Rockin' It In The Classroom

If you've heard me speak or been reading the blog for a while, then you know I'm a big advocate of weaving meaningful movement into classroom routines. 

In the book Brain Rules, Dr. John Medina suggests moving kids 
at least six times per hour for maximum achievement. 
Easy math ... that's every ten minutes!

And because "physical exercise is cognitive candy," Medina suggests that it has transformative qualities, and I totally agree. In fact, I've said it before and I'll say it again, that we would all benefit from changing No Child Left Behind to:



Enter Rock It! by Steve Reifman.

I recently had the pleasure of reading this amazing manual and I was instantly hooked at the potential of this product for grades K-5 and beyond! Aligned with Common Core Standards, these songs, stories, and activities will engage and energize your students while giving their brains the break that they need. Just as I like to "seal the deal" with a little dance {download my playlist} at the end of my peace-class lessons, this author advocates making instruction memorable and fun by integrating movement that'll enliven.

Part of what I loved about this manuscript is the suggestion that children have a choice about which activity to engage in as well as whether to participate in the activities at all. Choice actually activates endorphins in the brain that will reduce stress, increase motivation, and foster an optimistic attitude (Ornstein 1991), 
Who wouldn't want that? 

Based on a plethora of research and resources, the author of this rockin' read addresses infusing movement and stories into subjects like Math, Language Arts, Social Studies, Science and Health. It's  chunk full of songs, chants, and kinesthetic activities to enrich your daily routines with your class family. I just love brain breaks, so this masterpiece is right up my alley.

As a bonus, check out this tuba/banjo combo that would make a fun 
brain break with your little learners. It's one of my husband's friends from his days playing tuba in the Longhorn Band.
Then let your students make up some moves to the 
Tuba Tango or the Banjo Boogie
Who knew a tuba could be this entertaining?





If you want help re-charging your students' batteries,
then you must check out this book. 

Here now, today's good news:

Our friends at Brigantine Media who've published Rock It! have offered a copy of the book to one lucky Corner collaborator. Just leave a comment about how you energize your students and we'll randomly pick a winner from all of the reflections on Thursday, September 5 (my sister's birthday!) at noon CST. 
Stop by this week Friday to see if it's you.

This giveaway is now closed. 

Happy Dancing!




13 comments

  1. Brain breaks are awesome! My kiddos beg for me to play some. I believe it also offers great stress breakers.

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  2. Forgot to leave a comment about how we energize our kiddos---every Friday morning we play music over the PA from 7:15 to 7:35 and the staff and kids dance. Some of the songs we use are CDs we made: Zippity Do Da, You;re An All Star, Walk A Mile in my Shoes, Jump Around, Ants in my Pants, etc

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  3. I use a cd called "Brain Boogie Boosters" (from The Learning Station and Becky Bailey - Conscious Discipline), songs/actions from "I Love You Rituals" (Becky Bailey again) for Kindys and also yoga poses from the book "ABC Yoga for Kids". I love that "Rock It" is aligned to common core! Would love to win!

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  4. My students have PE first thing in their schedule which sounds great, but then I battle the post-PE blues the rest of the morning. I'm finding that the Daily 5 helps me to win this battle. We have 15 minute reading rotations with a 5 minute break between each one. I've been trying to think of something fun and wiggly for each movement break, but this book could be a lifesaver!!

    Fingers-crossed...

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  5. I love a great brain break, and I'm all about infusing more movement into learning. I know it helps cement memory.
    ❀ Tammy
    Forever in First

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  6. As a school counselor my job is to help device plans to help the students let go of the stress that clouds the learning & I know for a fact brain breaks are the means of parting the clouds. With music dominating the breaks, students are able to focus better & show more eagerness to learn. I love your playlist. I would love to win Rock It to help make a difference.

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  7. That looks awesome! I would love to have that for our school...we are K-12 - but sometimes even the big kids would like something like this...adults too! :) Maybe we should have daily brain breaks imbedded in our day!

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  8. For my 30th year in the classroom, I am having "brain breaks" for the first time this year. I bought some at TpT this summer. Can't wait to start using them! We also have reading centers, so that also involved movement. I like the learning game "scoot" also, which gives the kids a chance to move. This book sounds GREAT! Would love to win!
    susanlulu@yahoo.com

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  9. I would love to have some new energizers to do with the kids before my lesson starts or at the end before they are heading off to do something else. I am always looking for new exciting and different ones!

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  10. All I have to do is walk in the room to energize the class!! I'm actually a pretty handy device, because I can calm the kids down when needed or get them up and moving.

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  11. We do a Brain Gym as transition to other subjects. I made a smart board page and used audacity to download catchy song segments. I taught our class the classic brain gym movements. The helper of the day gets to lead the class in Brain Gym. it's a favorite! Sometimes we mix it up with Dance Party shorts.

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  12. I energize the class by being energized myself. I feel like they can't be excited to be at school unless I am excited. And this year I have a newborn so it takes more to get me energized after being up at 3am nursing her. I have done some brain breaks before. I would love to see more in this rock it book.

    cheryllhoff@yahoo.com

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  13. As a school counselor I use many hands on activities to energize my groups and we love to use lots of music from Dr. Becky Bailey to get the kids excited and learning coping strategies!

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I really enjoy hearing from my readers; thanks for sharing your reflections with us!