Take care of your health and your body.
There a saying I like:
Eat right.
Exercise regularly.
Die anyway.
Most of know what to do to be healthy. We need to actually do those things. Take care of your health asks students to decide what healthy things they will do TODAY. (10 minutes for happiness)
Smiling is actually healthy. When you smile, your brain releases endorphin, a "feel-good" neurotransmitter in the brain. This activity, Smile, is a icebreaker that helps students get to know each other at the beginning of a course. (10 minutes for happiness)
Here a rather silly smile writing activity.
Eat right.
Exercise regularly.
Die anyway.
Most of know what to do to be healthy. We need to actually do those things. Take care of your health asks students to decide what healthy things they will do TODAY. (10 minutes for happiness)
Smiling is actually healthy. When you smile, your brain releases endorphin, a "feel-good" neurotransmitter in the brain. This activity, Smile, is a icebreaker that helps students get to know each other at the beginning of a course. (10 minutes for happiness)
Here a rather silly smile writing activity.
I've made a series of PowerPoint slideshows that feature Energy Breaks short (5-minute or less) physical activities you can do in the limited space of a classroom. Each also has one or two slides which explain a bit of the brain science behind physical activity in the classroom. You can use that to explain why their English teacher is asking them to do something like physical exercises in class :-).
If you don't have a way to use PowerPoint in your class, don't worry. Just download the PPTs for yourself. The activities are all simple to demonstrate. You might want to print out a poster size copy of the "Brain byte" science explanation to explain to the students.
I also have a series of short 5-minute physical tasks for the classroom language classroom.
If you don't have a way to use PowerPoint in your class, don't worry. Just download the PPTs for yourself. The activities are all simple to demonstrate. You might want to print out a poster size copy of the "Brain byte" science explanation to explain to the students.
I also have a series of short 5-minute physical tasks for the classroom language classroom.
Also check out the activities on the "Laughter" page, and the Posters that list health benefits of smiling and laughter. Also, check out the page about physical activity in language classes at my other website. Click HERE._
OK, this one is a little strange. I sometimes bring cookies on test days. Of course, I don't recommend a sugary diet, but there is some evidence for a high calorie diet on test days. HERE is a 2-slide Powerpoint with part of an article from the Washington Post. Mostly, of course, I am doing this as a joke and to get people to relax (If the teacher is bringing cookies, it can be that terrible, right?). HERE is the whole article. Enjoy.