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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To discuss a controversial subject, like same-sex marriage, or a value, like individualism, put it on “trial,” and hold a mock jury trial. Assign students roles of defendant, judge, ...
A good first-day warmer is to discuss any interesting talents we might have. Everyone has something unique or near-unique they can do. For example, one student play several musical instruments; an ...
At the beginning of a class, in the first days, an interest survey is a good idea. Have students—anonymously, if they wish—fill out a survey on the topics they would like to discuss. P ...
Begin the discussion by introducing the topic and brainstorming some personal qualities on the board: intelligent, has sense of humor, etc. Then pose the question of who students’ ideal mat ...
At the beginning of a course, conduct a needs assessment: find out what students are interested in learning related to the course content. For example, if it’s a class in writing, are they m ...
On the first day of class, have students write down, in order, their three main goals for the class, what they hope to accomplish. This can be done anonymously on index cards handed out. The teach ...
In this activity, a student volunteers to be in the “fishbowl”: that is, she sits in the center of the room with her classmates all around. She gives her ideas on a topic for several ...
When beginning a new topic in class, such as cultural perspectives on marriage, put the beginning of a related quote on the board: for example, “Marry in haste, repent at—“(leis ...
Give out a partially completed outline of a short lecture on a topic related to course content and go over it with students. Then deliver the lecture and have them complete it. They can compare no ...
As a warm-up after doing a reading at home, have students start by writing a double-entry journal: first a summary of the reading and then their response to and/or critique of the reading. Student ...
Keep a set of index cards with discussion topics on it, such as best places for vacation; topics may also, given the class and the students’ level, be more controversial or academic, such as ...
Open class discussion at the beginning of class by discussing a recent news event, such as the royal wedding or a more serious occurrence, like a recent election. Spend about five minutes discussi ...
Start class by discussing an important American value related to the class. For example, if students habitually come late, begin class by discussing the American value of punctuality, its origin ( ...
Tell students they are going to be choosing their class president. Discuss the duties of a class president as necessary. Have them get into groups and choice a candidate for their group. Everyone ...
Begin the class by having students get into groups to discuss career goals. Write the topic “What is your career goal?” on the board and have students in groups of about four speak to ...
After a unit in which students discuss various places they have been, put them in groups and have them select a destination to plan a brochure for. Explain they are a committee whose job is to att ...
At the end of class, review the reading and vocabulary by discussing what words together or collocation. This is an important by often-ignored area of language. Select a word from the text, and pu ...
After doing some in class reading, have students get out their pencils or markers and underline or mark key ideas. The teacher can model this for them as necessary, perhaps passing out her marked ...
In the last part of class, have students create a TV commercial involving the course content of the day. Remind them of the purpose of a TV commercial, to persuade the viewer to buy something. The ...
At the end of a lesson introducing terminology for jobs, have students design their own resumes. The teacher may pass out her own resume and discuss information that typically goes into one, such ...
At the end of class, have students come together and create a “press conference,” a plan to meet the press, played by the teacher. Students’ job is to report on a specific aspect ...
On one of the first days of class, have students interview each other in pairs and then write short one paragraph biographies of their partners. The teacher should start the lesson going over the ...
After reading a story or article in class, have students work in pairs to create a one-sentence summary. One person writes while the other refers to the reading to come up with ways to summarize t ...
At the end of class after watching a movie or reading a story, have students create a new ending for the story. Begin by asking, “What would happen if John and Mary didn’t get married? ...
After a reading or lecture, have students write for several minutes about what they view as having been the “muddiest” or most difficult or unclear portion of the material. They can th ...
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