5 Instant Fillers for Awkward Silence in the Classroom

We all experience classes that suddenly go awkward – a topic we hate and really can’t elaborate on, students that only want to fall asleep or a memory of a cup of coffee when another’s been due for a while. Or sometimes things go awry and you end up with a bunch of students debating something that has nothing to do with the lesson, having a laugh over something someone said or simply daydreaming.

This is something I find particularly often when I work with teenagers and adults, they are usually tired after their regular school or work and their brain uses every excuse to chill a bit. Now, sometimes it calls for a game or a nice role-play, but sometimes, to put it bluntly, I can’t even, so I use my last resort: fillers that are always there, ready to use. Naturally, the fact that they work for me doesn’t mean they will work for you, but after some alterations I’m sure you’ll find them useful.

Alphabet race

This is my favourite filler for topics I’m not overly fond of (like environment, the ways I went to avoid talking about environmental issues…). I ask my students to think of the topic of the lesson and write as many words connected to it as they can. Now, depending on a group I choose one of the following:

• writing one word per each letter of the alphabet
• writing as many words starting with a particular letter

I give them 3-5 minutes and the winners decide on the homework. It’s a great game as students can do it either individually or in groups, makes them think and puts everyone back on the lesson track.

Good news

It may sound weird, but it’s a nice filler, especially when the mood is somewhat down. Just give your students 5 minutes to google a good piece of news that happened today (you can find quite a lot of sources of positive events) and refer them to the whole class. It’s a nice, short activity that helps everyone relieve the tension of a bad day (or Monday). No good news? Make them create their own!

Role-Play

Obviously, I love role-plays. You don’t have to start a game to enjoy a little bit of role-playing. Something that works well for my older and more aware groups: divide your students in two or three groups representing major political forces in your country, each group decides on assuming fake identities of the most prominent politicians of the chosen party. Then give them a simple question somewhat connected to the lesson topic. They are supposed to debate the question, however they will probably shout, laugh and behave their absolute worst, and that’s the point of the exercise! Just make them stop after 3-4 minutes, you’ll have your happy and invigorated students again.

Poem

Writing a poem is a good filler – just go with some rhymes (one of the pages I recommend is rhymezone). Writing simple poems is one of my favourite activities for all ages and levels (you will find my old post here). Just four verses per group on a topic loosely connected with a lesson or with a word students have learnt a moment before – you’ll see them working and having fun, and return to the regular lesson relaxed and happy.

Devil’s Advocate

What if a topic you’re about to discuss is so common and boring nobody really feels like discussing it? Well, encourage your students to play devil’s advocate, finding some arguments against their own conviction and reasoning. This may sound silly, but your students will soon realise how interesting this activity is, making them consider the aspects they have never thought of before. This teaches not only flexible thinking, but also empathy.

As you see, my ideas may be great for some groups, somewhat inappropriate for others – but feel free to readjust them to your needs and introduce a nice activity covering your lack of interest in the lesson.

Have fun!