Give every brain break a re-entry routine

Movement breaks earn their place, especially with younger classes and long blocks: attention is not a ninety-minute resource. What kills them is the re-entry. A two-minute stretch becomes a seven-minute drift because nobody defined how the lesson resumes, and teachers conclude that breaks 'don't work' when what actually failed was the landing. Treat the break and the re-entry as one routine, taught together, and the break costs exactly what you budgeted for it.

In practice

• Announce the length and the end cue before the break starts: 'two minutes, and when the music stops you are back in seats, pens up'.
• Have the re-entry task already on the board, so returning means starting, not waiting (see 'Have a task on the board before they sit down').
• Teach and rehearse the re-entry before the first break of the year, exactly as you would any other transition.
• If a re-entry is sloppy, practise it again immediately, and retire that break format for a week. The break is a privilege the routine pays for.