2 Time-Filler Projects to Keep Students Engaged Bell-to-Bell

You know when you plan that great lesson and it finishes 15 minutes before the bell rings... and you're like omg now what??

And the students stare at you like now what??

Yeah... it happens.

I feel like "Time-Filler Projects" isn't the greatest name because teaching isn't just filling time. But. 

Hear me out.

These are the activities you pull out of your back pocket when your lesson moves waaaaay faster than expected, and you can pretend like this was the plan the whole time.

So they're "This is definitely what I planned to do for sure" projects. Or time-filler. 

Here are two ideas that work with just about any grammar, vocabulary, or level. Or honestly subject.

Two-page Foldable

How to make it:

1. Give each student 2 pieces of blank paper.

2. Have them stack the pages one over the other.

3. Have students move the bottom paper 1" below the top paper.

4. Fold the 2 papers so there are 4 layers. 

5. Pass out colored pencils, crayons, or markers.

Materials you need:

• 2 pieces of blank white copy paper per student (plus extras for those who "mess up")
• Colored pencils, crayons, or markers

Topics that work great:

Adjectives & ser

Have students write "yo soy" on the front with an adjective on the 3 lower flaps and a picture above it.

Alternatively, have students describe friends or family members.

Gustar & nouns or verbs

Have students write "Me gusta" on the front with nouns or verbs on each flap that they like with a picture above it. 

Foods

Have students write "yo como" (or whatever verb you're working with - "yo prefiero", "yo quiero", "yo pido", etc) on the front and the name of each meal on the 3 lower flaps. They can then write and/or draw foods they like for each meal above each meal.

Clothing

Have students write "yo llevo" on the front and 3 seasons on the 3 lower flaps. They can then write and/or draw the clothing they wear in each season.

Thanksgiving

Have students write "Estoy agradecido/a por" on the front and then 3 things they're thankful for on the flaps below with pictures above them.

Categories

How to make it:

1. Give students 1 piece of blank paper.

2. Have students fold the paper in 4, 6, or 8 boxes (depending on the project).

3. Unfold the paper so they can see the dividing lines.

4. Pass out colored pencils, crayons, or markers.

Materials you need:

• 1 piece of blank white copy paper per student (plus extras for those who "mess up")
• Colored pencils, crayons, or markers

Topics that work great:

Definite articles

Have students fold their papers into 4 boxes.

Write and/or draw nouns that fall into each category.

Adjectives & ser

Have students fold their papers into 4 boxes.

Write "yo" and 3 other people - one in each box.

Write and/or draw adjectives that describe each person.

Gustar & nouns or verbs

Have students fold their paper into 4 boxes.

Write and/or draw what they and 3 other people like or like to do - one person per box.

Present tense verbs

Have students fold their paper into 6 or 8 boxes, depending on how many subject pronouns you want to include.

Write a subject pronoun in each box with a correctly conjugated verb in a sentence. Include a picture.

Ir & places

Have students fold their paper into 6 or 8 boxes, depending on how many subject pronouns you want to include.

Write a subject pronoun in each box with a correctly conjugated form of ir plus a place. Include a picture.

Weather

Have students fold their paper into 4 or 6 boxes.

Write a weather expression in each box.

Write and/or draw what they like to do in each weather condition.

Adverbs of frequency

Have students fold their paper into 4 boxes.

Write an adverb of frequency in each box with an activity they do with that frequency. 

Clothing

Have students fold their paper into 4 boxes.

Write a season in each box. Include a clothing item they wear for each season.

Other great times to pull these projects out

These activities are great when your amazing lesson ends earlier than you anticipated (read: when used sparingly).

They're also great when:

• There's an assembly and half of your students will be absent. No reason to teach something new that you'll have to entirely reteach tomorrow.
• There's an early dismissal and you're only seeing one of your three Spanish 1 sections. No reason to get them on different schedules.
• You have a 2-hour delay and every class is absurdly short. How are you going to teach a full lesson in 17 minutes??
• When it's the day before a long weekend or break and you don't want to start something new because your students will just forget it all.

What activities do you keep in your back pocket when your lesson ends early? Share in the comments below!