Body & Movement Breaks

• Kids need to be at a “just right” level of arousal to support learning 

• According to the CDC, physical activity positively impacts concentration and attention, and enhances classroom attitudes and behaviours 

• Incorporating physical activity (10-minute “energizers”) into lessons positively affects educational outcomes including on-task behaviour (Szabo-Reed, et al. 2019)  

• Time away from academic lessons in favour of physical activity does not correlate with a decrease in school performance

Elements of an effective body break often include: 

• • Huffing and puffing 

  • Increased heart rate 

  • Heavy work 

  • Model and demonstration 

  • Multi-sensory activities 

  • Challenge 

  • Choice 

An ideal body break consists of 3 components used in the following order to best meet the need for movement before bringing down the level of arousal to allow for a return to instruction. 

1) Start with activating, aerobic exercise to get the heart rate up and allow students to get their wiggles out. 

• These can be part of an intentional body break during class, or naturally occuring parts of the day like phys-ed or outdoor recess. Some examples are: dancing, doing jumping jacks, playing tag, power walking or running, skipping etc. 

2) Heavy work is the magic bullet of movement and consist of activities that require students to move against resistance. More simply, activities that push or pull against the body. Heavy works helps to calm students that are feeling silly or overactive. It also works well to help "energize" students that are feeling sluggish or slow. If in doubt or when time is limited, heavy work activities are a fabulous choice.

• Pushing the wall, chair-pushups, wiping tables or whiteboards, pushing a cart or pulling a wagon, carrying heavy objects like books or packages of paper, carrying a watering can. 

• Heavy work can also be done with the hands (working with tough theraputty) or with the mouth (chewing gum, crunchy snacks)

3) Finish up with a calming or deep breathing activity. 

• Some students will be able to engage with visualization: 

  • • Hold an imaginary flower in your hand, smell it deeply and then imagine a dandelion puff to blow apart

    • Smelling a mug of hot chocolate and then blowing to cool it down 

• Others will benefit from a physical cue:

  • • A hoberman sphere to open and close while breathing 

    • Feathers or pom-poms to blow across a table (caution during COVID)

    • A pinwheel (caution during COVID)

• Still others will benefit from quiet, calming activities like: colouring, listening to a story, playing with play-doh or sorting objects. Bonus points for playing soft music in the background.

• If you don't have time to use all three elements of a movement pattern (active, heavy work, calming), go for heavy work. It helps bring students to baseline regardless of where they started

• Any body break will be more effective if used proactively--before students become distracted, fidgety or dysregulated

• Start small, don't attempt to incorporate movement into every single activity of the day. This is time-consuming to plan and students may tire of constant activity. Choose one strategy or area to infuse with movement at a time. 

• Encourage student voice and choice when selecting body breaks. Try providing structured choices between different songs, activities, or yoga poses for example. This will improve participation and keep things fresh. 

• Don't attempt to use a movement break while a child is in crisis. When students are escalated, they are more likely to benefit from time to calm down prior to a body break

• Don't restrict body breaks, phys-ed or recess as a behavioural tool or consequence. Students need activity to regulate, and providing MORE movement is a valuable tool to influence behaviour.