The “Active break” describes different possibilities for students to relax and to make them ready for the lessons. This happens always with a playful attitude. The teacher introduces physical, as well as cognitive exercises or a connection of several activities during the lessons to the students. (For example exercises with agreed step results and arithmetic duties)

We have carried out exercises from the kinesiology with the students at our school. The kinesiology deals with the energy flow in the body, with stress reduction and the development of vital energy. Besides, it incorporates the knowledge of modern psychology as well as the latest knowledge about bioenergy and the communication in the body.

Mostly the students carry out the exercises in the lessons, which is meant to reduce stress. As a result, these "games" improve the concentration and motivation of the students. There are also exercises which train particularly the cooperation, which improve communication or build up contacts among the students.

Particularly after exams or before the last lessons of a school day it makes sense to carry out such exercises. Such small "breathers" are pretty popular among the students. After that the teacher can continue the normal lessons and work with concentrated students.

All exercises are meant to achieve better exam results for the students and a more harmonious co-existence at school.

The students may reduce stress and acquire new motivation during the school day for their current tasks. If students put themselves under too much pressure before a test or a presentation, the various exercises are meant to overcome these obstacles. They are meant to learn how to cope with stress individually and self-responsibly, in order to achieve better exam results and more success in their later professional lives.

We have used the exercises particularly in classes with students who have problems concentrating and achieving good exam results. In these classes, teams of teachers were instructed to do the exercises at appropriate times. Also, a collection of exercises and required items (e. g. cards, transparencies,...) is available for teachers to use, so they can also do the exercises spontaneously.

Possible steps for implementation

The websites under the following links have been very helpful to choose appropriate exercises. In particular, the "gigs"-collection proved useful as many exercises may be done very easily and do not require extensive preparation.

Naturally, there is a lot of literature with exercises available. We have bought two books by Axel Rachow (Axel Rachow, Spielbar I und II, managerSeminare Verlags GmbH, Bonn 2005) which is ordered by different topics and contains exercises e. g. about interaction, perception, or to boost team spirit.

- https://www.berufsbildung.nrw.de/cms/das-berufskolleg-in-nordrhein-westfalen/modellprojekte/gigs/gigs.html
- https://www.dguv-lug.de/berufsbildende-schulen/gesundheitsschutz/bewegung-im-unterricht/
- https://www.dguv-lug.de/berufsbildende-schulen/gesundheitsschutz/bewegung-und-gesundheit/