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So, you completed your lessons for the day, but you still have
some time left and a group of eager students with nothing productive
to do. What can you do in this time to keep your class under control
until the bell rings? Here is a list of 10 things to do when you
only have 5 minutes left in class.
1. Journal writing:
Have your students write a journal entry to summarize the things
that they learned in class that particular day. Make sure they
date their entries so that they will have a record of when they
wrote in their journals. This is a particular good exercise to
help kids reinforce what they learned, as well as provide them
with questions that they may have the following day on something
they did not understand completely.
2. Conduct a poll:
With only 5 minutes left in class, this is the perfect time to have a poll
for the students to vote on. You can use facts to get the kids
feelings about whether or not they think something was fair, or
list possible responses as ways that the kids would do something
different than what actually happened. For instance, when talking
about Abraham Lincoln and freeing the slaves, perhaps students
would have handled the situation in a different way than Abe.
Science
Experimentation Worksheets
3. Writing notes:
Students are always writing notes in class, but usually get in trouble when
they get caught. This time give permission for kids to write notes,
but it has to be a fact that they learned in class and pass it
to another student. This way the whole class is getting a fact
that they might not have know about the lesson. Collect the notes
as students leave the class. Writing
Worksheets
4. The Toilet Paper Game:
This game is a fun way to review what kids learned in class.
Because they pick up on the way the game is played very quickly,
you will have to change it every time you use it. How it works
is that you tell the students to pull off anywhere from 1 to 5
pieces of toilet paper from a roll, but do not tell them the rule
of the game until everyone has done so. Then, use the amount of
paper each student pulled off to give you that number of facts
about the lesson they learned that particular day. For instance,
if a student pulls of one piece of the roll, they have to give
one fact about the lesson, and so on. The next time you will probably
have lots of kids pull off one piece (because they think they
are getting off easy), and you will need to switch the rules a
bit to catch them off guard.
5. Ticket to Leave:
Give each student a ticket. Ask each student to write a fact
about the lesson they learned on their ticket. As the students
are leaving they must present their ticket to you. If they do
not have a correct fact on their ticket, give them a chance to
answer a review question that you have already prepared before
they leave the classroom.
6. Read a book:
You can read part of a book to the class during the last 5 minutes.
Eventually you will read an entire book.
7. Play Hangman:
Use this game to have kids guess words related to the lesson
they learned that day.
8. Toss a ball:
Have the students sit in a circle. Using a small rubber ball,
toss it to a student. The student who catches the ball has to
give you a fact about the lesson they are learning, or ask you
a question about something they do not understand. When that student
is done he tosses the ball to another student, and it keeps repeating
until the bell rings.
9. Pictionary:
Students enjoy the opportunity to write on the board. Make up
about 3 to 5 words that have to do with a lesson the kids are
learning. Give a student the chance to draw the word out on the
board. When another student guess what the drawing is, they get
to come up and draw the next word.
10. Puzzle worksheets:
A good teacher always has a set of puzzle sheets for students
to complete when there is time left in class. You can have word
searches, crossword, cryptogram, and hidden picture puzzles ready
to go for any lesson that you are teaching. You can view all of
classroom
game worksheets.
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