Always Have a Good Book Handy Diane, 3rd Grade Teacher: New York City

"Have a book to read from when you find that you have "5 minutes left to go." Choose a book that you know will be interesting to your students and is related to what they are learning. Tell them that you will be reading five minutes from this book when you have any time left...be it at dismissal, before lunch, transition time before specials start, or any free time that is available. It tends to calm students down before they are on the move. It is also a good way to develop listening skills and appreciation for story time."

Optical Illusions Save The Day! Charlie Rose, 5th grade teacher: Boise, Idaho

"Every year I buy deck of cards called "Optical Illusions" from my neighborhood teacher supply store. I find this very handy to teach children about perspective. No matter what subject you teach, we are all trying to help kids look at things differently. Let's say I'm teaching a Social Studies lesson about a battle or conflict of some kind. At the end of the lesson I'll pass around my optical Illusion cards. I'll then ask the students what they saw. Because they are optical illusions, it is rare that everyone will see the same thing. Again great for teaching perspective. It saved me during an observation once, but I guess that's another war story."

Who Wants To Be A Dollarnaire! Tracy Peters, 7th Grade English Teacher: West Field, New Jersey

"This idea cost me about 35 dollars a year, but I have actually worked it into my supply budget for next year. We all know Regis and his famous nightly game show. I decided to use the same game for 5-10 minutes at the end of third day of class. I randomly choose one child who answers a series of 10 questions. Of course, all of the questions are content based from class material and they increase in difficulty. I also allow them to phone a teacher (my Principal allowed it due to the success of the game), give them a 50:50 option, and allow them to poll the classroom. This is also great if you finish early on any day. The dollar values are increments of 10 cents with safeties of 25 cents, 50 cents, and 75 cents. The dollar is the ultimate prize. I have to admit you wouldn't think that a dollar could entice anyone, but then again I work with twelve year olds."

"Silent Ball" Mary, 2nd Grade Teacher: Michigan

"When faced with 5 minutes before or after an activity/event, try this! Using a coush ball, or something similar, the students arranged in a circle or by their desk, toss the ball to another student. The student must catch the ball, then throw it to someone else within 3 seconds. Students must alternate players to ensure everyone gets a turn. If a student drops the ball, something is said, or they take more than 3 seconds to toss, they are disqualified. The last 3 people remaining at the end of the designated time, collect a prize. Students self monitor the game. Variations can be incorporated, such as 1 hand catch, under throw, behind the back throw."