Jacquie's Five-minute Fillers

Most days teachers have a little "wait time" — not enough minutes to get out materials and start something new, but too many minutes to waste doing nothing (other than watching kids go bonkers). This year I have shared some of the time fillers that my students always enjoyed, as well as some ideas that were given to me by those of you in the trenches. The content (or topic) for most of these activities can be adjusted to meet the needs of your grade level. And here's a plus for parents: A lot of these fillers make great "traveling" games. They keep siblings from arguing and they take the "ill" out of drill.

A time-filler should not be a "time waster." Time fillers (preferably in a game format) should be used to practice skills previously taught, recall information (or regurgitate facts), or as an exercise that requires critical thinking. This month's filler, "Sparkle," is a game that I did not use when I was teaching full-time, but it is one that the kids ask to play every time I substitute. Consequently, I KNOW they like playing it and I also know it is a great way to practice spelling words. The kids can stand behind their desks for this game, but I like to have them stand in one long line.

As always, I love getting new ideas that I can pass on at future conferences and on this Website. If you have a time-filler that your students enjoy, I'd love to hear about it. Just use the Contact button on the homepage and tell us about it. And finally, be sure to tell me if I have permission to publish your name. I like to give credit where credit is due, but the choice is yours.

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Elaboration

Kids love playing the Elaboration (or S-T-R-E-T-C-H) time filler game, but it is certainly NOT a time waster. Elaboration provides practice in listening, recall, and creative thinking.

This can be played in one of three ways. 1. Go down the row (or line) and make each child respond. 2. Let students raise their hands and voluntarily respond. 3. A combination of the first two whereby you proceed down the row or line in order, but allow the student whose turn it is to respond with an "I pass" signal (whatever has been predetermined), before you move on to the next child. I prefer the "combination" method.

The object of the game is to "build" a story from a starter sentence – which you will supply. The main idea of the story should be expanded and retold in the order that contributions are given, but one should not insist on word for word retelling as that spoils the fun and lessens the engagement.

Start with a really plain sentence such as "Molly went to the store." Each student repeats the old (approximately), and "elaborates" by adding an adjective or adverb or by adding a new sentence that ties in with what has been stated earlier. The end goal is a group story. This game almost always gets pretty silly, but that's part of its value. Kids like it, they're engaged, and they learn.

Example:
Teacher: Molly went to the store.
First student: Molly went to the store with her mother.
Second student: Molly went to the store with her mother. She was wearing her new shorts.
Third student: Molly went to the store with her mother. She had on new pink shorts and a purple shirt.
Fourth student: When Molly went to the store with her mother she was wearing pink shorts, a purple shirt, and blue Ugs.
Fifth student: Molly, who went to the store with her mother, felt pretty special in her pink shorts, purple shirt and blue Ugs. But that was before she saw Brett.
And so on. (I know. I hate up-in-the-air endings too.)

If your time gets used up before the kids finish their story (a common occurrence), use it to your advantage. Invite them to write a conclusion to the story in their "free" time, and then ask if you can read their conclusion to the class. I have seen several bored-out-of-their-minds kids come alive (and actually appear interested) as they play Elaborate, write an "awesome" (?) ending, and revel in their peers' praise.