Line tag2 minutes. Everyone moves only on the painted lines of the gym floor, taggers included, and only at a fast walk. Two taggers start. A tagged player does 5 jumps on the spot and walks on. The teacher names two new taggers every 30 seconds.
Change places on the line3 minutes. Teams of six stand along one painted line with both feet on it. Without stepping off, the team must end up in the opposite order, with the first player last. Players may hold on to each other to pass. A foot on the floor sends that player back to where they started.
Eight crossings3 minutes. Line up along one sideline. Cross to the other sideline 8 times and never the same way twice: skip, gallop, side shuffle, high knees, hop, giant steps, backward at a walk. The class chooses the eighth way.
Find a line1 minute. Jog anywhere in the gym. The teacher calls a kind of line: a red one, a curved one, the longest one in the gym. Get both feet onto a line of that kind and freeze. On later calls, balance on one foot, or share your line with nobody.
Ladder of lines2 minutes. Start on the end line. Jog to the nearest line that crosses the gym and back, then to the next one and back, each trip one line longer, until you have touched the far end line. Walk the last trip home. Count the lines on the way, and compare numbers at the end.
Line tag2 minutes. Everyone moves only on the painted lines of the gym floor, taggers included, and only at a fast walk. Two taggers start. A tagged player does 5 jumps on the spot and walks on. The teacher names two new taggers every 30 seconds.
Rush hour2 minutes. Split the class among the four corners of the gym. On go, every group walks quickly to the opposite corner, so that all four cross the middle at once. Nobody may touch anyone or stop. Cross again at a jog, then one last time in slow motion.
Trains on the tracks2 minutes. Groups of four line up one behind another as a train and jog along the painted lines. When two trains meet head on, both turn around. On the whistle, the driver runs to the back and the next player drives. Each train tries to visit all four walls before time is up.
Whole gym or field 8
Chain tag3 minutes. Two players hold hands and chase as one tagger, and anyone they tag joins the chain. A chain of four splits into two pairs, and both pairs chase. The last free runner starts the next game and picks a partner.
Everybody is it1 minute. Everyone is a tagger, and everyone can be tagged. Tag with two fingers on a shoulder or the back. When you are tagged, do 3 squats where you stand and rejoin the game. If two players tag each other at the same moment, both squat.
Fill the space1 minute. Jog anywhere in the gym. On the whistle, stop in a spot where nobody is within reach of your outstretched arms. The teacher looks for the biggest empty patch of floor, and the nearest player walks in to fill it. Jog again, and aim to leave no empty patch at all.
Frozen gates2 minutes. Three taggers freeze anyone they tag. A frozen player stands still with both arms out to the sides, like a gate. Any free player can unfreeze them by ducking under one arm. Change taggers after a minute, and count how many gates are standing at the change.
Invisible parachute2 minutes. Stand in one big circle and take hold of the edge of a parachute that is not there. Lift it on the count of three, arms high, and bring it down to the floor together. On the fourth lift, take three steps in underneath and get back out before it falls. Finish by shaking it as fast as you can for 10 counts.
Minnows across3 minutes. Three catchers stand in the middle, and everyone else lines up on one end line. On go, the runners cross to the other end. A tagged runner becomes seaweed: feet planted where they were caught, arms waving, tagging anyone who passes within reach. When 3 runners are left, they are the next catchers.
Shadow tag2 minutes. For a field on a sunny day. In groups of six, one tagger tags by stepping on a runner's shadow, never by touching. A runner whose shadow is caught becomes the tagger. Crouching to shrink your shadow is allowed, and hiding in the shade is not.
Stars and stones3 minutes. Two lines face each other across the center line, one step apart: one line is the stars and the other the stones. The teacher calls one name, drawing out its first sound. That line chases, and the other line turns and runs for the end line behind it. Anyone tagged before reaching it changes sides.
With a partner 7
Follow my footsteps2 minutes. One partner leads and the other follows two steps behind. The leader travels around the gym and keeps changing how: jog, skip, sidestep, crouch low, zigzag. The follower copies every change. On the whistle, both turn around and the follower leads.
High-five lap1 minute. Everyone jogs around the edge of the gym in the same direction. On the whistle, turn into the middle, give 5 different people a high five and get back to the edge. Second whistle: 5 low fives. Third whistle: 5 elbow taps with people you have not tapped yet.
Knee tap duel1 minute. Face a partner with your knees bent and your hands open. Try to tap the outside of either of your partner's knees while keeping your own out of reach. Each tap is a point. Play to 5, then find a new partner.
Palm push1 minute. Stand facing a partner with your feet together, close enough for your palms to meet at chest height. Push or dodge with palms against palms and nothing else. Whoever moves a foot first loses the point. Play to 3.
