persuasive essay about recess in school should be longer

Essay on Recess Should Be Longer

Students are often asked to write an essay on Recess Should Be Longer in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

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100 Words Essay on Recess Should Be Longer

Importance of recess.

Recess is an important part of school. It’s a break from class where students can relax and play. It helps kids clear their minds and get ready for more learning. If recess is longer, it can help students even more.

Physical Health

When kids have a longer recess, they can play more. This means they can get more exercise. Exercise keeps our bodies strong and healthy. It also helps us feel good. So, a longer recess can help keep kids healthy.

Mental Health

Recess is not just good for the body, it’s also good for the mind. When kids play, they feel happy. This can help reduce stress. A longer recess can give kids more time to relax and feel good.

Social Skills

During recess, kids can talk and play with their friends. This helps them learn how to get along with others. If recess is longer, kids have more time to build these important social skills.

Academic Performance

A longer recess can also help with school work. After a good break, kids can focus better. This can help them do better in class. So, a longer recess can help improve students’ grades.

In conclusion, a longer recess can be very helpful for students. It can help them stay healthy, feel good, get along with others, and do well in school.

250 Words Essay on Recess Should Be Longer

Why recess time matters.

Recess is a favorite part of the day for most kids. It’s a time to play, eat, and take a break from lessons. But, is the current recess time enough? Many believe that recess should be longer.

The Need for Play

Playtime is not just fun, it’s also important for our brains. When we play, our brains get a break from learning. This helps us to focus better when we get back to class. Plus, playtime helps us to learn social skills. We learn how to share, work as a team, and solve problems. These skills are just as important as math or reading.

Exercise and Health

Recess is also a time for exercise. Kids need to move around to stay healthy. Sitting in class all day is not good for our bodies. We need time to run, jump, and play. This keeps our bodies strong and healthy. Plus, exercise helps to clear our minds and makes us feel happier.

Learning and Focus

Longer recess can also help us to learn better. After a break, we can focus more on our lessons. This means we can understand and remember more. Teachers also get a break during recess. This means they can rest and prepare for the next lessons.

In conclusion, longer recess is good for both our bodies and minds. It gives us time to play, exercise, and prepare for learning. So, let’s make recess longer and make school a more fun and healthy place for all of us.

500 Words Essay on Recess Should Be Longer

Introduction.

Recess is a cherished part of the school day for students. It’s a chance for kids to play, chat, eat and take a break from the busy day of learning. This essay will talk about why recess should be longer.

Firstly, kids need time to play. Play is not just fun, but it’s also important for a child’s growth. It helps kids learn how to solve problems, work as a team, and be creative. If recess is longer, kids will have more time to play and learn these important skills.

Health Benefits

Secondly, a longer recess can help kids stay healthy. When kids play, they move around a lot. This movement, or physical activity, is good for their bodies. It can help kids stay at a healthy weight and keep their hearts strong. If recess is longer, kids will have more time to be active.

Improving Focus

Thirdly, a longer recess can help kids focus better in class. After sitting for a long time, it can be hard for kids to pay attention. A break can help refresh their minds. When kids come back from a longer recess, they might be able to focus better on their lessons.

Lastly, a longer recess can help kids learn social skills. During recess, kids talk to each other. They learn how to make friends, solve arguments and work together. These are important skills that kids need to learn. A longer recess can give kids more time to learn these skills.

In conclusion, a longer recess can be good for kids. It can help them learn, stay healthy, focus better in class, and learn social skills. While it’s important to have time for lessons, it’s also important to have time for recess. By making recess longer, schools can help kids grow in many ways.

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• Our Mission

Longer Recess, Stronger Child Development

With an hour-long recess, elementary schools can help children develop through increased creative play, authentic SEL, and adequate physical regulation.

"Here they come," the teacher tells me with a weary smile. The children are on their way back from recess. Excited voices echo from down the hallway. I've decided to volunteer at my daughter's elementary school for the afternoon. Eager to see her smiling face, I intently watch the door as the children enter. Their energy as they trickle into the classroom is almost palpable. Even though the children are told to quickly take a seat, it takes a solid ten minutes for them to settle in. There are reminders to put away jackets, trips to the bathroom, pencils being sharpened, children talking to other children, brief episodes of giggling, and a few rowdy demonstrations of affection between some boys.

