Built In Breaks
active
breaks
Formal and Informal Breaks
15
min.
45
min.
Students have a
break
every 15 minutes.
Lessons are
45 minutes
long.
Small breaks are
sprinkled
into the lesson.
Students have many informal breaks in Finland. This was seen throughout my visits at the elementary level in Finland. Oftentimes the small breaks were in math. The students did a set of problems (around 5), then whenever they finished they would go to the hallway to do a small exercise. After their short exercise (1-3 minutes) they returned to class and repeated the process.
A part of the reason this works well in Finland and might be harder to adopt in the U.S. is because students can do things by themselves without the constant supervision of an adult. This relates to my observation of the high level of trust in Finland. Students self-reported that they liked the exercise and the choices in the hall. Some comments were: “It’s good not just to do math,” and “I like sports and math so it is good to do both”. Teachers also told me that students were motivated to do the classwork and that they noticed improved focus.
Activity #1:
Jump rope 10 times forward or backward.
Activity #2:
Put 3 targets on the wall. Students get 10 tosses. They can try for specific targets or even add up their total.
Activity #3:
Students place bean bags on their head and walk from one point to another. Repeat 10 times.
