Fifth grade students at Good Pine Middle School used The Jena Times newspapers during one of their brain breaks leading up to the recent Thanksgiving holiday.

A brain break is a short, structured activity that gives students a mental and physical break from regular classroom work or lessons, helping them to refocus, reset and recharge.

Students in Mrs. Foreman, Mrs. Henard and Mrs. Summers’ homerooms were excited to view the local publication and compare examples of various writing styles.

“We were studying point of view in class, so we looked at articles throughout the paper and opinion pieces in the editorial section to distinguish between first person and third person point of view,” GPMS teacher Gena Foreman shared. “We also had a small lesson in folding the paper correctly and identifying the different parts like the page numbers, headings and the index.”

But the true brain break began when students were able to have fun completing the Fall Fun Kids’ Korner and check out photos from the sports pages.

“Once we finished the ‘educational’ side of things, each student got to complete the Kids’ Korner which they really enjoyed,” Foreman said. “And they were so excited to see the action shots of the football players in the sports section.”

Students accessed the online version of the newspaper, and each student was able to work on their own paper copy in class.

“The students were actually more excited about the paper version, because some of them had never used a paper before,” Foreman shared. “This was such a great brain break experience for them! They learned a lot and had fun using it in a real-life way.”

(If you would like copies of The Jena Times for your class or would like to schedule a visit from one of our staff to your school or organization, call (318) 992-4121 or email photos@thejenatimes.net.)