Would you rather drink a milkshake through a very long straw or eat ice cream with a tiny spoon?30 seconds. Straw: stretch one arm up as the straw and lean from side to side, 10 times. Spoon: 20 tiny quick scoops, one hand and then the other.
Would you rather be a firefly at night or a rooster at dawn?30 seconds. Firefly: 10 small jumps, flashing your hands open on each. Rooster: stretch up tall on tiptoe and flap, 5 times.
Would you rather cross a desert on a camel or cross a river on a hippo?30 seconds. Camel: big, slow rocking steps on the spot for 20 counts. Hippo: wade with 10 slow, heavy, high steps.
Would you rather have a flamingo's legs or a pelican's beak?30 seconds. Flamingo: stride on the spot with 10 slow, high knee lifts. Pelican: 10 big scoops with both arms, low to high.
Would you rather have an armadillo's armor or a peacock's tail?30 seconds. Armadillo: tuck in tight with your arms around your knees for 5 counts, 3 times. Peacock: jump into a star with fingers spread, 5 times.
Would you rather have an eagle's wings or a monkey's tail?30 seconds. Eagle: 10 slow, wide flaps. Monkey: swing from branch to branch, 10 reaches from side to side.
Would you rather live in a burrow like a rabbit or in a nest like a bird?30 seconds. Burrow: crouch into a small ball and pop up, 5 times. Nest: perch on one leg for 10 counts, then the other.
Would you rather move at snail speed or at hummingbird speed?1 minute. Snail: one squat that takes 10 counts down and 10 counts up, twice. Hummingbird: flutter your hands as fast as you can for 20 counts, rest, then 20 more.
Would you rather spring like a grasshopper or dive like an otter?30 seconds. Grasshopper: 10 two-foot hops on the spot. Otter: 10 big swimming strokes, arms over your head.
Food 8
Would you rather bake the biggest cake or build the tallest sandwich?30 seconds. Cake: carry it on flat hands, 10 careful steps on the spot. Sandwich: stack 10 layers, one hand over the other, up to full stretch.
Would you rather bite a slice of lemon or eat a spoonful of hot salsa?30 seconds. Lemon: scrunch your face, shoulders and fists tight for 5 counts, 3 times. Salsa: fan your mouth and jog on the spot for 15 counts.
Would you rather crack a hundred walnuts or mash a mountain of potatoes?30 seconds. Walnuts: 10 sharp claps over your head. Potatoes: 10 two-fisted mashes, from your shoulders down to your knees.
Would you rather drink a milkshake through a very long straw or eat ice cream with a tiny spoon?30 seconds. Straw: stretch one arm up as the straw and lean from side to side, 10 times. Spoon: 20 tiny quick scoops, one hand and then the other.
Would you rather flip a pancake as wide as a table or toss a pizza as wide as a door?30 seconds. Pancake: flip it with a small jump, 10 times. Pizza: toss the dough overhead and turn around once, 5 times.
Would you rather have a popcorn machine or an ice pop freezer in the classroom?30 seconds. Popcorn: 10 pops, small jumps up from a crouch. Ice pop: freeze stiff for 10 counts, then melt slowly to the floor.
Would you rather pick apples from a tree or pull carrots from the ground?30 seconds. Apples: reach up high on tiptoe, 10 picks with one hand and then the other. Carrots: squat, grab and pull, 10 times.
Would you rather twirl the longest noodle or stir the biggest pot?30 seconds. Noodle: wiggle from head to toe for 10 counts. Pot: stir with both arms, 5 circles each way.
School 8
Would you rather carry every book in the library or sharpen every pencil in the school?1 minute. Books: 10 squats holding a stack that is not there, rest, then 10 more. Pencils: 20 fast arm circles with one arm, then the other.
Would you rather get to school by rowing a canoe or by pedaling a unicycle?30 seconds. Canoe: 10 paddle strokes on each side. Unicycle: pedal on the spot with high knees for 20 counts, arms out for balance.
Would you rather have class in a treehouse or on a boat?30 seconds. Treehouse: climb the ladder, 20 rungs, opposite hand and knee. Boat: row 10 long strokes.
Would you rather paint the whole classroom or mop the whole gym?30 seconds. Paint: 10 long strokes from top to bottom. Mop: 10 wide sweeps from side to side, with a step on each.
Would you rather ring the school bell or raise the school flag?30 seconds. Bell: 10 big rope pulls from high to low. Flag: 20 hand-over-hand pulls, looking up.
Would you rather stack every chair or roll up every rug?30 seconds. Chairs: 10 lifts from your knees to your shoulders. Rugs: bend low and roll forward with both hands, 10 big rolls.
Would you rather sweep the playground with a toothbrush or water the school field with a teaspoon?30 seconds. Toothbrush: crouch and sweep the floor with tiny, fast strokes for 15 counts. Teaspoon: scoop low, lift the spoon level to full stretch and pour, 10 times.
