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References

Eddy, M. (2010). Movement in the Classroom. Move for Healthy

Why I began using


Brain Breaks?
I began using brain
breaks in my
Kindergarten classroom
that I was student
teaching in because I
noticed that students
were having difficulty
with concentrating during
an entire lesson. My goal
was to find a way to
incorporate movement
into the students
everyday activities
without it interfering
with the content that
they needed to learn.
Brain breaks were a way
to reach that goal.

of Body and Mind. Retrieved April 04, 2016


Gaus, M. D., & Simpson, C. G. (2009). Integrating Physical
Activity into Academic Pursuits. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 45(2),
88-91. doi:10.1080/00228958.2009.10516678
Van, Marcus, "Movement in Learning: Revitalizing the
Classroom" (2012). MA TESOL Collection. Paper 541.

Incorporating
Brain Breaks into
the Kindergarten
Classroom
Presenter: Christina Slavin

Weslake, Alyssa and Christian, Beverly J. (2015) Brain Breaks:


Help or Hindrance?, TEACH COLLECTION of Christian
Education: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 4.

Contact Me
Christina Slavin
610-291-6257
Christinaslavin19@gmail.com
http://Christinaslavin.weebly.com

Incorporating brain breaks into


elementary classrooms increases
students attention span and stamina
during instructional activities. My
presentation displays the different
brain breaks that I used with the
Kindergarten students and how it
would benefit the students during
instruction. Research on using brain
breaks in classrooms will be discussed
as well.

Gaus & Simpson (2009) explain that


Increasing physical activity in the general
education setting could enhance efforts to
combat the rising epidemic of childhood
obesity and other health concerns while
simultaneously improving academic
performance (89).

Research
T
From h
the research that I have
conducted, I have concluded that
incorporating
brain breaks can increase
e
the academic performance of students
in the sclassroom. The brain needs
stimulation to constantly stay focused.
t
Kindergarten
classrooms are becoming
more u
content-heavy, and break breaks
allow students a time to move around
with their
d peers and/or to refocus their
brains.

How I utilized Brain Breaks in my Classroom


I incorporated brain breaks into the
Kindergarten classroom during the
transition time in-between language arts
and math instruction.
I chose a model student of the day to
roll the die
The number the student rolled
determined the brain break that we
would perform that day
All of the options were displayed on our
brain break chart
Depending on the day, we would
complete 1 to 2 brain breaks since the
students were only in class for half of
the day
Along with using brain breaks, I also
incorporated movement into my lessons

Observations of Students in the Classroom

The students were engaged


in the lessons being taught
The students were focused on
the content
Excessive amounts of talking
during lessons diminished
Less behavioral interruptions
The students were motivated to
behave well so they could
determine the brain break we
were going to use that day

Van (2012) states, The brain is like a


cup; itncan only hold so much before it
overflows. By constantly drilling the
t
information
into the students heads, they
miss key
information.
As result, many
s
students suffer from exhaustion and poor
retention
w (15).
Van (2012)
explains, Another important
e
factor that is simple but still over-looked is
that the
r brain is housed in the body;
therefore, the actions of the body directly
affectewhat happens in brain. Movement
sends more blood and oxygen to the
brain. m
We can conclude that since we use
our brains
o for learning, this increase in
oxygen and blood flow, which enhances
brain activity,
also enhances learning
r
(18).

Dr. Martha Eddy (2010) explains that a


e can incorporate movements for
teacher
transitions, lesson enrichment, or breaks.

n
g
a
g

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