![]() ![]() Given this information, it is now possible for the student to be able to focus deeper on the material, but not for longer periods of time. Again, these can be a simple movement break, quick game, or just a mental break. This level of thinking also applies to individuals who are functioning within both social and academic arenas.Īs we continue our research on the middle school brain, we can use this information to help create more effective brain breaks for middle school students. The ability for individuals in this age group to engage in critical-thinking skills allows them to take a problem apart and play with it in their minds. We can use this information as part of our plan for giving them regular breaks to help both students’ brains and students’ hearts.Īs we begin working on different concepts in any subject area, young adolescents bring their vastly increased analytical skills to any problem. They’re going through an important phase that correlates with maturity. We can also look at the emotional center of the brain for middle school students. The frontal lobes, which play a major role in planning and reasoning, are developing into the thinking centers of the brain. Not only are middle school students learning how to think critically, but they also have different brain parts that begin to mature. The ability to analyze information increases significantly during the adolescent years, and it continues to increase until we are in our mid-20’s. Though at this time, educators may not be focusing on giving students a proper brain break activity (which could lead to some behavioral issues), it is still important to understand how the brain works. We can help them to be more successful in their learning by breaking up our teaching periods with brain breaks, which could include physical breaks (cha-cha slide, anyone?), music stops, yoga poses, and other options that don’t take much time, but are such a good idea for our “getting” older students. If we can start harnessing the power behind brain breaks for middle school, then perhaps we can help pave the path for our students to have a better quality of life and success when they leave the middle school years and become high school students. ![]() It’s a lot of change happening all at once, and their brains need as much attention as possible to push this growth into fullness enter a quick brain break opportunity. Sometimes it’s a matter of matching up the right hand with what the left hand is doing, and as teachers, we can help them through this. They might be trying out different social groups and organizations, just to see which one fits. During this time they’re trying desperately to build new relationships with others as well. Students may be experiencing a huge surge of hormones that drive them to want to fit in with their peers. Middle school students are also going through a hormonal change, which is causing sudden shifts in emotions and moods. A middle school student can generally retain from 5 to 7 bits of information at one time…The more engaged and “rich” the new information, the more likely it is that the new information will be retained.“ This brain development cycle also impacts short-term memory. It is when they start learning impulse control (though I’m sure many of us who have interacted with middle schoolers can debate that one).Īccording to an article published by the NEA, “This period of brain growth marks the beginning of a person’s ability to do problem-solving, think critically, plan, and control impulses. They’re learning how to reason, problem-solve, and are developing the ability to have high-order thinking. Coupled with everything else that we know about the importance of brain breaks, it’s absolutely pivotal that we make sure we are doing everything we can for middle schoolers, as their brains are going through rapid amounts of changes and physical activity (no matter how large or small) is a great way to refocus task behavior during the school day.īrain breaks for middle school may actually be more important than any other grade level we are teaching.Īt this time in their developmental age, adolescents are going from extremely concrete thinking to having the ability to think abstractly. The science behind the middle school brainĭuring this time in their life, young adolescents go through a monstrous amount of brain growth and development.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |