Physical Education In The Classroom

Brain Breaks


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In a nation of ever-expanding waistlines, Illinois children are even more likely to be losing the battle of the bulge than adults in the state, according to a new analysis of government data released Monday.

Among states, Illinois landed in the middle of the pack for its rate of obese adults. But children in the state ranked considerably higher, a troubling trend that could lead to higher rates of hypertension, diabetes and other serious health problems down the road.

"There are a few states where overweight rates for kids are higher than for the adults," said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health

Research shows that kids who are overweight by kindergarten often struggle with weight their entire lives, said Dr. Adam Becker, executive director of the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, housed at Children's Memorial Hospital. The group works with children of all age groups, but focuses on children between ages 3 and 5.

http://www.studentsfirst.us/news/contentview.asp?c=199966

Brain Breaks
There are a variety of brain breaks available for teachers. Some are physical and others are mental breaks.

"I am at the end of my career and I wish I had known 29 years ago what I know now about how children learn," says Elizabeth Cook. "I hope college and university schools of education require education students to study brain-compatible learning."

"The activities in these books energized my students, and the kids learned while doing them," observes Cook, a fourth and fifth grade reading and social studies teacher at Endy Elementary School.

According to Cook, a good brain break activity involves some type of movement or allows students to be creative. She and her students often practice spelling or vocabulary words while walking around the room or play Simon Says or a game of charades based on a topic the class is studying. The breaks typically last from two to ten minutes

Cook's students who have special needs have been especially well-served by the brain breaks. For example, she has used an active game by Eric Jensen called "Opposites Attract," in which one student points to an object in the classroom and his or her partner finds an opposite or similar object. Since the activity, her students have had no difficulty with the concepts of antonyms and synonyms. Her ESL students have benefited from games like charades that involve acting out vocabulary words.

"Probably the biggest group helped by brain breaks is my ADD/ADHD students," Cook reported. "Students have to concentrate to be successful at some of the activities. We're often moving. They are short and sweet activities that don't require a long period of concentration or involve a lot of reading and writing. There usually are no materials to organize or manage."
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/teacher_feature/teacher_feature146.shtml

Great Blogs and Web Sites Dealing With This Topic
http://brainbreaks.blogspot.com/
http://justbfit.blogspot.com/
http://www.emc.cmich.edu/BrainBreaks/2005/TOC.htm
http://www.emc.cmich.edu/BrainBreaks/TOC.htm
http://www.fargo.k12.nd.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=18401&PHPSESSID=44cf9928cf653359543aa400c4cd669b
http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/raising-achievement-using-brain-breaks-645
http://www.ncpe4me.com/pdf_files/K-5-Energizers.pdf
http://rossa.blogs.com/weblog/files/brain_break_activity_book.pdf