Class Opener: Brain Breakfast

 What is Brain Breakfast?

Brain breakfast is a time in our classroom, right after the soft open, where students build neurons by doing the same thing every day. 

What does it include?

I. Rules and Expectations

    It is important to review the expectations of our classroom every single day. I keep mine simple. I got them from Power Teaching, also called Whole-Brain Teaching. I've changed rule #5 from "Make your dear teacher happy," because I want them to think about each other. If they make each other happy, they will also be making me happy. I also added rule #6 to save my sanity. 
    - Rule #1: Follow directions quickly
    - Rule #2: Raise your hand for permission to speak during lesson time
    - Rule #3: When you leave your seat, have a reason and return quickly.
    - Rule #4: Make strong choices
    - Rule #5: Make your dear classmates happy
    - Rule #6: If you need something, doooooooon't call Mrs. Rodgers' name.

II. Class Points Math

   After we review our rules and expectations, I like to go straight into adding up the class points they earned as a class yesterday. I use this slide in my daily slide deck. It includes a graphic organizer (or math mat,) and a set of sentence frames. I guide students through the sentence frames and they practice using them in pairs at the beginning. By the second week, my second graders sound like college professors. "I lock 2 because it is greater. I pop 1 because it is the least." 

III. 2 Parts*

   Eduprotocols are a method for teaching content. If you haven't played with them at all, please check them out. There is so much that you can do with so little effort. You can run them independently, or you can do several at once. You can stack eduprotocols, which means that you use different protocols and different methods all on the same content. Same Content, but different protocols. If you rack the eduprotocols, you are using the SAME eduprotocol with a variety of content. So, different content, same protocol.  Here is a TikTok of a teacher explaining it in the context of upper graders using the Great Compromise as content.

    I share this T CHART with students before showing them a GIF. They observe the GIF and then name the nouns and verbs they see. The original is called 8 Parts* and it asks students to also name adjectives, adverts, and other elements. 




IV. Word of the Day

   During the Word of the Day part of our daily Brain Breakfast, students take apart a word that follows the phonics work we are doing during class. Students write the word, a word that rhymes, one that doesn't, identifies which type of syllabification is being used (I usually cover this up the entire first trimester,) they count the number of letters and identify how many or vowels, how many are syllables, and which parts of speech category the word belongs in.

V. Number of the Day

   This is a mathrep, another Eduprotocol that I use during our morning Brain Breakfast. Students follow along on their matching template. I laminate these or just slip them into plastic sheet protectors. 

VI. Calendar

I create calendars on Canva. I use the same template every year, and each individual number is actually a larger image that I crop down. That way, I don't have to go hunting for 30 or 31 different images. I like to ask these kinds of questions:
- What will the date be in two days? 
- What was the date three weeks ago?
- When is the next Monday?

ect. I will write about my Calendar Time more extensively in the next blogpost -if you can't wait, here's a glimpse at my rough draft for next week.



VII. Gestures

   I use the Grapheme Guy's video. It's simple, and I like that he utilizes the worm, grass, plane, and cloud lines in his gestures. Gestures, movement, and music can help build neurons faster. It's good for the brain to do different modalities, and the neurons that fire together, wire together.



VIII. GoNoodle

    After our brains are full from breakfast, we get up and move with some GoNoodle. Go Noodle keeps track of student progress. Each level has 10 points. I like to use this to create fact families. I will go more into depth about what I do with GoNoodle in a future post.


I love that each monster has something that they represent, so I can choose, or the students can choose, which value they would like to focus on.

I love Brain Breakfast time and I see the benefits all day. Students use formal language, and I can front load so much of our day's learning into this routine. 

What do mornings look like in your room?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fun, Effortless Phonics Reinforcement Flex Games

Image
Phonics is the foundation of reading and writing, and reinforcing phonics concepts doesn't have to be a daunting task. In fact, it can be loads of fun with minimal preparation and materials. Today, I'm sharing five engaging phonics activities that require very little prep and few materials.  These games can be played as an entire class, a small group, or individually. Some of these games include elements of art and design, and others can be played with the whole class, making learning phonics easy and breezy! 1. Word Wall Art Materials Needed: sticky notes markers blank wall/poster board. How to Play:  Write a variety of words on sticky notes, each highlighting a different phonics concept (e.g., CVC words, words with silent 'e,' or words with consonant blends.) I also use word lists that you can generate by using AI tools like ChatGTP, or you can find free lists on TeachersPayTeachers, or Google. Stick these notes to the wall or poster board.  Ask the kids to choose a w
Read more

Fun and Active Phonics Games - Integrated and Standards-Based

Image
Teaching phonics to elementary school students is a crucial part of developing their reading and language skills.  I love to integrate different elements of the standards. Overlapping PE and Art standards makes learning fun and more engaging. By integrating physical education standards and Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for reading foundational skills, teachers can make learning phonics an active and engaging experience. I especially enjoy connecting PE and phonics because brain science tells us that movement increases the retention of information. Before I get into the games, here are the standards that they meet: PE Standards: Standard 1: Motor Skills and Movement Patterns    - Develop fundamental motor skills like running, jumping, and skipping.    - Engage in activities that promote coordination and balance. CCSS Reading Foundational Standards: RF.K.1: Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.    - Recognize and name all upper and lowercase lett
Read more

Art, PE, Multi-Modality Phonics, Oh, my!

Image
Enhancing Phonics Skills: Five Interactive Strategies for Students Phonics is a fundamental aspect of early language development, serving as the cornerstone for proficient reading and writing skills. Integrating engaging activities into phonics practice can make learning enjoyable and effective. Here are a few more games that require very few materials and even less prep! 1. Partner Back-Writing  One creative way to engage students in phonics practice is to pair them up for partner back-writing with a whiteboard twist. This activity incorporates both kinesthetic and visual learning styles and aligns with California's PE standards and ELA standards. - Provide each pair of students with a word list. - One student writes a phonics word from the list on their partner's back using their finger. The tactile sensation helps reinforce word recognition. - The partner receiving the message writes the word on a whiteboard as accurately as possible. - Encourage students to switch roles for
Read more