Post index cards on the wall around your room. Write questions about a current topic the class is learning. Turn the lights out in the room. This indicates to students that you need their attention. Point a flashlight's beam at one of the cards. Ask a student nearest the card to read what is on the card out loud. For younger students, the teacher can read the card. Tell students to think about the answer to the question while they quietly clean up their activity and meet you in the class' next meeting place, whether it is on a carpet, in their desks or in line at the door. Ask another student what she thinks the answer is to the question when students are in the meeting place.
Play lively, bouncy music to indicate to students that it is time to move to the next activity. When they are finished cleaning and are at the new location, they can carefully dance or move around to the music while they wait for the rest of the class to finish the transition time.
Have one student in line hold up his hands to indicate a math problem for the rest of the students to think about. For example, the student can hold up six fingers, make a plus sign with his fingers and then hold up four fingers to show the problem is "6+4." The student then holds up both arms to look like an equals sign. Other students in line then raise their hands to answer the question. They must give their answer using their fingers as well.
Have students give the definition of a vocabulary word or spell out a spelling word when you call on them to line up. They might also answer a question about a topic about which the class is currently learning, which might be a question that will soon appear on their science or social studies test, for example.
Have students sit in a circle. Using a classroom object such as a small ball, stuffed animal or a small wrapped box, students play "hot potato," but when the music stops, the student has to say something they remember about the lesson they learned earlier in the day or the week. This game can be played while students are waiting to start a new activity, such as a short wait before lunch. It can also serve as a mental transition activity to a new subject you will teach. If you ask questions about science, for example, it can prepare students to think about the upcoming science lesson.
Put a football field up on your wall. Mark every ten yards clearly. When students clean up within a specified period of time, such as a minute, a cutout of a football moves forward ten yards. When they do not clean up within that time, the football moves back ten yards. At the end of your grading period, if the football is at the other end of the field and made a "touchdown," students are rewarded with a special day where they play games, have a party or other fun activity. If the teacher "wins" at the end of the grading period, students have to write a report.