Dance party
Pick a popular song. Let student dance for two minutes or more. For a bit more fun, let them teach dance steps to each other.
Walk around
Play a bit of music, put on a timer, and ask students to wander around the room for 2-3 minutes. Let them socialize—of course—but encourage them to keep moving as they chat.
Yoga
Introduce a yoga pose and ask students to join in at their own comfort level. Invite students to suggest poses as well.
iPhone ping pong
Teach older students? Ask them to get out their smartphones and hand out some ping pong balls. Pair them up to play desktop matches using the backs of their phones as paddles.
Rock, paper, scissors
Invite students to a quick game of rock, paper, scissors. They can play each other or play against the teacher. For more movement, try a “full body” version where students make up poses for each object.
Breathing
Need a break instead of a boost? Take a few minutes to teach and practice a breathing exercise such as square breathing or equal breathing.
Invisible jump ropes
Hand out “invisible jump ropes.” Engage students in a few exercises. Have them, for instance, jump 20 times in a row or jump 3 times on one foot. Play some inspiring music (theme from Rocky) to take things up a notch.
What’s in the cards?
Assign a movement to each suit (e.g., arm circles = clubs; toe touches = hearts). Post this information. Then, start flipping cards. If your first card is the 5 of clubs, students do 5 arm circles. If you flip the 2 of hearts, they do 2 toe touches. And so on.
Air guitar
Ask students to open their “guitar cases” and get out their air guitars. Put on some rock and roll and invite students to play a solo or two.
Get on the floor
Get them all moving with a group dance. Teach the Macarena, the Chicken Dance, the YMCA, or the Cha Cha Slide.
Basketball
Have students select a partner. Start with stretches. Then, have each pair create a “basketball” with a crushed piece of paper. First, have them pass the ball back and forth a few times. Then, have them pass with their right hands and then their left. End by letting each team shoot a “basket” into the recycling bin.
Countdown
Give students a list of activities to perform starting with something with five steps or actions and then four and so on (e.g., Take 5 big steps in any direction, jump up and down 4 times, touch 3 walls…).
Beach party
Inflate 3 beach balls. Have students stand or sit in a circle. Put on some summer tunes. Have students pass the balls around the circle (like at game of hot potato). When the music stops, ask those holding the balls to share one thing they learned in the last lesson.
Popcorn
Everyone starts seated; the goal is to get the whole class standing. At any point, any student can stand and shout “pop.” If any 2 students shout/stand at the same time, they both sit again. Try to get everyone standing.
Copy cat
Put students in pairs. One student spends a minute leading a dance or movements and the other copies. Students then switch roles. Add music to up the energy level.
Stretch
Teach some simple stretches. Allow students to stand or stay seated for the exercises.
ACTIVE VOTING
Ask students to stand up (instead of raising a hand) if they know the answer to a question. Alternatively, ask them to move to a corner or shrug their shoulders.
SHAKE ON IT
Ask students to work with a partner (or two) and create a 4-step handshake.
PENCIL JUMPS
Ask students to put a pen or pencil on the floor and jump over it 10x in a row.
VCR
Students start by standing. If you say, “fast forward,” they should walk around the room quickly. “Rewind” means walk backwards, “play” means walk at a medium pace, and “pause” means stop.