How can we grab attention like a Venus flytrap?
No time? This will take just 60 seconds.
12 Ways to Make Lessons More Engaging
Go! …
1. Use Props
Use hats, wigs, clothes, masks, novelty items, jokes, puppets, magic tricks and weave them into whatever you are teaching. Make them laugh!
2. Play Music
Use music to set the mood, structure learning, pacify, motivate, inspire, aid recall and make brain waves.
3. Play hide and seek
Deliberately hide the learning objectives from your class so they have to work out what the purpose of the lesson is.
4. Chunk and chew
Teach for no more than 10 minutes and let children digest what you have said for 2 minutes.
5. Turn upside down
Collect weird and wonderful objects or resources to deliberately wow children, cloak them in mystery and unhinge their thinking so they see the world from a new angle.
6. Be more punk
Take more risks, do things differently, surprise, be creative, play out of tune, be spontaneous.
7. Press ‘shift’
Don’t teach in boxes, embrace multi-disciplinary teaching across the curriculum and connect the dots.
8. Keep moving
Make your lessons active…always. Finger snap, clap, stamp, stomp, swing your arms, roll your head … don’t let them sit for too long.
9. HUGG and RING
Have Unbelievably Great Goals, communicate your expectations for success and as Dave Keeling says, always link learning to something that is Relevant, Interesting, Naughty and a Giggle.
10. Be a 2%er
Being positive, upbeat, full of energy and children will mirror your animation.
11. Think big
Give children ownership of their learning, give them freedom and ask ‘big questions’ within a SOLE (Self-Organised Learning Environment).
12. Treat like a VIP
Treat every child like a VIP. Get to know them, make them feel special. The secret ingredient to great teaching is relationships, relationships, relationships.
