I spy colours
Say “I spy with my little eye something… red!” Children point and shout what it is: “The bag!” The child who gets it right says the next “I spy”.
Fillers
No-prep ESL fillers for the last five minutes of the lesson: no materials needed.
Five minutes left at the end of the lesson? No preparation, no materials.
371 cards
Categories
Name five fruits, jobs or things in a kitchen. The fastest team wins.
Hidden word
Draw a word slowly on the board, one line at a time. Guess it first!
20 questions
Think of an animal. The class asks yes/no questions to guess it.
Past tense tennis
Say a verb and point to a student, who says the past form: go – went, buy – bought, think – thought, catch – caught. Then pairs play tennis with verbs; the first to hesitate loses.
Just a minute
Talk about a topic for one minute without stopping or repeating.
Stand up if you’ve ever…
Say: “Stand up if you’ve ever eaten snails.” Ask one person standing a follow-up in the past: “Where did you eat them?” Then students make the next “Stand up if you’ve ever…”.
Error hunt
Write four sentences: “I’m looking forward to see you.” “Despite of the rain, we went out.” “If I would have known, I’d have come.” “She suggested me to take a taxi.” Teams race to fix them and explain the rule.
Call my bluff
Write an obscure word: “snollygoster”. Three students each give a convincing definition; only you know which is true. The class votes. (It’s a clever but unprincipled person, often a politician.)
Cryptic clues
Write: “Mixed-up listen is quiet (6)” = SILENT. Show how a clue splits into a definition (quiet) and wordplay (an anagram of listen). Pairs then write a cryptic clue for a word from today.
Simon says
Give actions: “Simon says touch your nose!” Children only move when they hear “Simon says”. Then say “Jump!” without it and see who jumps.
What’s missing?
Draw six simple things on the board: a cat, a sun, a ball, a tree, a fish, a hat. Children close their eyes and you rub one out. “Open your eyes! What’s missing?” “The ball!”
Air letters
Draw a big letter slowly in the air with your finger. Children shout the letter. Then draw a short word letter by letter: c-a-t. “Cat!”
Pass the word
Say a group: “Animals!” Children pass an invisible ball round the circle and each one says an animal: “Cat!” “Dog!” “Lion!” No repeats! Then try food, colours or toys.
Clap on three
Count around the class, one number each, but clap instead of saying 3, 6, 9, 12…: “One, two, (clap), four, five, (clap)!” Anyone who says the number sits down.
Point quick!
Say a word fast: “Door! Window! Floor! Something blue!” Children point as fast as they can. Go faster every round.
Silly teacher
Say silly things about the room: “The board is pink!” Children shout: “No! It’s white!” Then a child is the silly teacher.
Slow drawing
Draw something on the board one line at a time: a circle… two ears… whiskers. Children guess after every line: “It’s a cat!”
Draw my funny monster
Describe a funny monster: “It has three eyes. It has two big feet. It is green and it is happy.” Children draw it in their books, then show a friend.
Number bingo
Children write three numbers from 1 to 10. Call out numbers in English: “Seven!” If they have it, they cross it out. All three crossed out? Shout “Bingo!”
True? Stand up!
Say a sentence: “A fish can fly.” True? Stand up. Not true? Sit down. Try: “A dog has four legs.” “Bananas are blue.” “We are at school.”
Whisper down the line
Whisper a short sentence to the first child: “My cat likes red socks.” Each child whispers it to the next. The last child says it out loud. Is it the same?
Big voice, tiny voice
Say a word in a big voice: “ELEPHANT!” Children say it back in a tiny voice: “elephant…” Then swap: say “mouse” in a tiny voice and they roar it back.
What makes that sound?
Make a sound: “Moo!” “Tick-tock!” “Brrrm!” “Ding-dong!” Children say what it is: “A cow!” “A clock!” “A car!” “A doorbell!”
About these fillers
371 no-prep ESL fillers and five-minute activities, Kids to C2. Five minutes left at the end of the lesson? No preparation, no materials. Pick a level, search the cards, or open one (or a whole level) in present mode for the projector.