Brain Gymnastics

1. SCRATCH PIECE OF PAPER:  Ask students to take out a piece of scratch paper. 

2. AT "GO", WRITE NUMBERS:  Instruct students that when they hear, “Go,” they need to write as many numbers as they can—counting by 1 (e.g., write 1, 2, 3, 4…)—as fast as they can, until they hear, “Stop.” 

3. AT "STOP", PENCILS DOWN:  After calling, “Stop,” have students put their pencils down. 

4. AT "GO", SAY NUMBERS:  Next, instruct students that when they hear, “Go” this time, they need to say as many numbers as they can—counting by 2 (e.g., say 2, 4, 6, 8…)—as fast as they can, until they hear, “Stop.” 

5. AT "STOP", STOP:  After calling, “Stop,” have students pause and then pick their pencil back up. 

6. AT "GO", WRITE NUMBERS:  Instruct students that when they hear, “Go” this time, they need to write numbers counting by 1 as fast as they can, and at the same time, say numbers counting by 2 as fast as they can.

To adapt this lesson for primary classes:

• Allow students to work with a partner for the third step. One partner will count by 1 writing the numbers, while the other partner will count by 2 saying the numbers. 

• Provide students with two number lines, one counting by 1 and the other counting by 2.

To increase rigor, choose more challenging patterns for students to write and say. Any number pattern can be used. Some examples include: write numbers by 1, count aloud backwards from 100 to 1, write numbers by 5, count aloud by 2.