Brain break games and Fun Friday ideas for the whole class

Every teacher knows the moment: twenty minutes into a lesson, eyes glaze over, someone starts tapping a pencil, and the back row has quietly left the building. A short brain break brings the class back. And on Friday afternoon, when nobody can concentrate on anything, a planned game hour can turn the worst slot of the week into the one students wait for.

This post has two parts: quick brain breaks you can run in two to five minutes with nothing, and Fun Friday games that still practise what the class learned that week.

What makes a good brain break

• Short. Two to five minutes. A brain break that lasts fifteen minutes is a new lesson.
• Different. If the class was sitting, move. If they were writing, talk. If they were loud, go quiet.
• Clear start and end. A signal to begin, and a signal to stop, so getting back to work is easy.
• Everyone joins. No volunteers watching from their chairs.

12 brain breaks with no prep

Moving

1. Simon says. The classic. Speed it up for older students, and add a "Simon says swap places with someone wearing blue."
2. Freeze. Play music; students move or dance; when it stops, everyone freezes. Anyone who moves sits down and becomes a judge.
3. 5-4-3-2-1. Five jumps, four arm circles, three toe touches, two spins, one big stretch. Thirty seconds.
4. This or that. "Cats or dogs? Cats, go to the window. Dogs, go to the door." Five rounds, then everyone back to their seats.
5. Mirror. In pairs, one student moves slowly and the other copies like a mirror. Swap after a minute.
6. Rock, paper, scissors tournament. Play a partner; the loser becomes the winner's cheering fan, following them to the next match. In two minutes the whole class is cheering for the final two.

Thinking

1. Count to twenty. The class counts to twenty, one person at a time, in random order, with no signal. If two people speak at once, start again. It gets very quiet and very focused.
2. Odd one out. Say four words: apple, banana, carrot, grape. Which one doesn't belong, and why? There can be more than one good answer.
3. Would you rather. "Would you rather fly or be invisible?" Students answer with a reason.
4. Twenty questions. Think of an object; the class asks yes/no questions to guess it.

Calming

1. Breathing square. Breathe in for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four, drawing a square in the air. Three rounds.
2. Sound map. Eyes closed for one minute. Then students say every sound they heard: a door, a bird, a cough, the air conditioner.

Fun Friday games on one screen

Fun Friday works best when it is a reward the class earns during the week and still has a bit of learning in it. A team game on the projector does both: the class plays together, and every point still comes from a right answer about this week's lesson.

With Oly, the class plays in teams on one projector, TV or interactive display, and you run it from your phone. Use the set from this week's lesson, or press Play now on any set in the library.

Sporty games: answer, then take the shot

These games have a short action after each right answer, and the whole class watches it happen:

Arcade games: pick and hope

Teams love the choice ("Go far! No, close!"), and the luck means a team that is behind can still come back.

The class against the sea

For a Friday when you want the class together rather than against each other, play High Water. The whole class builds one tower while the sea rises. A right answer adds two floors, a wrong answer lets the sea rise faster, and at the end the class stays dry or floods together. Nobody loses alone.

A team tug of war

Tug of War gives two teams one rope: every right answer pulls it a step, and five steps wins the round. With three or more teams, each team pulls against Oly, who pulls back on a miss. Loud, in a good way.

How to run a Fun Friday hour

1. Earn it. Agree with the class what Fun Friday depends on: finished work, a calm week, a class goal. Keep a tally on the board.
2. Let the class vote for the game from three you choose. Write them on the board; hands up.
3. Use this week's words or topic. It's still a review, and nobody minds.
4. Play short games. Two or three games of 10 to 15 minutes beat one long one. Keep a running total on the whiteboard if you want an overall winner.
5. Hand over the remote. Give your phone to a student for one game. They see the answer first, tap Correct or Not yet, and pick for the teams. Students take the job very seriously, and you get to sit with a team.
6. End on a calm game. Finish with something like Memory Match or Fishing Pond, with the effects set to calm, so the class leaves settled.

Keeping it fun for everyone

• Hide the score if the competition gets too much for the group. The game still plays, and the class enjoys the shots and spins.
• Switch off power-ups that upset your class, like the swap on Lucky Wheel or the bomb on Tile Grab.
• Rotate who answers. Paste your class list on the Ready page and Oly calls a different student each question, so the quiet ones get their turn.
• Turn on steal so every team listens to every question.

More ideas in rewards without prizes, how to keep a class calm during classroom games and the guide to classroom management games. For quick starters, see 20 ESL warm-up games with no prep.