Hello Everyone,

• Have you ever wondered what to do with that extra five minutes before lunch, Special Area, dismissal, or a school-wide assembly?
• Do your students need a brain break after something that required a lot of intense focus?

Some teachers just seem to have a plethora of quick games they can pull out of their “teacher extraordinaire” toolbox when there is extra time or students need a brain break. If you happen to be a new teacher or a substitute, that “teacher extraordinaire” toolbox might not have anything useful in it for those times. Never fear; in this blog post, I will explain five great “time fillers” which might require few materials or supplies. These five activities have direct connections to Common Core standards in English language arts and mathematics, as I shall explain.

Sparkle (Word list needed)

“Sparkle” is a spelling game I learned to play with second graders in one of my student teaching placements. Everyone stands or sits on their desks as words are spelled in round-robin fashion. When the word is completely spelled, the next student up says “sparkle” (with or without optional hand motion of spreading sparkles) so the student after is out of that round. If sometime says the wrong letter or says “sparkle” too soon, he or she is also out of the round. The round continues until everyone is sitting or it is time to leave, whichever comes first.

Example:

Ms. Tyler: The word is “kind.”

Sally: k

Sam: i

Joe: n

Jill: d

Emily: Sparkle!

Evan, who would have been next, is now out; Danielle starts the next word.

You might be asking yourself: “where do I get grade-level appropriate spelling words?”

Enter the Fry Word List!

These lists, divided by grade level, have compiled the most common “high frequency” words that students of the grade should instantly recognize. By using these words, the teacher is reinforcing fluency and satisfying the Common Core standards that deal with students “recognizing and reading grade-appropriate irregularly spelled words,” such as CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RF.2.3.F.

Incidentally, the complete list of Fry Words can be obtained here.

One, Two, Three

In my other student teaching placement with fourth graders, I learned to play “1, 2, 3.” Individual students chose to say one, two, or three digits trying not to say the number 10, the “out” number. The game repeats the sequence to ten until only one student is standing.

Example:

Around the World (Flash cards needed)

While in fourth grade for student teaching, I learned to play “Around the World,” a game grounded in math fact “automacity.” Students are grouped or asked to sit at their tables before starting the game; the teacher chooses two students from one table to play against each other. The student who says the fact correctly or whoever is the fastest at saying it remains standing. The “winner” of the round plays everyone at his or her table and moves to the other tables. It is sometimes subjective on the teacher’s part who is the “winner” of the round based on who was heard first.

Since some grade levels drill fact memorization, this game helps students refresh their memories, while helping them satisfy standards such as CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.3.OA.C.7. It is important when playing to encourage students do not cheer or boo the “winners” or “opponents,” since that practice creates unneeded competition.

Mad Libs (Activity sheets and pencils needed)

An old stand-by for road trips and waiting rooms, Mad Libs let children be authors and use their imaginations to fill-in-the-blanks of stories and how-to pieces on various topics. Students could be grouped in pairs or tirades, allowing for collaboration opportunities, to complete Mad Lib sheets and share them with the class. These silly stories actually give students an opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of “the function of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their functions in particular sentences” such as CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.L.3.1.A.

An elementary school district in California has twenty-seven Mad Libs websites archived here.

Storybook Charades (Charades cards needed)

Charades meets storybooks in a virtually silent game that is perfect for library media centers or English language arts classrooms of any grade. Students should be briefed on the basic rules for charades before playing for the first time, and use of common charades hand signals should be encouraged to make the game authentic. Kid-friendly rules and playing tips have been compiled here, by the National Literacy Trust, a charity in the United Kingdom focused on transforming lives through literacy. After I have created some storybook charades cards for use with elementary students, I will upload the link.

By focusing on characters, book titles, and authors, this game reinforces students’ understanding of story elements and helps them to comprehend grade-level stories, dramas, and poetry, as stated in CCSS.Literacy.RL.5.10 by giving them an opportunity to act out the different story elements. With the addition of books that have film adaptations, reluctant readers can rely on their knowledge of popular culture while still participating.

I hope these five activity ideas will be added to your “teacher extraordinaire” toolbox! The next five will be posted soon!

Enthusiastically,

Ms. Tyler

PS. All of the Common Core standards mentioned in this post can be found at this website.