Would you rather write with a pencil as long as your arm or one as short as your thumb?30 seconds. Long: write your first name in the air with your whole arm. Short: write it tiny on your palm with one finger, then shake both hands for 10 counts.
Powers 8
Would you rather be invisible for a day or super strong for a day?30 seconds. Invisible: tiptoe on the spot without a sound for 15 counts. Strong: lift a pretend boulder from the floor to over your head, 5 times.
Would you rather be small enough to ride a paper airplane or tall enough to see over the school?30 seconds. Small: crouch low and glide with your arms out for 10 counts. Tall: stretch up on tiptoe for 5 counts, 3 times.
Would you rather bounce like a rubber ball or float like a soap bubble?30 seconds. Ball: 10 bounces, each one smaller than the last. Bubble: rise on tiptoe with your arms wide and sway for 10 counts, then pop with one clap.
Would you rather control the wind or control the rain?30 seconds. Wind: sway like a tree in a storm with your arms overhead, 10 sways. Rain: patter your fingers from high above your head down to your toes, 5 times.
Would you rather have a voice as loud as thunder or footsteps as quiet as snow?30 seconds. Thunder: 10 big stomps with a clap over your head on each. Snow: 20 slow steps on the spot, rolling from heel to toe.
Would you rather have arms that stretch across the room or legs that bounce to the ceiling?30 seconds. Arms: reach as far as you can to one side and then the other, 5 times each. Legs: 10 bounces on the spot.
Would you rather hear a pin drop a mile away or see a ladybug across a field?30 seconds. Hear: cup your ears and turn slowly all the way around, once each way. See: shade your eyes and stretch up on tiptoe for 10 counts.
Would you rather leap over the school in one jump or dig under it in one minute?30 seconds. Leap: 5 big jumps from a deep crouch. Dig: 20 fast scoops with both hands, low to the floor.
Seasons and weather 8
Would you rather carry an umbrella in a windstorm or a beach ball in a breeze?30 seconds. Umbrella: hold the handle with both hands and lean left and right, 10 times. Beach ball: tap it up with one hand and then the other, 20 taps.
Would you rather fly a kite in spring or ride a sled in winter?30 seconds. Kite: run on the spot holding the string high for 15 counts. Sled: crouch low and lean left and right through 6 bends.
Would you rather hang up a hundred wet raincoats or fold a hundred beach towels?1 minute. Raincoats: 10 high reaches to the hook with each arm. Towels: 10 wide folds with each arm, out and in.
Would you rather plant a garden or pick the biggest pumpkin?30 seconds. Garden: squat and plant 10 seeds around your feet. Pumpkin: lift it with bent knees and set it down again, 5 times.
Would you rather roll down a grassy hill or slide down a snowy one?30 seconds. Grass: tuck your arms in and turn around on the spot, 3 times each way. Snow: push off with both arms, 10 big pushes.
Would you rather roll the biggest snowball or dig the deepest hole in the sand?30 seconds. Snowball: 10 long, low pushes. Hole: 10 scoops, tossed over one shoulder and then the other.
Would you rather run through a sprinkler or catch snowflakes on a mitten?30 seconds. Sprinkler: 10 jumps from side to side through the spray. Snowflakes: 10 slow, high catches, one hand and then the other.
Would you rather tiptoe through a field of daisies or wade through a field of tall grass?30 seconds. Daisies: 20 tiny, careful steps with your arms out. Grass: 10 slow wading steps with high knees.
How it works
Each would you rather brain break here is a question with two moves: pupils choose an answer and do its move on the spot. The questions are about animals, food, school, powers, and seasons and weather.
Read the full guide
Ask, choose, move
1. Press Pick another brain break and read the question aloud.
2. Give the class a count of three to choose.
3. Read out both moves. Everyone does the move for their own answer.
4. Press the timer link over the moves for a clock of 30 seconds or 1 minute.
Would you rather brain breaks by topic
The menu that reads All brain breaks narrows the pick to one topic. Powers names no hero from a film or a comic. No question is about bodies, families, money or fear.
Nobody crosses the room: both moves are done on the spot beside the desk.
After the move, ask one pupil from each side for a reason in one sentence.
Questions and answers
What is a would you rather brain break?
A this-or-that question the class answers by moving. Here each answer has its own move: for Would you rather bounce like a rubber ball or float like a soap bubble?, ball is 10 bounces and bubble is a sway on tiptoe for 10 counts.
Is this a would you rather brain break video?
No. It is a list of 40 questions in plain text, picked one at a time, with a timer over the question. There is no video and no music.
Are these would you rather questions for kids in any grade?
They are written for elementary classes: imaginary choices with moves a kindergartner can copy, such as 10 bounces or 10 slow, wide flaps. The age range is our judgment, not a published standard.