Later, the teacher confides in me, "I don't understand it. I think the children have more energy after they've had recess! Sometimes I wonder if recess is even worth it."

Shortfalls of a Short Recess

Many teachers report that the period after recess is the absolute hardest transition time of the day. The children are often so wound up that it's hard bring their focus back to their lessons. Some teachers confess to using special techniques to calm and re-focus the children, such as dimming the lights or playing soothing music as they reenter the classroom. While these are great coping strategies to help manage the chaos, preventing episodes of amplified activity from occurring in the first place may prove to be the most beneficial. To do that, we need to allow for a longer recess session. May I boldly suggest at least an hour?

An adequate amount of recess time (or lack thereof) can directly affect children's ability to pay attention, self-regulate, socialize intelligently, and master complex learning skills. We can try to squeeze in short movement breaks here and there, but it won't have the same effects -- or, for that matter, even the same potential. Small movement breaks will always fall short of a good old-fashioned lengthy recess time. Here are three reasons why:

1. Creative Play:  Recess sessions that last at least an hour have the potential to foster creative play. Many early childhood centers stress the importance of " large blocks of time (45-60 minutes) " for play throughout the day to help children develop "problem-solving skills that require persistence and engagement."  Observations through our summer camp program consistently demonstrate that it takes an average of 45 minutes of free play before children dive deep into more complex and evolved play schemes. It takes time for children to figure out who they're going to play with, what they're going to play, what everyone's role will be, and finally to execute their plan. If recess lasts only 15-20 minutes, the children are just figuring out who they'll play with and what they'll do before the bell rings and recess is over. Many times, this allows for few (if any) imaginative play opportunities.

2. Social-Emotional Development: In recent years, children have exhibited more trouble reading social cues, demonstrating empathy, and effectively socializing with their peers. Schools have created special "social skills groups" to help combat this problem. However, these adult-directed gatherings that emphasize role-playing are limited in their applicability. Children learn social skills best through real-life scenarios and play opportunities with their peers. They quickly learn that whining doesn't work with friends and that they don't always get what they want. To learn effective social skills , children need plenty of opportunities to freely engage with other children. Recess, if long enough, offers an ideal environment to practice these skills.

3. Physical Regulation: Children require longer than 20 minutes of active free play in order to regulate their bodies and prepare for learning (PDF). In fact, when you first let children outdoors, their initial movement experiences will actually increase their activity levels. According to Eric Jensen's book Teaching With the Brain in Mind , "A short recess arouses students and may leave them 'hyper' and less able to concentrate." Children benefit from an extended recess session (approximately an hour in length), because it gives their bodies time to regulate the movement and bring their activity level back down again.

A Call to Active Play

Let's face it: the current 20-minute recess sessions are not long enough. A mere 20 minutes won't allow children to dive deep into their imaginary worlds or create elaborate play schemes. This is not enough time for children to practice effective social skills -- something that's lacking in this age of technology. And a short recess won't let children regulate their bodies to prepare them for higher-level learning experiences.

If we just made our recess sessions a little longer, we would likely see significant changes in child behavior, attention, and even creativity. The Swanson Primary School in Auckland, New Zealand is a perfect example of giving children more time and freedom at recess, and of the many benefits they saw as a result. We can do the same. All we need to do is make recess a priority once again.

• Mar 25, 2022

10 Reasons Kids Should Have Longer Recess at School

Experts say that there’s more to learning than just books. While academics are important and help shape the minds of our children, it has been found that there are some important life skills that can mostly only be learned through free play and interactions with other kids. 

Recess is a time of the school day that kids look forward to the most. When you’re a kid, playtime never seems long enough - something we’ve all been familiar with in the past from when we were kids. Recess sees kids playing many games that often mimic real-life scenarios. These kinds of creative games allow them to learn how to communicate, negotiate, resolve disagreements and solve problems. Recess is a great time for kids to express themselves.

Should Canadian schools have more recess breaks?

A small school in rural Alberta doubled the number of recess breaks in order to increase student concentration as well as academic grades. The Bruderheim School, which has 130 students from kindergarten to Grade 6, opted for four recess breaks instead of two from September 2018 onward. Students do not spend more than an hour sitting in classrooms throughout the day. Principal Paul McKay is of the opinion that with more recess breaks, students are more self-regulated and are more ready to learn. 

