5 Meaningful Ways to Fill 5 Minutes in the Classroom

It happens every day. We all have 5 minutes here and there during our day in the classroom to fill, and we want to find meaningful ways to use them. We want to make the most of those minutes, so it is important to find activities that are both educational and quick. I am here to help!

Today I am going to share with you 5 meaningful ways to fill 5 minutes by sharing 3 super simple activities you can use in your primary classroom right away, 1 website that is a must and 1 new product that will help you teach foundational Phonemic Awareness skills in just 5 minutes a day!

Stand Up/Sit Down

This listening activity can be used with any topic you choose. In grade 1, I use it to get to know students by asking questions about them, their families and their interests. It gets them moving, but they need to listen to play. Some possibilities are using letters or sounds in names: Stand up if you have the "s" sound in your name. You can use it in math as a way to answer survey questions: Stand up if an apple is your favorite fruit. There are many possibilities.

Around the Circle

This is a game we play in our carpet area. My kids giggle when I tell them we are going to play Around the Circle because we actually make a rectangle. Around the Rectangle doesn't have the same ring!

I have played different variations of this game, too. The most popular one is a counting game - as I go around the circle, I count each student according to the pattern I have decided. At the beginning, I determine a number of people who, if counted, will sit down.

For instance, if we are counting by 1's to 50, I might say that if your number ends in 0 you must sit down when you are counted. We continue counting to 50 until only one person is left standing. The kids start to predict who will sit down next based on how the pattern has progressed. This is a great way to practice skip counting too.

Categories is another version. We all stand up, and I give a category. Each student in the circle has to say a word that fits in that category, with the hope that you can make it all around the circle. Categories could relate to any content area, for instance, naming a healthy food or an even number. If a student doesn't have an answer, they can sit down, or you can start a new category if you don't want anyone to go "out".

Body Spell

In my version of body spell, we spell the word wall words. We don't make the actual letters, but I use these actions:

Tall letters - hands over head
Tummy letters (letters that sit on the line) - tap your stomach
Dangly letters (letters that drop below the line) - touch your toes

I give them a clue before I start - The word starts with the letter W, or it is on the top half of the Word Wall or in the Word Jail. If I was spelling "went", I would tap my stomach 3 times and then put my hands in the air. I encourage them to count my movements so they can use the clue of how many letters are in the word to help them find the word. They become very good at figuring out the word and love to come to the front and body spell for their classmates.

It is a great way to get your students to look closely at the letters in words and another awesome way to use your Word Wall. If you are interested in learning more about how to set up and use a Word Wall, you can check out my part 1 of a 3-part series {HERE}

GoNoodle!

If you don't use GoNoodle, then you need to. There are so many quick brain breaks that will easily fill 5 minutes. The only downside for me is that my classroom computer is so sloooooow that sometimes it takes almost as long to open the page and select the brain break as it does to play the brain break video!

Phonemic Awareness in 5 Minutes

Even when you have a phonemic-awareness curriculum or daily routine in place, there are times when students need more practice with one specific skill. Assessment results and daily observations may show that a student or group needs additional work with rhyme, syllable awareness, phoneme blending, sound manipulation, or another targeted skill.

When that happens, I do not necessarily want to repeat the entire lesson or try to create a new list of word examples on the spot. I want something I can pull out quickly and use during the few extra minutes I have available.

Not sure which skill students need to practise? A phonological and phonemic awareness screener can help you identify possible gaps and decide where to focus your follow-up instruction.

That is why I created my phonological and phonemic awareness word-list cards. The resource includes more than 250 ready-to-use cards organized into 10 skill areas. Within those areas, I can select targeted practice based on the specific subskill, sound position, word type, or level of complexity my students need.

Each word-list card includes the target skill, teacher directions, word examples, and expected student responses. I do not have to stop to plan what to say or search for the right words before beginning.

Phonemic awareness word-list cards organized on binder rings for targeted five-minute practice

I print, cut, and organize the cards on rings by skill. When I have a few extra minutes—or when a group needs additional practice after the daily lesson—I choose the matching card and begin. The cards work well for whole-group warm-ups, small-group reteaching, intervention, transitions, or quick review.

The clear directions also make it easy to hand the cards to an educational assistant, paraprofessional, volunteer, tutor, or parent. They can provide focused practice without needing to create their own examples or learn an entirely new routine.

My curriculum provides the instructional sequence. These cards give me flexible practice for the exact skill my students need.

Choose the skill. Grab the list. Teach in 5 minutes.

All of our phonemic awareness resources are in a big binder that is not very teacher-friendly while you are teaching the whole group at the carpet. I needed a portable resource that I could hold in my hand and have ready to go.