Brain Breaks for the Classroom

How to use the brain break picker

1. Choose the kind of break the room needs, or leave it on Any.
2. Choose how long you have. The picker only offers breaks that fit.
3. Press Pick another until one suits, then read the steps aloud.
4. Press Start timer. A chime plays at the end, and everyone is back to work.

Making brain breaks work

The break is the easy part. Getting the class back is what makes teachers stop using them. Three habits help: say how long the break is before it starts, keep the timer on the board, and finish every break the same way, such as one slow breath and eyes to the front. For a whole-class signal, the free classroom timer and noise meter sit well beside this page. If you want discussion instead of movement, try a round of Would You Rather, and for more ideas see the full list of classroom games or the wellbeing break cards guide.

All 45 brain breaks for the classroom

Every break in the picker, by type, with the time it takes.

Move brain breaks (14)

Get the wriggles out and the blood moving.

• Shake It Out (1 minute): Stand behind your chair. Shake your right hand 8 times, then your left hand, right foot and left foot. Do it again counting 4 each, then 2, then 1. Finish with one big whole-body shake.
• Lap of the Desk (1 minute): Stand up and push your chair in. Walk once around your desk or table as slowly as you can. Now once as a robot, and once on tiptoes. Sit down without a sound.
• Cross Crawl (1 minute): Stand tall. Lift your left knee and touch it with your right elbow. Swap: right knee to left elbow. Keep going slowly for 20, then as fast as you can for 10.
• Mirror Me (2 minutes): Face a partner. One is the leader, one is the mirror. The leader moves slowly. The mirror copies exactly. Swap when the teacher claps. Aim to move so smoothly nobody can tell who is leading.
• Invisible Skipping Rope (1 minute): Pick up your invisible skipping rope. Skip on two feet for 15 seconds. Try one foot, then the other, then backwards. Finish with five double-unders.
• Weather Walk (2 minutes): Walk around the room in the weather the teacher calls. Sunny: stroll. Windy: lean and push. Rain: tiptoe between puddles. Storm: freeze under cover. Snow: slow, heavy steps. On "home time", walk back to your seat.
• Ten of Each (2 minutes): Do 10 star jumps. Do 10 toe touches. Do 10 arm circles forwards and 10 backwards. Do 10 slow, deep breaths to finish.
• Freeze Shapes (2 minutes): Jog on the spot. When the teacher calls a shape, freeze in it: star, ball, arrow, bridge. Hold still for three seconds. Last round: make the shape with a partner.
• Pass the Move (3 minutes): Stand in a circle or at your desks. The first person does one move, such as a clap or a spin. The next person repeats it and adds their own. See how long the chain gets before someone forgets.
• Body Alphabet (2 minutes): The teacher calls a letter. Make that letter with your whole body. For tricky letters, join up with a partner. Last one: spell a three-letter word as a table group.
• Slow Motion Sport (2 minutes): The teacher calls a sport: cricket, swimming, netball, footy. Play it on the spot in super slow motion. Add a slow motion celebration. Change sport on the clap.
• Chair Sit Challenge (1 minute): Stand in front of your chair. Lower yourself as if sitting, but stop just above the seat. Hold while the class counts to 20. Shake out your legs and sit down properly.
• Follow the Beat (2 minutes): The teacher claps a short rhythm. Echo it back with your feet instead of your hands. Then with your knees, then your shoulders. A student leads the last three rhythms.
• Compass Jumps (2 minutes): Face the front. That is north. Jump to face the direction the teacher calls: north, south, east or west. Speed it up, then add north-east and south-west. Anyone facing the wrong way does a star jump and rejoins.

Calm brain breaks (10)

Bring the room down after lunch or before a test.

• Box Breathing (1 minute): Sit tall with both feet on the floor. Breathe in for four counts. Hold for four, breathe out for four, hold for four. Trace a square on your desk with a finger as you go.
• Five Senses Check (2 minutes): Without talking, find five things you can see. Find four things you can touch and three you can hear. Find two things you can smell and one you can taste. Take one slow breath and look back at the board.
• One Minute of Listening (1 minute): Close your eyes or look at your desk. Listen for one minute. Count every different sound. Stay silent until the timer ends. Share the quietest sound you heard.
• Five Finger Breathing (1 minute): Hold one hand up like a star. Trace up your thumb as you breathe in, and down as you breathe out. Keep going along every finger. Swap hands and go again.
• Tense and Melt (2 minutes): Squeeze your toes tight for five seconds, then let go. Do the same with your legs, tummy, hands and shoulders. Scrunch your whole face, then let it melt. Sit like a melted ice cream for ten seconds.
• Slow Stretch (2 minutes): Reach both arms up as high as you can and hold for five. Lean gently to the left, then to the right. Roll your shoulders back five times. Drop your chin to your chest and slowly roll your head up.
• One Line Drawing (3 minutes): Put your pencil on the paper. Draw anything you like without lifting the pencil. Go slowly. There is no wrong drawing. When the timer ends, give your drawing a title.
• Calm Place (2 minutes): Close your eyes or look down. Picture a place where you feel calm. Notice what you can see, hear and feel there. Take three slow breaths and come back to the room.
• Make a Rainstorm (2 minutes): Copy the teacher in silence. Rub your hands together, then click your fingers, then pat your knees. Stamp your feet for the storm. Go back through each sound until the room is silent.
• Find Your Heartbeat (2 minutes): Jog on the spot for 20 seconds. Sit down and put a hand on your chest. Feel your heartbeat. Breathe slowly and feel it slow down. Stay still until the timer ends.

