like the ones I talked about. I am actually going to giveaway my beautiful clipchart and go all out with this. I'm excited for the collaboration this will bring! Are you ready to start using the Scoreboard? Watch Coach B's YouTube video, grab my freebie, and get started! Click here to download from TpT! Leave me some feedback while you are at it! ;) I'm linking up with TBA Freebie Friday!
Set your students up for success with notes for their Geometry Interactive Notebooks. Everything you need to know for great notebooks.
I took a day off this weekend and had some me time on yet another table. The dining room table is supposedly off-limits, but sometimes I get carried away. I still have a few blank spaces on our new walls and wanted to add some color to one of them so I started snipping up bits of scrap fabric, busted out the Mod Podge, and went to town on a wooden box frame painted white. Snip, snip, snip. Glue, glue, glue. Super fun! Like the very limited amount of quilting I've done, I just made it up as I went along. I like how it turned out, kind of a quilty mosaic. Now I just have to decide where to hang it.
