10 Zero-Prep Fillers via ESL Library

10 Zero-Prep Fillers

ESL Library Blog: 3.01.2019 by Ann Dickson

There are few feelings more uncomfortable than reaching the end of a lesson plan, glancing at the clock, and discovering that the bell won’t ring for another 10 or 15 minutes.

Here’s a list of 10 fillers that will make those extra minutes fly by. (And best of all, you won’t need to run to the teachers’ lounge to make photocopies!)

1 Have students look around the classroom and write down all the objects that begin with the letter b. Set a timer for two minutes and make it a competition to see who can name the most items. Let the winner choose another letter and play the game again.

2 Ask students to describe their country’s flag as you draw it on the board. If you have a multicultural class, pair students with someone from a different country. Have them describe their flags to each other.

3 Put students in groups of three. Direct students to choose something in their wallet, purse, or backpack and tell their group members about it. They should say where they got the object, how long they’ve had it, why it’s important to them, etc.

4 Erase the board and have students call out any new words and expressions from the day’s lesson that they can remember. Then have students rank these vocabulary items based on how useful they think the items are.  READ MORE >>