McKay implemented this system after being inspired by the Finnish education system, where every 45 minutes of classroom time is followed by a 15 minute recess. He came up with the idea after reading a book written by well-known Finnish educator, Pasi Sahlberg . 

Other schools, especially those part of the LiiNK Project in Texas, have also adopted this model inspired by Finland to increase recess and physical activity.

The Importance of Long Recess

An extension for recess is necessary and should become mandatory if we want our future generations to acquire positive life skills and successful self-expression.

1. Frees The Mind

Kids spend a lot of time doing scheduled activities at school and at home where they’re expected to adhere to rules. And although children benefit from a schedule, they also need free time to explore their own ideas and process information. Kids tend to have a ton of energy, and it’s important to schedule downtime into their day to dissipate that energy. Recess and lunch are mostly the only time that kids actually get to free their minds.

2. Nurtures Creativity

Recess is a great time to nurture creativity as children get an opportunity to make their own decisions about what and how to play. This allows children to share ideas with one another, often leading to the creation of new games and ideas. They get a chance “to be whoever they want to be” during recess.

3. Helps Them Learn Better

Academic programs in schools can be rigorous for students, and keeping up with a set curriculum leaves little or no time to devote to recess. Children may learn better if they are given an adequate break. Regular breaks help them stay focused when they are on the task.

Recess helps kids relax. Physical activity releases endorphins in the brain that helps kids reduce anxiety. They can take a break from a difficult lesson and revisit the concept after clearing their minds on the playground. Often a child becomes frustrated with a lesson and needs a break before revisiting it - recess is a great time of day for this kind of reflection. Kids may have better clarity of mind after recess, allowing them to focus better. 

4. Life Skills

Kids need to develop soft skills other than those taught in the academic realm. They need free time to converse normally with other kids, be that fun conversations as well as a few arguments. This helps them learn about real-life situations, and enhances the problem-solving skills they will need to get through their adult years. Recess needs to be longer so that there is ample time for students to deal with different types of situations.

5. Bonding with Friends and Teachers

Teachers barely have time to interact with students in between lessons. Recess gives students and teachers time to interact and communicate out of the classroom. Recess also provides an opportunity for kids to get to know each other, especially those in large classes where it’s increasingly difficult to talk to each student separately.

Time spent in the classroom with classmates is not enough to build relationships. Children need time to have full-length conversations that are not interrupted. More extended recess generally allows time for kids to build this bond. Bonding is an important element of child development. They need to bond with people other than their friends, teachers and parents. Relationship building is a big part of life and teaches kids to trust each other and to care for others. 

6. Better Behaviour

Early morning recess is a great outlet for the day’s first burst of energy for children. This practice should continue into elementary school years too. Today’s generation spends excessive amounts of time on punishments when many behavioural issues could be solved merely by allowing an extended recess. The extra free time, physical activity and social time automatically gives students the opportunity to get things out of their system before settling in for their next class.

7. More Patient Teachers

Teachers often get worn out from working with large numbers of kids, recess allows them to take a break as well, giving their minds some rest while still keeping an eye on their class. A strong trait of a teacher is their incredible patience in dealing with children. Teachers are able to show more kindness and patience when they get a break from the classroom during recess as well. Once class time resumes after recess, teachers and students both feel much calmer.

8. Physical Health

Obesity rates in children are alarming in today’s generation. Poor diet, minimal exercise and increased stress levels are all contributing to weight gain and other chronic health issues. Sitting for long hours in the classroom also contributes to this problem. The only time kids actually get to move freely is during recess.

Recess has a different meaning for kids, they run around, jump and simply just have fun. They are likely to burn more calories while they play. This can be helpful for the general physical health of children as well as contributing to reducing obesity. When it comes to physical health, teachers can help students by organizing relay races, obstacle courses, or a short exercise routine during recess. This is something we do at Recess Guardians with over 600 schools.  And in order to be able to do this, schools need to make recess longer.

9. Mental Health

Long hours in the classroom can take a toll on the mental health of children. Children often take home large amounts of homework, even after a long day of learning at school, leading them to feel quite stressed. A longer recess, however, could easily add enough movement to help minimize mental discomfort. 

