What?!?!?! We still have 15 minutes of class left! How did that happen? What am I going to do with my students?
Or…
Lesson didn’t take as long as you thought? It got shorter and shorter throughout the day? Or just need a change of pace during class time?Don’t panic! I am pretty sure E V E R Y teacher can relate to this!
As a new teacher, this can be absolutely terrifying! However, as you become more of a veteran teacher, you will learn a few tricks and tips to always be prepared for when this happens! (Trust me, it will 😜) But for now don’t worry! I got you covered!
Here are some activities that I like to use with my students when we have some extra class time left over. (These are also great activities to have on hand as well for when some of our students finish early on assignments or projects to keep them busy
while the rest of our students can finish their assignments.)
Whiteboards:
Supplies needed: Whiteboards (I would place a piece of computer paper in a sheet protector, not only was this cheaper but a lot easier to store)/ Dry Erase Markers/ Erasers (for each student).
- Simply pass out a whiteboard, marker and eraser to each student.
- Have them conjugate a verb, translate vocabulary, etc.
- Once you have given students amplet time to write their answers, have them show you their answers.
- You may say “Un, deux. Trois Montrez-moi!”
- Simply look around the room and check for student comprehension. I always like to clarify the correct answer as a whole for those students who did not get the correct answer.
- Play until you have gotten through your content or class time is almost up.
Simon says “Jacques à dit”:
Supplies needed: You & your students.
This is your simple game of “Simon Says”. So you just need you and your class and have fun!
- Have everyone stand next to their desk.
- You say “Jacques à dit, touche ton nez”, touche ton genou, etc.
- When students complete the task and they did it correctly they stay standing.
- If you did not say” Jacques à dit”, and they completed the task, then they are out! (It always makes me laugh how seriously they take this game! Even in high school 😆).
- Continue until there is a winner or two! Or class time is almost over.
Quizlet Live: https://quizlet.com/
Supplies needed: Projector or Smartboard/ Students will need an electronic device.
This is a great way to have students review their vocabulary and not a lot of work for you at all! As a teacher, create a Quizlet account if you don’t already have one, and play Quizlet Live with the students. All you have to do is pick the Quizlet you want your students to practice (there are thousands to choose from!), hit live and then the students will join the game by entering the code that they see on the board, they then enter their names (depending on the class and or importance of the game I have them use their real names or sometimes they could do funny ones 😜, but nicknames beware…teachers you have the ability to kick inappropriate names out) and then you are all ready to play! It randomly generates the teams for you. At the end of each game I generate new teams so they all have a chance to interact with one another. You can have them stay in their seats or get up and mingle as a team to play!
Memrise: https://www.memrise.com/app/
Supplies needed: Students will need an electronic device.
This is a great way to have students review the French language and not a lot of work for you at all, however it will take some pre planning on your part to make sure your groups are already set up! As a teacher, you will need to create an account yourself, and then create the groups for each class of students to join. I would label my groups by period and class to keep things straight 😊. Once you create the groups for each class, you will then assign activities for them to do. (Look around before you create your own course! There are so many courses to choose from for students to do already.) Students will also need to create an account if they don’t already have one, and then they will join your group (I would put the link on google classroom or some other platform that you use for them to join the correct group). Once all students have joined your group, you then tell them what course you want them to complete. You are able to check student progress under the members tab. This is really a great resource for students to practice vocabulary and grammar.
If you are looking for more fun ideas or activities to use with students head on over to my TpT store.
As always, I hope you found these games and advice helpful to you!
Merci,
Amanda