Engaging Students in Learning

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Engaging Students in Learning

Implementing a lesson I have created which includes student engaging activities is a slice of heaven.  Seeing the excitement to learn on my students’ faces is priceless and definitely worth all the effort I put into lesson plans.  The engagement can be something as simple as having my students write math on their desks with expo markers rather than using the standard paper and pencil.  Such an easy learning structure to implement and yet so effective!  Other times, the engagement is much more complex, like a scavenger hunt among the school’s halls.  My mentor and I make sure that each engagement we implement has a well-defined structure, leading to organized activities.  They also are age and content appropriate.  Students should know what the purpose of the activity is and the procedures and any rules associated with an engagement.  In this way, students know their boundaries and can enjoy the activities planned without it getting out of hand.  Our classroom may be loud and seem chaotic when you walk in during one of our engagements, but I promise there is an underlying reasoning and structure to each one we implement.

Below is a list of engaging activities my mentor and I have implemented within 6^th grade this semester.  Some we have created; some we found online or in instructional resources available to us through the district.  The majority are ones where students employ a variety of supplies during the activity, using paper and pencil simply to record their findings, if at all.  As often as possible, we offer iPads and computers to assist our students in their search for knowledge. 

Human Number Lines

Measurement Vocab Match Game

Combining Human Integer Signs

Periodic Table Battleship

Measuring Mass/Volume/Temperature/Length Versatiles

Scientific Method Scavenger Hunt

Collaborative Questioning within Lab Groups

Physical Properties Lab

Element License Plates

Integer War

Multiplying Fractions by Fractions Paper Folding

Amazing Elements Race

Candy Bar Density Lab

Shoulder Partner/Face Partner Discussions

Abundance of Elements Circle Graphs

Subtracting & Adding Fractions Star Poke Game

Gummy Bear Cooperation Lab

Desk Math

Round Robin Table Group Discussions

Gluing of Resource Sheets into Interactive Science Spiral

Percentage Trashketball

Tic-Tac-Element

We typically use these activities for hands-on acquisition of knowledge to which our students have recently been introduced, linking their prior knowledge with an interactive experience.  We change up the groupings of students to enhance peer interactions, sometimes assigning them to a particular group while other times they have free choice with who they want to experience the activity.  Having students constantly interact with their peers helps foster a productive, supportive learning environment and leads more readily to higher level thinking.  As much as possible, we set boundaries to ensure all group members are participating and taking responsibility for their learning as well as facilitating the learning of those around them. Since we have many different learning needs among our students, we allow enough time for all to accomplish the activity and lend assistance willingly as needed.  On longer, more intense engagements, we have an extension activity available to begin for those that end early. 

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