Planning a lesson is no easy task, especially if you're about to introduce a difficult topic. Sometimes, you need a little bit of something extra to really make your lesson flow. For this reason, ESL teachers usually use warmers and fillers. Warmers are used in lessons to ease the students into the topic you're going to present. Along the same lines, fillers are used to reinforce topics or follow up with extra practice for students. BusyTeacher.org has 363 warmer and filler worksheets to make your lesson run smoothly without skipping a beat.
The beauty of using warmers and fillers is that very little planning goes into using them. That’s great because it cuts your planning time by a lot, and also cuts out any awkward downtime in the classroom. These worksheets are helpful when it comes to grammar, vocabulary, writing, or even listening and speaking practice.
These warmer and filler worksheets can be used in several ways. Some can be used as discussion topics to get your students speaking. Some can be used to review grammar topics you have covered in the past. Another great warmer is a writing practice worksheet, which gives students sentences like “This morning I…” and students write down what they did that morning. There are endless possibilities to what you can do in your classroom with these worksheets.
Another great feature of these warmer/filler worksheets is that most can be used for all levels. However, if you need a worksheet for a specific level, the descriptions of all worksheets on BusyTeacher.org show the levels for which they're appropriate . You can even reuse them for your other classes of different levels. Not sure if a certain worksheet is right for your lesson? No problem! Just click on the thumbnail to preview the worksheet and see if it’s right for your class.
Don’t worry about registering or subscribing, since all worksheets on BusyTeacher.org are free to download, and there's no limit to how many you can download! You can use one or two of our worksheets for your lessons every day. All worksheets on BusyTeacher.org were created and submitted by fellow ESL teachers from all over the world. They've been used in classrooms, too - so rest assured that these worksheets are tried and true.
If you have some worksheets of your own that you've found useful in your lessons, why not share them with other ESL teachers to use in their lessons as well? Upload your worksheets to BusyTeacher.org by clicking the link at the bottom of this page titled “Submit a worksheet,” and join the hundreds of thousands of ESL teachers who already use BusyTeacher.org for their lesson planning needs.
Make BusyTeacher.org your number one online resource for worksheets by bookmarking us today. With 363 warmers and fillers, lesson planning will be a breeze. Get started by checking out our most popular warmers and fillers below.
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A good first-day activity is to, when introducing ourselves, give the meaning of our names (as well as the spelling and pronunciation as necessary). Many students will know their names’ mean ...
At the beginning of a unit about jobs and job skills, hand out pictures of people cut from magazines with short descriptions: for example, “Max is 28 and has a degree in business but no e ...
When introducing a new topic to class, distribute index cards to every student. On each of the cards a statement on the topic should be written: some true, some false. Students then must decide wh ...
When introducing a new topic, tell students you will conduct the class session like a “town hall meeting,” with different speakers on the topic. The teacher should turn over the speak ...
Before beginning a reading, write its title on the board and play a modified game of “scrabble” with it: finding as many words within the title as possible. Even a simple title like &l ...
On a given topic, such as different kinds of families, students should first read or listen to a lecture on the material. They should then share and compare their ideas on the topic with a partner ...
As a way to introduce the passive voice, as well as some colorful vocabulary, have students write about their class in tabloid titles. The teacher may start by passing around a few actual tabloids ...
To get the class’s opinion on a topic, select students to travel the room and poll others on their opinions and then report the results back. For example, on the topic of same-sex marriage, ...
Before giving students an academic reading on a topic like the AIDS virus, create a semantic web on the board. This involves writing the word “AIDS” in the center of a circle and then ...
It's a great game activity. It may be used as an ice-breaker or a "getting to know each other" speaking activity. The level in fact depends on you, because you may change the questions. It doesn't ...
When introducing a unit that has a lot of closely related vocabulary, the instructor can conduct a semantic features analysis. This involves listing the terms analyzed down the left margin of the ...
On the first day of class, have students complete a short questionnaire that assesses their learning styles. For example, ask questions such as “Do you prefer to hear directions or see direc ...
Start the class by telling the class that the roles are going to be switched: the teacher will be a student, and students will rotate the teacher role and teach the class something they know how t ...
A favourite of mine is criss-cross. This only works if the students are in rows though. One column stands up and you ask questions. The first student to raise their hand can answer the question. I ...
As a way to introduce a new topic, such as the process of second language acquisition, have students complete a short questionnaire on the topic, asking questions such as “How long does it t ...
Begin the second or third class session by having students discuss their favorite class. Have them get into groups, with a note taker recording material on what students’ favorite classes we ...
Start the semester off with a writing assignment on what makes a good student. Have students write in class the first day on this topic. They may brainstorm ideas first with each other and teache ...
Direct students to read assigned material in class, individually highlighting what they see as key portions. Then they should sit in silence (like at a Quaker meeting) until someone volunteers to ...
When introducing a new topic, such as language acquisition, present on the board two versions of the fact or theory, correct and incorrect: for example “It takes about one year to learn a se ...
When introducing a new topic, such as body image in Western culture, show a picture, such as Marilyn Monroe as a young woman. Direct students to discuss the picture on their own without teacher gu ...
Begin the class by having students choose a side on some “issue,” like “Which is better, cats or dogs?” Then teach them some language of persuasion, as necessary: “I ...
One way to increase student involvement in a quiet classroom of reluctant speakers is to use the strategy of “pass the chalk” (or marker, if you use a white board). After introducing a ...
When students are writing essays, it’s helpful to review on the board the basic outline an essay. Making the process as interactive as possible is helpful. Choose a simple topic just to focu ...
The teacher should begin by explaining the terms”optimist” and “pessimist,”perhaps using the “glass-half-full-half-empty” analogy. Then in pairs, have students ...
As a warm-up to a new topic, perform a K-W-L (Know-Want-to-Know-Learned) analysis. The teacher should write “Know” on the board and ask students what they already know on the topic: Th ...
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