Interpersonal Communications

60 Second Relate Breaks

The brain isn’t built for continuous, long-term learning.  Researchers argue the average attention span of an adolescent student is less than 20 minutes!  How do you help your students hit reset on their brains?  Let us introduce you to 60 Second Relate Breaks!  Like a brain break, but more intentional, our 60 Second Relate Breaks allow students and educators to discover unique facts about one another in a fun, low-pressure setting.  60 Second Relate Breaks make it easy to build and sustain relationships all year long.

60-Second Relate Breaks Toolkit Tips

Tips & Strategies
  • Use a timer to control time invested
  • Pre-teach students expectations and function of the 60 Second Relate Break
  • Guide students to continue to talk about school appropriate topics or expand upon their answers to the posed question should they answer the question before the time is up
  • Don’t stop and talk with students as they share as this stalls the cycle of sharing and community building
  • Pose question earlier in class to allow students to prepare their responses
VirtualNot Virtual
  • If possible, utilize online learning platforms breakout rooms
  • Utilize chat or discussion feature for quick sharing
  • Consider having students include pictures, videos, memes, etc. to increase engagement during connections
  • Identify safe space where students can share together (e.g. spread out around the classroom)
  • Have students use a white board to write answers on
  • Pose a Would you rather question and have students stand to represent their answer