Winter Would You Rather Writing and Brain Break

Description

This Winter Would You Rather Writing and Brain Break resource is a no-prep way to get students thinking, talking, moving, and writing in a fun, low-pressure format. Each prompt encourages students to make a choice, explain their reasoning, and listen to others—making it ideal for elementary classrooms, special education, speech therapy, occupational therapy, ELL support, and early middle school settings.

With 25 student-friendly Winter Themed Would You Rather questions , this 53 page PDF resource works as morning work, icebreakers, brain breaks, writing prompts, discussion starters, and warm-up activities. The digital Canva™ version includes audio prompts and short movement videos, while the PowerPoint and PDF versions offer a simple, flexible option for whole group or small group instruction.

When to use this Winter Would You Rather Writing and Brain Break 

• Morning work or arrival time
• Icebreakers at the start of the day or week
• Brain breaks between lessons
• Writing warm-ups or journal prompts
• Small group instruction
• Speech therapy sessions
• Occupational therapy sessions
• ELL discussion practice
• Social skills groups
• Early middle school warm-ups
• Emergency sub plans or low-prep days

What’s Included in the Winter Would You Rather Writing and Brain Break 

Digital Canva Version

• Audio narration for each of the 25 Would You Rather questions
• Short video movement exercises connected to student choices
• Supports students who benefit from auditory input, visual modeling, and movement
• Easy to project, assign digitally, or use during therapy sessions
  (Access via the included Canva™ link)

PowerPoint Version

• Same 25 Would You Rather prompts with exercise images
• Clean, simple slides for projecting or displaying
• No audio—perfect for teacher-led or student-led discussion

PDF Version

• Prompts for no-prep use
• Great for centers, sub plans, or quick grab-and-go activities

Students Practice:

• Making choices and explaining their thinking
• Oral language and discussion skills
• Answering “why” questions
• Opinion writing and sentence expansion
• Listening and turn-taking
• Expressive language and vocabulary development
• Following directions
• Self-regulation through movement
• Attention and focus during transitions
• Social skills and peer interaction

How to Use the Winter Would You Rather Writing and Brain Break  with the Whole Group

• Display the slides or play the Canva™ Slides with audio prompts.
• Read or listen to the question together.
• Have students respond by:
  • Raising hands
  • Moving to the exercise that corresponds to their choice
  • Showing a signal (thumbs up, point, stand/sit)
• Invite students to explain why they chose their answer.
• The movement activity supports attention and regulation.

How to Use – Small Group, Speech Therapy, or Special Education

• Play the audio prompt from the Canva™ version.
• Let students take turns answering.
• Encourage complete responses using sentence starters:
  • “I picked ___ because…”
  • “I chose ___ since…”
• Supports:
  • Expressive language
  • Answering “why” questions
  • Turn-taking and listening skills
  • Vocabulary and sentence structure

How to Use for Writing

• Display one Would You Rather question.
• Have students:
  • Write a sentence explaining their choice
  • Draw a picture and label it
  • Write a short paragraph using the provided thinking prompts
• Great for:
  • Opinion writing
  • Sentence expansion
  • Low-stress journaling or morning work

Why Teachers, Therapists, and Specialists Use This Resource

• No prep and easy to implement
• Encourages participation with no right or wrong answers
• Builds reasoning, communication, and discussion skills
• Includes movement for regulation and engagement
• Works across general education, special education, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and ELL
• Appropriate for elementary through early middle school students