Three jobs, in order2 minutes. The teacher gives a mission of 3 small jobs, such as: touch the back of your chair, tap both knees, point to the door. Wait for go, then do all three in order at super speed and stand in a pose. The next mission has 4 jobs, and the one after has 5. A child sets the last mission.
Cape swirl1 minute. Hold the two corners of a pretend cape at your shoulders. Swirl it around as you turn once on the spot, then once the other way. Let it fly out behind you while you run on the spot for a count of 10. Finish by wrapping it around yourself and standing still.
Dodge the beams1 minute. A beam of light sweeps the room, and no hero may touch it. When the teacher calls high beam, duck. For a low beam, jump. For a middle beam, turn sideways and stand as thin as you can. Do 12 calls, with two in a row near the end.
Fly across the city1 minute. Stand with both arms stretched out in front. The teacher calls what is ahead: lean left around a tower, lean right around a crane, duck under a bridge, rise on your toes over a cloud. The last call is home, and every hero lands back in a chair.
Freeze ray2 minutes. Everyone jogs on the spot. The teacher holds out one flat hand as the freeze ray and sweeps it slowly across the room. Any row the hand points at freezes in mid-step, and it thaws only when the ray moves on. Let a child who froze well take over the ray.
Hero poses on call2 minutes. Learn 4 poses. Lookout is one hand shading your eyes, on tiptoes. Power up is both fists on your hips. Landing is one knee down. Takeoff is one arm straight up. The teacher calls them in any order, and each must be held as still as a statue until the next call.
Hold up the bridge1 minute. A pretend bridge is sagging just above your head. Stand with your feet wide, press both palms up against it and push while the class counts slowly to 10. Let go and shake out your arms. Hold it up 3 times, and stand on your tiptoes for the last one.
Invisible steps2 minutes. The teacher faces the board with eyes shut. One row at a time walks from its desks to the back wall and home again, as if invisible. If the teacher hears a step and points toward it, that hero freezes for a count of 3. The quietest row chooses who goes next.
Shield up1 minute. Cross your forearms to make a shield. The teacher calls where the pretend meteor is coming from: high, low, left, right or behind. Get your shield there before the teacher counts to 2. After 10 calls, a child does the calling, and the calls come faster.
Takeoff together1 minute. Everyone crouches beside a desk, ready to fly. Nobody counts and nobody gives a signal. Watch each other, and try to spring up at the very same moment, with one arm stretched to the ceiling. If the takeoff is ragged, crouch and try again. Then land the same way, all together, without a sound.
Rescues and missions 10
Name that power3 minutes. One child stands at the front and uses a made-up power without a sound: lifting something huge, growing tall, walking through a wall, calling the wind. Guessing waits until the hero folds both arms. Whoever names the power shows the next one.
One finger each2 minutes. In groups of four, stand around one desk with a book lying flat on it. Each hero puts one fingertip under a corner of the book. Together, lift it to shoulder height and lower it back to the desk without letting it tip. Then do the whole rescue again with nobody speaking.
One-line hero promise3 minutes. On scrap paper, finish this sentence in your own words: a hero in this room always. Keep it to one line. Go around the room and read the promises aloud, one voice at a time. The class chooses one to write on the board for the week.
Quick change2 minutes. Sit as an ordinary person, with arms folded. When the teacher says hero, change in 5 counts: stand, turn once, pull on a mask, tie a cape and pose. When the teacher says disguise, undo it all in 5 counts and sit. Then try it in 4 counts, then in 3.
Rescue the kitten2 minutes. Scrunch a scrap of paper into a kitten that is stuck up a tree. Reach up for it on your tiptoes and hold it against your chest with one hand. Climb down the ladder with 10 slow steps backward on the spot. Then pass it to a neighbor with two hands, as gently as you can.
Secret good deed1 minute. Heroes help without being asked. On go, each child does one useful thing in the room without a word: push in a chair, pick up a scrap, straighten a stack of books. Be back in your seat before the clock stops. Nobody says what their deed was.
Star card3 minutes. Draw a big star on a sheet of paper. The class sits in disguise, typing at pretend keyboards. Whenever the teacher lifts the star card, every hero must be standing in a pose before a count of 2. When it drops, sit and type again. Lift it 8 times, and vary the wait.
Stop the runaway cart1 minute. A cart is rolling down the hill, and you have the rope. Plant your feet wide, lean back and pull hand over hand for 10 long pulls. It rolls again, so turn to face the other way and pull 10 more. Wipe your forehead and wave to the crowd.
Team signal3 minutes. Every team of heroes needs a signal. With a partner, make one up from 3 moves, such as a clap, a spin and a stomp, and practice until you can do it together without looking. Show it to the pair next to you, and learn theirs.