Recess plays a catalytic role in improving mental health by providing physical activities, time with friends and a mental break. Chemicals like endorphins released during exercise help the mind resist anxiety and depression. The social aspect of recess helps kids develop a healthy support system. Vitamin D from the sun is necessary for the body and the mind to perform properly. Students need a decent break at school to perform well and stay mentally healthy.

10. More Enjoyment of The School Day

Recess is one of the only times where kids can catch up with their peers. Just sit and talk to them. Recess is more than just an exercise time. It is their social outlet where they spend a large part of this time building relationships.

School is more difficult for some children than others. And for kids that have a hard time academically, this break can bring some much-needed fun and enjoyment. Challenging times are much easier to handle when they are able to have a little fun during recess. 

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Student calls for longer recess: “We act now or never!”

• May 13, 2012
• From the Playground
• Guest Blogger

Young advocate in the making gives three great reasons to lengthen school recess in persuasive essay.

We all support daily recess, but it takes changemakers to bring a long, healthy recess to all schools. San Francisco fourth grader DJ Chinn may just be one of those changemakers. A youth leader already, he wrote his persuasive essay assignment on extending recess minutes. Please read and follow his lead!

Recess   It is essential that recess is longer. If not, students won’t be able to focus in class, get enough exercise to be healthy, or interact with other kids and make friends. Therefore, recess must be longer.   If students have longer recess they will burn off energy and can focus more in class. Also, students need time to clear their minds and absorb what they learned. Recess gives students something to look forward to so they will work harder in class.   As you probably already know, recess is a chance to get exercise and receive Vitamin D from the sun. If students don’t get exercise they won’t be healthy.   Students need to be healthy to do well in school. Students need recess to interact with each other and make friends. If they have even longer recess they will make even more friends. If students have friends in school and in class they won’t get bored in school.   These reasons Focus, Exercise, and Student Interaction demonstrate why recess absolutely has to be longer. The time to act is now, because if we don’t act now, when? When will we make longer recess so children will be happier and healthier? Obviously, we act now or never!

We’re giving his persuasive essay an A!

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — School Curriculums — The Importance of Recess Time: A Persuasive Analysis

The Importance of Recess Time: a Persuasive Analysis

• Categories: School Curriculums

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Words: 550 |

Published: Sep 5, 2023

Words: 550 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

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Physical health and well-being, cognitive development and creativity, social skills and emotional growth, enhanced academic performance.

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Why We Need to Rethink Recess

• Posted October 17, 2019
• By Jill Anderson

Sociologist Rebecca London knows that recess is an afterthought at many schools. Too often, it's just "a blank space in the middle of the day," she says, or a way to get some physical exercise for kids. She thinks it's time that educators rethink how to use that time to better support young students. In this episode of the Harvard EdCast, London shares ideas from her new book, Rethinking Recess , how to create a more inclusive recess, and why taking away recess — especially as punishment — is a bad idea for kids.

Jill Anderson: I am Jill Anderson. This is the Harvard EdCast. Rebecca London is a sociologist who studies recess. She knows recess is an afterthought in many schools day. Too often, it's just seen as a break or a way to get some physical exercise for kids. She wants to see us rethink how to use that time to better support young students. In recent years, there's been news about states mandating recess. So I asked her what the current state of recess is across the country.

Rebecca London: Well, recess is a really interesting space in the school day because it's a time when there could be a lot of academic and social and emotional physical growth happening, but there isn't necessarily all that happening. It's often a blank space in the middle of the day. It's a break. And so people think, "Well, I don't have to pay attention to it." But really, what we know is you do have to pay attention to it because it's a time when children can experience a lot of growth. It's also a time when they can experience boredom or bullying. It can result in disciplinary incidents that go to the principal's office. So generally, I'm interested in those kinds of spaces in children's lives, where it's this confluence of developmental opportunities with some attention to them can be a really amazing time to build all kinds of developmental skills.

Jill Anderson: We've been hearing a lot about recess around the country and in different ways. And can you provide like a snapshot of what elementary school recess looks like across America today?

Rebecca London: So elementary school recess is actually not available everywhere across the US today. We know that in urban schools and schools serving low-income populations and schools serving predominantly children of color, there isn't always recess. Sometimes the children don't get any time to run outside in the unstructured opportunity for play after their lunch or before their lunch. And even when they do, it's often less time than their peers in other schools get. In some schools, they've really paid attention to what happens during that time. And there's activities, there's equipment, there are caring adults who are helping the children or connecting with them. And in other schools, there hasn't been that attention to recess.

