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"You are an incredibly talented teacher.  You have taught me so much about how to teach this age group and provided so many amazing ideas and resources.  I am so very grateful."
Observer

Brain Breaks for my littlest ones

25/2/2019

4 Comments

 
As a FLES teacher, TPR is often my go-to Brain Break for my K, 1, and 2s. However, it's good for everyone to mix it up a little. There was a question in the "CI/TPRS for French Teachers" FB group about Brain Breaks for "circle time." Here are some of my favorites that don't require a lot of moving or shuffling around of kids and can have quick transitions.
Below the descriptions are a couple of videos during which I do all of the following Brain Breaks. Check out the time stamp for each one.
WARNING! I filmed these today, the day we came back from vacation, so the kids are SQUIRRELLY!! Not my best decision, but I was chomping at the bit to get this post out. I seriously debated on whether or not to publish the videos, but I decided, why not. Yes, there's a girl who pulled out an apple and started eating it in the second class. Yes, there are a boy and a girl who seem truly smitten with each other in the first class. Yes, a stuffed giraffe appears in the camera in the second class. I certainly felt at moments like the worst teacher out there. But I guess it's good to see the rough days as well as the home-run classes! We're all human, right?!

Tiens, voilà main droite (#1 1:50)
This is a hand-clapping game, easy to do in a circle and great for hand-eye coordination.
Aller-retour (#1 5:10)
Another hand-pattern game in partners. This is my take on the Spanish chocolate. I really like the words I chose in my French version (in French, aller-retour means "round trip").
Papier, caillou, ciseaux (#2 4:45)
There are soooo many variations of this, but here's the basic (kids playing in pairs against each other), and one alternative way (me "against" the class). Check our La Maestra Loca's blog for different versions of this. 
(And can I just say it totally cracks me up when, at 6:30, one girl shouts, "Hey, I gagne!" and one of her classmates responds with, "You do NOT gagne!" Man, I love this age group!)
Dansez comme maîtresse (#2 0:38)
Silly!! This was actually the first time I've ever done this BB with this class, and I thought it went pretty well and didn't need a ton of introduction.
Animal movements/statue (#1 10:25, #2 10:10)
I ADORE this one! It's a great comprehension check as well.
There's one more I thought of that I forgot to film today: On ferme les yeux, on touche le nez​. Students close their eyes and try to touch their noses with one finger. We do it once with the left hand, and once with the right hand. It can get goofy, but it just serves as a little reset!
4 Comments
Bu Cathy link
26/2/2019 17:47:04

I so wish I understood the language in your brain breaks so that I could see if the language would work in Indonesian!

Reply
Allison Litten link
28/2/2019 20:43:59

Cathy!! I want these Brain Breaks to be accessible to everyone, so here's a short explanation of what they are:
Tiens, voilà main droite: In the first one, the hand clapping one, it basically says “hey here’s my right hand, hey here's my left hand, hey here's my right hand, my left hand, hey, here are both of them." I bet you could come up with something similar.
Aller Retour: For the second one, it’s my version of something that I’ve seen in Spanish: "chocolate." Basically all you need is a four-syllable word, and you can adapt the brain break to whatever language. Four syllable words are not common in French, so I sort of had to make it up!
Papier, Caillou, Ciseaux: The third one is just rock paper scissors, and
Dansez comme Maîtresse: The kids just have to imitate me dancing!
Animal movement/statue: Basically if the combination of the animal and the action I say makes sense, the kids do that action. For example, a rabbit jumps, a bird flies, a dog walks. But if the combination does not make sense, the kids have to stand still with their hands by their sides like a statue and not move.
Again, thanks for your comment, it brought to my attention that not everyone would understand what was going on in the video! If you need more clarification, please don’t hesitate to write to me. Have a great day!

Reply
Alisa Shapiro-Rosenberg
4/4/2019 15:24:32

Hi, Allison, I see you are using materials from Muzzy. I haven't seen that stuff in use for a long time...I used to have it on VHS! Do you think it's worth purchasing for an elem classroom? If so, which ancillaries - it looks like you have the software or a special CD or something?
Thanks for sharing a window into your classroom.

Lhynzie link
29/12/2021 09:50:46

Excellent content! Thank you for sharing this very informative and useful article. Looking forward to the latest one.

Reply



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    Allison Litten, the 2019 VFLA TOY, teaches French at the Marion Cross School, a public PreK-6 school in Norwich, Vermont. This is her twenty-third year teaching, and twentieth at Marion Cross.

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