Break up the day and get your students moving with these movement activities for elementary students. This set of 10 activities requires little or no prep. Simply follow the step-by-step instructions and have some fun with your class!
Movement breaks are great for lightening the mood and allowing students to reset and re-engage with their learning. Choose from activities all about getting students moving, or incorporate an element of review with questions about what you’ve covered in class.
Looking for more ideas to get students moving? Try these adaptive P.E. activities or these coordination and team building P.E. activities.
What's Included:
- 10 fun activities for movement breaks
- Step-by-step instructions for every movement activity
- Printable activity sheets.
Choose from Activities Like:
Hands-on
Prepare your room by placing items around the room that you can describe, or think about ways to describe things in your room already.
Step 1: Have the students gather around you, or stay in their seats.
Step 2: Call out an adjective to describe something in your room.
Step 3: Students have to find an item that fits your descriptor or adjective.
For instance, you call out “Hands-on something soft…” or “Hands-on something green…” and the students will grab something soft or green respectively. This is a good chance to show students how to share as well.
Squeaky Toy Review
Step 1: Use a squeaky toy. This can be a dog toy (unused and slobber free, please).
Step 2: Arrange the students in a circle.
Step 3: Give the squeaky toy to a student and ask them a question about something you’ve covered in class. This should be something that is easy to recall. For instance, “name 5 nouns.”
Step 4: The students pass the squeaky toy around the circle and it acts as a timer.
Step 5: If the student answers in time, the person with the toy gets the next question. If the squeaky toy gets back to the original student, then have them do a silly dance or act as if they were the squeaky toy.
Step 6: Repeat.
If It Quacks Like A Duck
You should model this activity for your students.
Step 1: Write different animals on slips of paper (or use the list on the next page).
Step 2: Fold the strips of paper and put them in a hat or a bowl.
Step 3: Have each of the students choose a slip of paper.
Step 4: A single student at a time should walk like the animal on their slip as the other students try to guess the animal.