And so sometimes there's a little bit of equipment, sometimes not, and then sometimes there's opportunities for activities and games, sometimes not. Children are often left up to their own devices to figure out what to do with that time. Sometimes the adults are really caring and providing support and maybe turning a jump rope or refereeing a soccer game or a basketball game and sometimes not. Sometimes they're looking at their phones or connecting with their friends and not engaging with children. So right now, I would say we're in a place where we're paying a lot of attention to recess. There's actually a fair amount of state legislation happening. The CDC has guidelines out on what a healthy recess should look like. The American Academy of Pediatrics has guidelines out on what a healthy recess should look like. This is our moment to capitalize on all of that and just scheduling the minutes in the day isn't enough to ensure that children are experiencing a safe and healthy and inclusive recess.

Jill Anderson: We know play is good for kids, and that has been proven time and time again. But at the same time, it's interesting how we focus so much on improving all these aspects of education, but it seems like we've ignored recess a little bit.

Rebecca London: Well, and while we haven't ignored recess, we're focusing on it as an opportunity for physical activity. That's how states are framing it in their legislation. It's an opportunity to get those 60 crucial minutes per day of physical activity that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. But what's really interesting is play is the way that children learn. We know that from very young age on play is how they learn. So right now, for instance, a lot of schools are using curriculum on social and emotional learning, SEL, that's very big right now. And this curriculum is offered in classrooms with classroom teachers.

But the chance for children to practice those skills, to think about self-regulation, what am I going to do if I lose this game? To think about collaboration and sharing, to think about conflict resolution, how am I going to resolve a conflict? The ball is in, the ball is out. Their chance to practice these skills, the only unstructured time during the school day is recess. And so if we're not offering them an opportunity with meaningful engagement in play amd in an inclusive safe environment to practice these skills, these curricula aren't going to have the opportunity to take hold in the same way.

Jill Anderson: So in your research, you talk about organized recess and high-quality recess. So what is high-quality, organized recess look like?

Rebecca London: So there's this debate in the literature about structured versus unstructured play. So structured play is more like a physical education class. There's an adult who's leading a class, all the kids are participating in the same activity. They don't really have any choice. Unstructured play is we're putting you out there on the play yard. Maybe there's equipment, maybe there's not. And kids have free reign to design whatever games and activities they want to play. And some schools I think that works well. And the schools that I've been to, low-income urban schools around the country, there needs to be something of a hybrid. So organized recess is an opportunity for there to be a lot of free choice, different kinds of games available, but organized in a way so that everybody has a chance to play, everybody can be included, and everyone has a chance to have fun.

So the ways that schools can do that are first of all to identify the games that kids like to play, they want to be playing, and find a place on their play yard outside or inside if it's going to be an indoor recess where those games can happen in separate spaces so that there's not jump rope running through the basketball game, there's not soccer tag games running through the soccer game. So every game has its own space. And then the second step is to identify a set of common rules to the games so that children they know how to play, they understand when they're out or when they're in. We don't have to spend a lot of time arguing about whether that rule is part of the game or not part of the game. We all are operating under the same set of rules.

One of the schools that I visited was trying to do this, establishing a common set of rules with the game four square. I don't know if you're familiar with four square. There is markings for four different squares on the ground and then kids play with the ball and they bounce the ball from square to square. There's four people standing in the square. And there's a million different ways to play this game. There's different rules. They can double bounce, they can single bounce. Sometimes at this particular school, the person who was in the King spot or the Queen spot, the number one spot got to make the rules for the rest of the game. So the rule changed every single time a kid rotated into that spot. And the child in charge always made the rules to their best advantage. And so if you weren't a kid who could play by those rules, you never got a chance to play.

And so the school decided, you know what? We're not going to have that anymore. We're going to allow anybody to play. We're going to establish a common set of rules and that's how it's going to go. And there was a rebellion at the school. Those kids, the parents especially, you're ruining recess for my kids. And so the school decided to try a hybrid and they said, "Okay, we'll keep one four square court with the old school rules, and we'll have another four square court with the new school rules, and we'll see which one the students like better." Well, by the end of the school year, everybody liked the new court rules, the new school rules better because they were fair, everybody had a chance to play and the old school rules kind of dwindled. So it took a little while to get used to having this common set of rules for the game. But after a little while, the kids got to see how beneficial that was for them and then they had more of an opportunity to play.

