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| Is it time to add a little novelty and stimulation to your classes? |
Are you trying your best to perk up your final
lessons and activities this year? I know how hard it is to encourage students to do
anything remotely academic when everything around them is screaming “school is
almost over.” Even school countdown calendars are posted around the school. How can you keep students’ attention when their minds have gone on vacation?
The secret is to inject novelty in
your lessons. Substantial research shows that novelty is a great way to attract, motivate and stimulate student thinking. Now is the time to try some of the fun
ideas and plans that you have held onto all year. The activities that engage
students’ creative modalities are a great draw for students. They might be
tiring of the standard lesson format, but something that adds artistic,
kinesthetic or interpersonal flavor is sure to “wake up” your students. And
fear not – you can use this creativity in content subject areas as well as
expressive subject areas.
Here are some cool ideas to add a spark to your teaching.
Why not have students:
- Demonstrate a scientific principle
- Develop a content-related game
- Role-play characters in a story/play
- Conduct a math review session.
- Participate in a debate based on current events
- Create posters that advocate both points of view on a social issue
- Develop a performance for younger students in the school
- Become reading buddies for younger students
- Identify a school-based problem (like littering or bullying) and then develop and promote a solution to the problem.
I found some additional great ideas
for end of the year activities by visiting these two websites:
http://scan-werecriticaltothinking.blogspot.com/2012/05/keep-on-teaching-great-eoy-activities.html
Remember - now is the time to have some fun in class!
Enjoy,
