It is becoming more and more popular to use movement breaks in the classroom. And here, at Teaching Autism, we are huge fans of using movement breaks.
Movement breaks provide our students with the chance to get up and move around. This will help them to feel refreshed and give them a break from work. But, it will also help them get prepared to sit back down and work again.
Movement breaks can be used in any classroom. Or even at homeschool environments. You can even put your own spin on them.
What are Movement Breaks?
Movement breaks, are pretty much as you can imagine. The name says it all really. It is a break where you get up and get moving.
Movement breaks are where you are going to allow – and encourage – your students to get up and move around. This can be in any way – or in a specific way that you show them. This will allow them to have a break and get ready to re-engage with the next work activity.
Why Should I Use Movement Breaks?
First, I want you to picture yourself at an all-day course. One of those where you’re sat at a desk from 9AM straight through. And the only break you get is lunch time and a 15 minute walk outside.
You’ll start the day fresh. And excited to learn. But soon, you’ll start to get bored. Your attention will start to become fleeting. The reason? You’ve been sat in one position for too long. When you’re attention starts to go, that’s when you’ll lose concentration. And that is when you’ll start missing out on important pieces of information. Which means you won’t be able to complete your work.
Does that sound familiar?
How long can you expect your students to sit in one position working? Especially if it’s at their work desk. Do you find your students start to get ratty and fidgety at their desk? They might start tapping. Or, stop listening and engaging.
They’ve been sat for too long! They need to get up, move about, have a break and get re-engaged for learning.
What If My Students Don’t Want To
That’s ok. A lot of our students don’t enjoy physical activity. Don’t force it on them, because that will make them shy away even more. Some gentle encouragement can help. But, also seeing all of their classmates having fun with their movement breaks can help win them around too.
If you have a student who point blank refuses to take part in a movement break, get them to do something else instead. Ask them to walk around the classroom. Or to change seats. You can even send them to the toilet. It’s just a way to get them up from their desk, moving and refreshing their brain.
What Are the Benefits of Movement Breaks?
Honestly, there are so many benefits of movement breaks, that I don’t know where to start!
- Physical Exercise. Many of our students don’t like exercising – or don’t have the chance to do any. This is great to work on this.
- It’s fun. There are so many fun types of movement breaks around that your students can really get into them.
- Research says that movement helps to increase the flow of oxygen and blood.
- It helps improve focus.
- Increases your students productivity.
- They can help to reduce stress levels.
- It’s not just for children. Movement breaks are perfect for anyone, of any age!
- Burning of energy. This is an important one! I have a lot of students who have a lot of energy inside them. These movement breaks give them a chance to move around. And burn some of that energy off.
- Recently, there has been a lot of talk about how too much sitting can be not-so-great for health. And we are expecting our students to sit for long periods of time. Being able to get up and move around means your students won’t just be sat down.
- It does not have to be a break from learning! Incorporate your theme or targets into your movement breaks.
And those are just some of the many benefits of having movement breaks in the classroom.
What to Do?
There are lots of ways that you can perform different movement breaks with your students. Some of my favourite ways are;
Movement break cards.
My students love using these movement break cards. They come in a range of different colours and sizes. As well as lots of different exercises. I love to put the circle cards on top of lollipop sticks. They get stored on my desk in jars. My students take it in turns to choose a movement break. And we have a lot of fun!
Yoga Break Cards
Sometimes, movement breaks can be a little too crazy and energetic. This is when our yoga cards are perfect..
I like to change between movement cards and yoga cards through the week with my students. This means that they won’t get bored of the same movements too. It has been so much fun taking part in yoga breaks together. And all of us join in – staff too!
YouTube
There are lots of great movement break videos on YouTube that you can use in your classroom. Some of my favourite ones are;
- Shake Your Sillies Out – The Learning Station
- Stand Up, Sit Down – Patty Shukla
- Jump – Patty Shukla
- Shake and Move – Patty Shukla
- Count to 100 Fitness Song
Do you use movement breaks in your classroom? Or do you have any favourite links for videos for them? Feel free to share them with us in the comments below!
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You may also be interested in reading about our classroom strategies for the autism classroom blog post here.
