When the dumpster is about to ignite into an inferno try a brain break. 

Brain breaks can be a multitude of different activities:

Activities such as:

• stacking cups in silence with only a rubber band and a few pieces of string.
• keeping a balloon up in the air by only using your elbows.

Quick games such as:

• sum fingers where you add the sum of the finger you and your partner hold up. 
• bear, hunter, lady which is a full body rock paper scissors.

Thoughtful questions such as:

• What would you do if you woke up 6 inches taller? Would this be a good or a bad thing?
• If you could travel back in time, when and where would you travel?

Brain breaks are an opportunity for your students to connect with each other and disconnect from the content. This provides the instructor with about 3-5 minutes to pivot before you or the class melts down. I like to pull these out when I am struggling with technology in the classroom or find a kink in the flow of my lesson plan that needs to be addressed before we move on.