Okay, so the organized recess is about finding spots for the games and coming up with a common set of rules for the games. And then the next piece is about what the adults are doing. And it's about adults supporting children's play at recess. So know not all adults who are out there monitoring recess want to throw on their tennis shoes and run around and play basketball with kids and that's fine. But they could help kids to resolve conflicts when they arise as they do when children play. There's always going to be a conflict, is the ball in, is the ball out? Help them to resolve those conflicts. They can be a positive supporter of play. They can cheer for kids, they can remind them to play fair, they can remind them to pass the ball, they can do inactive ways of supporting play, like turning a jump rope. I've seen a lot of adults standing on play yards, turning jump ropes and getting to know the kids that way.

So it's about positive engagement, pro-social engagement with the children, not just being there to make sure that they're safe and yelling at them if they're running on the blacktop as they're not supposed to do in most schools, but to really be a positive supportive of play. Get to know the kids that way. Those are the three key ways to organize recess. In the book, I talk about a lot of different steps, other ways that you can centralize the equipment disbursement, and that's a role that kids can actually play at their own recess so that teachers aren't responsible for monitoring equipment, equipment doesn't get lost as much. If there's a centralized checkout available, then students have an opportunity for leadership if they're the ones who are running that checkout. So there's a lot of other things that go into it as well.

Jill Anderson: Right, do you see organized recess affecting school climate at other times of the day like when the kids are not in recess?

Rebecca London: Well, that's what we hear and there was a randomized controlled trial done on this. By organizing recess, what we find is that children are more engaged. And when they're more engaged in play, there's less opportunity for all of the negative things that can come out of recess. So one of the things that we hear from teachers is that after recess, that time when they go to pick their students up after they've had recess is their most stressful time of day because they know that their students are going to come back into the classroom feeling unsatisfied and potentially upset about what happened during their recess time if they felt excluded or they had an argument with someone or their game didn't go the way they wanted it to or it never really even got started.

And so by having an increased level of engagement in play at recess, teachers tell us students are coming back feeling much more satisfied, much more ready to learn. They can settle their classes in a much shorter period of time, whereas it might have taken them 8 or 9 minutes, 10 minutes to settle their classes down after recess. Before organized recess came in, after, it might take them just a minute or two to get their kids... get them a drink of water and get them settled and ready to learn. So they're actually gaining time in their classroom learning by having an organized recess. And that affects their stress levels. So we know school climate is not just about children, but it's about how adults are feeling in their school. And if everyone's feeling a little bit less stressed, there's not a line out the principal's door for disciplinary incidents that refer from recess. Teachers aren't spending as much time resolving conflicts from their students outside of recess. That does build school climate definitely.

Jill Anderson: I thought it was so interesting some of the information about discipline and particularly how often teachers will withhold recess as an activity. Can you talk a little bit more about why that isn't a good idea?

Rebecca London: Withholding recess either because students haven't behaved appropriately or because they're missing schoolwork is a very common practice in elementary schools. And when I talked to teachers about it, they tell me that it's really the thing that kids care about the most. And so they use it as a way of getting kids to behave and finish up their work. The problem is that by withholding recess, not only are you withholding a break, and we know that breaks are important, even adults take breaks. Everybody takes breaks. You need a moment to reset and recharge, and that's an important part of the school day. But beyond that, it's often the same children who have recess withheld over and over again.

What we hear is that it's not just a random kid every day, but it's often the same children who have behavioral problems day after day and have recess withheld. And what we know about that is that when we're removing children from an important developmental setting as recess is, because it helps them to build those social and emotional skills, those skills that they need for self regulation and conflict resolution and cooperation and sharing, by withholding that opportunity to practice those skills, we're actually holding children back. And especially for withholding that opportunity day after day after day, what we're teaching children is that they don't belong. They don't belong at recess, they don't belong with their peers. In the book, I talk about this as a step ladder into the school to prison pipeline. When you tell children from a very early age that they don't belong, they begin to believe that about themselves, and then they begin to act as if they don't belong.

Jill Anderson: What would be a better way to handle a situation like that? I mean, for teachers, they're looking forward to that break themselves to send kids to recess.