Think brain breaks (11)

A different kind of thinking for two minutes.

• Count to 20 (3 minutes): The class counts to 20, one number at a time. Anyone can say the next number, but nobody is told when. If two people speak at once, start again from 1. No signals and no pattern. Just listen.
• Odd One Out (2 minutes): The teacher says four things, such as apple, banana, carrot, grape. Decide which is the odd one out. Explain why to a partner. Bonus: find a reason for a different one to be the odd one out.
• Category Clap (2 minutes): Start a slow beat: knees, knees, clap, clap. The teacher names a category, such as animals or countries. Go around the room. Each person says one on the claps. No repeats. A new category starts when someone gets stuck.
• Two Word Story (3 minutes): The class tells one story together. Each person adds exactly two words. Keep it making sense for as long as you can. The last person has to finish the story.
• What Changed? (2 minutes): Face a partner and study them for ten seconds. Turn back to back. Each change one small thing, such as a sleeve or a shoelace. Turn around and spot the change. Play again with two changes.
• Buzz (3 minutes): Count around the room from 1. Instead of any multiple of 5, say "buzz". A mistake sends the count back to 1. Too easy? Change the number, or add "fizz" for multiples of 3.
• A to Z (3 minutes): The teacher names a topic, such as food or things at the beach. With a partner, think of one for every letter from A to Z. Skip a letter if you are stuck and come back to it. Which pair got the furthest?
• Backwards Spelling (2 minutes): The teacher says a word from this week. Spell it backwards to a partner without writing it. Swap and try a longer word. Finish with the longest word the class can manage together.
• Guess My Number (3 minutes): The teacher thinks of a number between 1 and 100. The class asks yes or no questions, such as "Is it even?" No guessing the number until the tenth question. Can the class get it in ten?
• Thirty Second List (1 minute): The teacher names a category. In thirty seconds, whisper as many as you can to a partner. Your partner keeps count on their fingers. Swap with a new category.
• Same and Different (2 minutes): The teacher names two things, such as a bike and a bus. Find three ways they are the same. Find three ways they are different. Share the one nobody else will have thought of.

Laugh brain breaks (10)

A quick shared laugh to reset the mood.

• Do Not Smile (2 minutes): Face a partner. One tries to make the other smile with faces only. No touching and no words. Swap after thirty seconds. Class final: can anyone keep a straight face against the teacher?
• Silly Walks (2 minutes): Walk around the room in the way the teacher calls. Try walking on the moon, through honey, on hot sand, like a penguin. A student calls the next three. Walk back to your seat like a spy.
• Animal Orchestra (2 minutes): Each table group picks an animal sound. The teacher is the conductor: point to bring a group in. Hands up means louder, hands down means softer. Finish with every group together, then cut to silence.
• Opposites (2 minutes): Do the opposite of what the teacher says. "Stand up" means sit. "Hands up" means hands down. "Loud" means whisper. Anyone caught out joins the judges. Speed up until only a few are left.
• Pass the Face (2 minutes): The first person makes a face at their neighbour. The neighbour copies it, turns and passes it on. See if the face is the same when it gets back to the start. Send two different faces in opposite directions.
• Night at the Statues (3 minutes): Everyone freezes as a statue except one guard. Statues may move only when the guard is not looking. A statue caught moving becomes a guard too. Last statue standing wins.
• Say It Like (1 minute): The teacher picks a boring sentence, such as "Please line up at the door." Say it together like a pirate. Now like a robot, an opera singer and a sports commentator. A student picks the last voice.
• Air Band (1 minute): Pick an invisible instrument. When the teacher points to you, play it with everything you have. When the teacher points away, freeze. Big finish: the whole class plays the final note.
• Drawing Blind (3 minutes): Put a piece of paper on your head, or close your eyes. Draw what the teacher describes: a house, a tree, a sun, a dog. No peeking until the end. Hold up your masterpiece for your table.
• Yes, Let’s! (2 minutes): One person calls an action: "Let’s all climb a mountain!" Everyone answers "Yes, let’s!" and acts it out on the spot. The teacher points to the next caller. Keep going until the timer ends.

Frequently asked questions