Three jobs, in order2 minutes. The teacher gives a mission of 3 small jobs, such as: touch the back of your chair, tap both knees, point to the door. Wait for go, then do all three in order at super speed and stand in a pose. The next mission has 4 jobs, and the one after has 5. A child sets the last mission.
Quiet powers at your desk 5
Force field bubble1 minute. Do this one sitting down. With one fingertip, draw the biggest bubble you can around yourself: as far forward as you can lean, out to each side, up over your head and around behind your chair. Draw it again with the other hand. Then sit tall inside it for a count of 5.
Mind match2 minutes. Sit facing a partner. Without talking, both think of a number from 1 to 5. On a silent count of 3, show it on your fingers. A match scores a point for the pair. Play 10 rounds and compare scores with the pair next to you.
Paper bridge3 minutes. Put two books side by side on your desk, a hand's width apart. Lay one sheet of paper across the gap as a bridge and set a pencil on the middle of it. If the bridge sags, find a way to fold the sheet so that it holds, with no tearing and no tape. Count how many pencils your best bridge carries.
Super grip1 minute. Scrunch a sheet of scrap paper into a tight ball using one hand only. Squeeze it 10 times, then do 10 with the other hand. Now walk your fingertips along a pencil from one end to the other without letting it drop, once with each hand.
X-ray rubbing3 minutes. Hide something flat from your pencil case under a sheet of paper: a ruler, a paper clip, an eraser. Rub the side of your pencil lead lightly over the top until the shape shows through. Pass the paper to a neighbor, who names what your X-ray found.
Draw your own hero 7
Action word lettering2 minutes. Choose an action word: zoom, crash, whoosh, boing or zap. Write it in block letters that look like what it means, such as zoom stretched out long or crash with cracks in it. Add a burst shape around it. Hold it up for the room.
Chest emblem3 minutes. Draw a large shape for a badge: a shield, a circle or a diamond. Inside it, draw one simple picture that stands for a made-up power, such as a wave, a leaf or a bolt. Use no letters. A neighbor guesses the power from the picture alone.
Gadget for the classroom3 minutes. Invent one gadget that would fix a small classroom problem, such as lost pencil caps or a squeaky chair. Draw it, label 3 of its parts and give it a name. Explain to a neighbor how it works in two sentences.
Name your hero3 minutes. Build a hero name from two things: a color you like and the last animal you saw, such as the Yellow Badger. Write it in big letters on scrap paper. Underneath, write the one power that goes with the name. Read your name to a neighbor in your deepest voice.
Power for a day3 minutes. You get one power for one school day, and it may only be used to help this class. Draw or write the one thing you would do with it. Share it with a neighbor, and listen for an idea that is better than your own.
Secret hideout5 minutes. Draw the side view of a hideout with 4 rooms, as if one wall were missing. One room is for resting, one is for training, one is for snacks, and the fourth is your choice. Add the hidden way in. A neighbor tries to find the entrance.
Sidekick animal3 minutes. Every hero in this room gets an animal helper. Draw yours, give it one power of its own and a small item to wear, such as goggles or a tiny cape. Write its name underneath. Tell a neighbor how the two of you would work together.
How it works
No video plays here: these superhero brain breaks are made-up hero moves, rescues and drawings that a teacher reads aloud. No named hero appears, so nobody needs to know a film or a comic to join in.
Read the full guide
Read the line, then make the calls
Most hero moves need a caller. The line on screen gives the calls, such as high beam, low beam and middle beam, and the count that ends the round. Read it once to the class, then start the timer over it, which runs for the length the line opens with.
Powers without a fight
Use the All brain breaks menu to choose a kind. Most hero moves are done beside the desk: Freeze ray, Shield up, Dodge the beams. Rescues and missions has a job in each, such as Rescue the kitten. Nothing is hit or kicked, and every villain is a meteor, a beam or a runaway cart.
Star card works during seat work: lift the star whenever the room needs to stand up.
Draw your own hero needs scrap paper. Name your hero and Chest emblem make a pair for two days.
Questions and answers
Is there a super hero brain break with no video?
Yes, all 31. Takeoff together, Freeze ray and Hold up the bridge are each a few lines that the teacher reads out, with any calls written in. The room needs no screen sound and no projector.
Do superhero brain breaks name real characters?
No. The powers are plain ones: flying, a freeze ray, a shield, a cape. No hero from a film, comic, show or game is named, and Name your hero has each child make up their own.
Which superhero brain breaks are quiet?
Quiet powers at your desk: X-ray rubbing, Force field bubble, Super grip, Mind match and Paper bridge are done sitting down. Invisible steps is silent too, because any step the teacher hears freezes that hero.
How long does a superhero brain break take?
From 1 to 5 minutes. The length opens each line and is already set on the clock. Most hero moves take 1 minute, most drawings take 3, and Secret hideout takes 5.