Rebecca London: Yeah, it's often when they take their lunch. So they have to have that break. There's a lot of different ways to incentivize children to behave and do their work. One is to incentivize with recess. So instead of saying, "I'm going to withhold this recess that you already have scheduled," say, "If you all get your work done and you're all behaving well, you can have an additional recess. I'll take you out for 10 more minutes."

Jill Anderson: Oh, yeah.

Rebecca London: So to use recess, but as an incentive as opposed to as a punishment, there's all kinds of ideas about how to get students to behave in class and how to make reparations for the misbehaviors so they can write a letter, an apology letter, instead of having the recess withheld. They can be incentivized by getting to choose the book that we read that day, or there's a lot of different ways that you can turn behavior around positively. And you know what's interesting is that states are beginning to legislate this. By my count, there are at least nine states right now that do not allow recess to be withheld...

Jill Anderson: Interesting.

Rebecca London:  ... as a punishment or for missed schoolwork.

Jill Anderson: Do they mandate that recess has to happen because I was looking into this, there's quite a few states that do have that mandate in place, but they don't mandate necessarily a certain amount of time? Am I understanding that right?

Rebecca London: Yeah, that's right. The data that I relied on is from a survey that was conducted by the CDC with SHAPE America. SHAPE America's the physical education professional association. And they found that there were nine states that said that recess is on the books and their state regs that recess cannot be withheld for punishment or from missed schoolwork. Not all of those states mandate recess.

Rebecca London: There are currently about 12 or 13 states that require recess for... usually, it's a minimum of 20 minutes per day. And for me, I feel like 20 minutes is the absolute minimum. More would be better probably. And like in Finland, the students get 15 minutes of recess for every hour of instruction. I think we're a little bit far away from that here in the US. But if there could be two recesses in the day, maybe one in the morning and one at lunch, or one at lunch and one in the afternoon depending on the bell schedule to allow students just to have that time to take a break and reset, what we know from the research is that this does not detract from student learning.

Jill Anderson: To change to an organized recess, is that an easy thing to do or is it hard to do? Does it require a lot of training and things to make that happen or even hiring additional people?

Rebecca London: It requires a commitment. It may not take a lot of money, but it requires a commitment on the part of somebody who has some decision-making authority. I was at one school in an East Coast urban center and it was actually the school nurse who took on recess at that school. So that person decided we really need to do something better than what we've got going on. That person wrote some grants connected with the leadership at the school and really was able to make a change in how recess went. So it doesn't have to be the principal. I've been to a lot of schools where it's the counselor, or a behavioral specialist, or even the PE teacher, or even a really committed recess monitor. Somebody who's already at recess who says, "We could be doing this better." And there are all kinds of training opportunities that are available to work with adults who are out at recess. It's not a huge change that needs to happen, but there's a lot of commitment because there's a lot of legwork that has to happen. But once it's in place, it pretty much runs itself.

Jill Anderson: For so many of us we’re familiar with old school recess, where it was just you kind of ran around and did whatever, it was very free, and I wonder if you get a lot of pushback or people just don't understand. They feel like this is imposing more restrictions on kids.

Rebecca London: And you know what I would say to that, if your school has a recess that is totally unregulated and it's going well, then great, stick with it. If that's what your students like and they can organize themselves and come up with games to play without beating each other up and without people feeling excluded and feeling bad during recess, then that's a recess that's working. But there's a lot of recesses that aren't like that, and they need some help figuring out how to make things better. I've been to school where children are engaged in physical fights on the ground where adults don't know how to encourage play, where kids are standing in line for the entire 15 minutes that they're outside waiting to go back into their class because they don't feel safe. I've been to places where it's just not working and they're looking to make a change, and this is a change that we know works.

Jill Anderson: Rebecca London is an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the author of the book, Rethinking Recess: Creating Safe and Inclusive Playtime for All Children in School. I'm Jill Anderson. This is the Harvard EdCast produced by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Thanks for listening.

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More Recess, Please

Assessment model print, okay persuasive letter.

Title: More Recess, Please

Level: Grade 4, Grade 5

Mode: Persuasive Writing

Form: Persuasive Letter

Completed Rubric: More Recess, Please Rubric

Blank Rubric: Argument Rubric

View related assessment models:

Student Model

Dear Mrs. Knight,

Do you remember fivth grade? Well, I do because I am in fivth grade. Well, if you do I bet you recall rules you hated, like how short the recess is. Well, read on to find out why I think recess should be longer.

