There are always gaps of time during our class periods that we need to fill with an activity. Maybe the lesson didn’t last as long as we anticipated, or we don’t have enough time to start a new activity, but we have too much time to just let students sit there before the bell rings. You may already have an arsenal of closure activities, but need some fresh ideas for what to do to fill time when those moments arrive to fill the time gaps. I want to share a few activities to add to your teacher toolkit that will help you be prepared when these situations occur. They are:
These activities serve the purpose of filling time, but they can also be used to practice vocabulary during any lesson.
The first time filler I want to share is almost completely no-prep, makes for a great vocabulary review, and can be adapted for any topic or level. Partner students up and provide them with a topic to play with. Choose a category, like fruits, buildings on a school campus, items you might find in a backpack, personality traits, and have each student (or pair) come up with five words (or however many you choose) that fit that theme. For higher levels, you can add a twist by assigning a specific letter that all their words must begin with, similar to the board game Scattergories by Hasbro. To add an additional layer of review, have pairs partner up with another group of students to compare answers.
Depending on how you play this game, it can require a little prep or need some planning.
To use the low prep version of flyswatter, split the classroom into two teams and give each team a flyswatter. Set some rules before the game starts that ALL students must participate, the flyswatters can’t touch the bodies of other students, and any other rules you deem important for your class. Write several words you are studying on the board in random order. These can be current words or review words. Call one person from each team to the front. Sign one of the words from the board. The first team to touch the word with the flyswatter wins a point. You can sign the words more than once or use all the words only once.
To play Flyswatter, which requires more prep time, you will need to create a slide deck with each slide containing two similar images side by side. For example, if you are practicing descriptions of people, you might have a person sitting on a horse. One person has brown hair and one has black. One might be wearing a purple shirt and the other one wearing pink. Then, students will touch the image you described with the flyswatter. For this version, I would make the rule that no one can move to the image until you completely finished the description.
One of my favorite time fillers is a quick round of I Have, Who Has? It does take a little prep up front. You’ll need to make or purchase the cards and print them out, but once you laminate a set, it will last for years. You can find versions of this game in my store, but it’s easy to create your own using any vocabulary you want your students to practice if you have the time.
The first time you play, it might take a bit longer as students learn the flow of the game. But once they get the hang of it, you can complete a full round it will take less time. If you want the game to be done in less time, play in smaller groups instead of the entire class. My students love this game and often beg to play it again, especially when they’re trying to beat their best class time. This is a time filler that takes more time than the others mentioned above.
To add an extra layer of fun and accountability, I post each class’s best time so they can see how they stack up against other periods. When we play, I have all students start standing, and they sit down once they’ve read their card. It’s a simple way to keep track of whose turn is next and gives them a little movement break at the same time.
Pointless is a very quick, easy, zero-prep activity. Give each student a whiteboard. Have each student write down 5 vocabulary words from the unit you are currently working on. The teacher will also write down 5 vocabulary words. The teacher will begin to sign the vocabulary words from their list one by one. If the student has the same word as the teacher does on their board, they get +2 points. If the student has the word on their board and another student has that word on their board, they get +5 points. After the teacher has given the words from their list, students should count their points. The person with the lowest points is the winner of the game. It is that simple. It is a great way to review vocabulary, and students have to use recall of words!
This is a class favorite. As a teacher, I like it because it gets students up and moving around. Here is how to play: This is a simple game that takes zero prep time. It can be played immediately after numbers have been taught or as a review any time duing the year with any level. It is a quick way to gauge what students have learned. It is meant to be played with a large number of students but it can also be done in smaller circles to move the game along.
Choose any number group you want to work with, like 1 – 10, 1 – 00 by 10s, or 20 – 50. For the sake of this explanation, I will use numbers 1 – 10.
You can modify this game to work with any set of numbers you are working on choosing a specific number to be the “out” number. For example, if “two” were the number, anyone signing 2, 12, 22, 32, etc., would be out. You can even count by 5’s or 10’s. It is a very quick counting game
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