Shadow handshake1 minute. For a sunny day outside. Stand too far from a partner to touch. Move until your two shadows shake hands, then make them high-five, then stand them back to back. Finish by making one shadow with four arms.
Stand up together1 minute. Sit on the floor back to back with a partner, knees bent and elbows linked. Push against each other's backs and stand up without unlinking. Sit down the same way. Then try it as a group of four.
Walking tag for two1 minute. Partners stand one step apart and decide who chases first. Both may only walk. When the chaser tags, the tagged partner turns once on the spot and becomes the chaser. Steer clear of other pairs: a bump means 3 jumps for both of you before you go on.
Small teams 8
Centipede2 minutes. Teams of five stand in single file with hands on the shoulders of the player in front. Walk from one sideline to the other with every left foot stepping at the same time, then every right. If the chain breaks, stop, join up and carry on. Come back with the last player in front.
Four ways relay3 minutes. Teams of four line up behind the end line. The first player goes to the far line and back running, the second skipping, the third in a side shuffle and the fourth with giant steps. Send the next player off with a high five. A team that has finished sits down in a straight line.
Number call3 minutes. Teams of five sit in small circles, and the players in each circle number themselves 1 to 5. The teacher calls a number. Those players stand, run once around the outside of their own circle and sit back in their place. First one seated scores a point for the team.
Points on the floor2 minutes. In groups of three, hold on to each other. The teacher calls a number, and the group must touch the floor with exactly that many body parts between them: feet, hands, knees, elbows. Hold still for 3 counts. Start with 6, then 4, then 9, then 3.
Pulse race2 minutes. Each team of six sits in a line holding hands, with eyes closed except for the first player. The teacher shows the first players a thumbs up. Each squeezes the next hand, and the squeeze travels down the line. The last player stands up the moment it arrives.
Team total2 minutes. Each team of five owes the gym 60 jumps. The team decides how to share them out, but everyone does at least 5, and only one player jumps at a time. Count aloud as a team. Sit down in a line at 60.
Tunnel relay3 minutes. Teams of five stand one behind another with their feet wide apart. The player at the back crawls through the tunnel of legs to the front and stands up with feet apart. As soon as the tunnel is clear, the new back player goes. The team is done when it has traveled from one line to the next.
Weave to the front2 minutes. Teams of six stand in a line, an arm's length apart. The last player weaves in and out between the others to the front and stands an arm's length ahead. Then the new last player goes. The line snakes forward until it has crossed the gym.
Slow ones to end on 3
Countdown circle1 minute. Jog anywhere. The teacher counts down slowly from 10. By zero, the whole class must be standing on the center circle, evenly spaced, silent, with toes on the line. Try it again from 8, then from 5.
Slower every side2 minutes. Walk one lap of the gym along the walls. Walk the first side fast, the second at an everyday pace, the third slowly and the fourth in slow motion. Nobody overtakes on the last side. The lap ends where the class lines up, without a word.
Stretch circle3 minutes. Stand in one big circle. The teacher points to a player, who shows a stretch, and everyone holds it while that player counts to 10 aloud. That player points to the next leader. Six stretches, and no stretch twice.
How it works
These PE brain breaks need a gym or a field and nothing else: no balls, no cones, no music. They are 33 physical brain breaks of 1 to 3 minutes, from tag games to team challenges.
Read the full guide
Phys ed brain break ideas for the painted lines
On the lines of the gym floor holds 7 games that use what every gym already has. In Line tag, runners and taggers may only walk the lines. In Ladder of lines, each trip across the floor is one line longer than the last. Whole gym or field holds 8 more, and Shadow tag needs the sun.
Slow ones before the class goes back
A gym class brain break can also bring a class down. Slow ones to end on holds 3: Countdown circle gathers everyone on the center circle in silence, and Slower every side turns one lap into a slow-motion walk to the line.
Tag with two fingers on a shoulder or the back. Say so before the first tag game.
What is a good physical activity brain break for kids?
One with nobody standing out. In Everybody is it, a tagged player does 3 squats and plays on. In Frozen gates, any free player can unfreeze a friend by ducking under an arm. Both take 2 minutes or less.
Do physical education brain breaks need equipment?
None of these 33 does. They use the painted lines, the walls, the center circle and the players themselves. Shadow tag and Shadow handshake swap the gym for a field on a sunny day.
Which physical activity brain breaks fit a classroom?
Few of these: most need room to run. Palm push, Stand up together and Points on the floor fit a cleared space at the front. For moves beside a desk, the brain break exercises list has more physical brain break ideas.
How long should a PE brain break be?
As long as the game on screen: 10 of the 33 take 1 minute, 14 take 2 and 9 take 3. The timer starts at that length, so the class can see the end coming.