First the rule I detest is how little the recess is. Recess should be longer about 40 to 55 minutes, because we need more exercise, and if you expand the recess time limit we can exercise by running, basketball and other sports or ways to get more in shape or healthier.

Second of all longer recess can be excellent for if you play football, baseball or kickball or any other long games like that, I bet you never finish them. You probably do half of the game one recess, and the other part in another recess. Unless the friends you played with live close to you that really never happens. Another reason is if we have longer recess time we can have fewer ties and that would be way cool. Teachers and probably all grown-ups like children to have ties because they do not want anyone to cry or wine. Well, if you think we like ties we do not!

Third of all recess is an outstanding time to refresh yourself. Recess is the best at refreshing you, because you can run like a dog trying to catch a cat or you can relax and get away from all those tests. Books, words, and mot of all headaches or brain freezes (when you can not think). Recess is marvels at getting away from the funky, stuffy and muggy smell in your school!! Last of all I hope you will change the rule of recess. Matthew. A. Walega

Teacher Support:

Click to find out more about this resource.

Standards Correlations:

The State Standards provide a way to evaluate your students' performance.

• LAFS.4.RL.1.1
• 110.6.b.8.A
• LAFS.4.RL.1.2
• 110.6.b.12.C
• 110.6.b.11.B
• LAFS.4.W.1.1
• 110.7.b.8.A
• 110.7.b.7.C
• LAFS.5.RL.1.1
• LAFS.5.RL.1.2
• 110.7.b.11.A
• 110.7.b.11.B
• 110.7.b.12.C
• LAFS.5.W.1.1

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Speech on “Why Recess Should Be Longer?”

You must clearly highlight the advantages of having longer recess time. Longer recess time can help the students or candidates to not only have their meal properly but also will give them the opportunity to interact in a better way.

It is also to inform how longer recess time can actually help the candidates or students to develop mentally and physically with indoor and outdoor games. It will give an opportunity to learn and grow together with other friends. 

Speech Template:

Good morning everyone and welcome to today’s event where we have gathered to share our thoughts on the changes that have to be brought into our education system. When we speak about reforming the education system or the curriculum, we often hear a lot about how the subjects should be modified or how the children in school are continuously evaluated to get the overall performance of the child, and we often tend to overlook the time given for the children for relaxing.

All of us have heard the saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” and it is not only the case for “Jack”; it is applicable to every student out there. When we fail to understand that a child or a student needs time to relax and move around apart from all the time they are confined to one place.

A student spends most of their time sitting in one place listening to the teachers and taking down notes; they become so invested in studying that they have very little movement during this time and it should be deemed necessary for the student to have some physical movement in between these long hours.

The recess time given to the students is sometimes so less that they prefer to stay in rather than hurriedly move around.

This might seem like a small problem but when this pattern of behavior continues this might lead to bigger problems. Recess time is when the students interact with each other and make friends, and this is important for the students to create a balance between their academic life and leisure, as having peer groups and other forms of leisure communication will help them maintain their interests in the academic path.

Certainly, here are 10 reasons why recess should be longer

• Physical Health Benefits
• Mental Health
• Cognitive Enhancement
• Social Skills
• Behavioral Improvements
• Better Academic Performance
• Exposure to Nature
• Physical Activity Development
• Conflict Resolution
• Creativity and Imagination

The lack of proper recess time can directly affect the student’s ability to pay attention and will also bring down their socializing skills. The social-emotional development that a child is supposed to have during their academic period is heavily influenced by recess time.

A child can only learn so much from materials, and some of the skills have to be developed by interacting in real-life scenarios and displaying empathy and effective socialization are some of the skills that a child learns on their own by interacting within the peer groups which is not controlled by an adult, that is where there is no adult supervision and a place where the child can take a decision on their own by their own better judgment.

If the recess time is long enough for the children to interact with each other, it proves to be an environment where the children can freely communicate.

Most of the time when the children are left alone for a long period of time, they tend to get into these games that include a lot of imagination and play schemes, and for the children to reach this stage recess should have enough time for this to be executed and for the children to comfortably

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Extra recess? Persuasive writing example with questions

Subject: English

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

3 December 2021

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