After a long holiday break, how do you get your students motivated to learn?
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After a long break, I get my students motivated to learn by having them engage in various learning stations. Each station features a hands-on activity that they will complete with at least 2 other students. Students rotate every 15 minutes. At each station, students will be asked to complete the extension form which helps me determine how much they learned at each station and if I need to modify the station. They love working together, moving around, and using their hands.
I get students motivated by getting them moving! As the music teacher I am in a great position to incorporate movement into my lessons. My students do everything from traditional folk dances to improvisational "snowman melting". Getting their bodies moving meets all of Gardner's multiple intelligences and reminds them that school can be fun!
I motivate students by playing games with the content. This helps them learn the material and have fun at the same time.
I plan all sorts of fun winter activities that correlate with the math, science, and language arts skills that I am teaching. For example, we play "melt the ice cube" by rolling a dice and doing the action that corresponds to the number. For example, if they roll a one, they blow on the ice cube for 10 seconds. The object is to be the first to melt their ice cube. Another game is having the students write their spelling words on pieces of white paper (one word per paper). Then they crunch their paper into a ball and we have a snow ball fight and practice reading the word then throwing it again!
After a long break, I give my students a chance to orally share what has been going on in their lives. And, oh the stories I've heard! I believe this makes us fill like we are connected and that I care about them. by Sharon H.
I am looking forward to starting a new semester with my students. I like to start it off with a social mixing event relevant to the coursework. They get to meet each other and feel a little more at ease in the setting.
I play lots of games with my students and read lots of books. I usually start the year off with an author's study with characters that the students are interested in!
I enjoy a new semester. Everyone is eager to relay what new experiences they have had during the break. We begin the 1st day back with "I can top that". It starts out as a social activity and then I turn it to science news.
Before we left for break my 8th grade self-contained students had their IEP meetings and picked their classes for freshman year. You may think that at thia point they would think that school was done. But, I have a small blackboard in my room and every day we count down how many days are left until they are finished with 8th grade and become high schoolers. This is a great way for them to realize that the time they have left with me is all the time they have to prepare for high school.
Motivating my students after a long break involves lots of "hands on" activities. As a music teacher, I plan many new learning activities and units focused around instruments. From replicating music of Indonesia on coffee cans, cymbals and xylophones in 5th grade to learning and practicing basic improvisation skills in 1st grade on melody bells my students gets excited about learning AND DOING new and different sounding things in our music classroom.
The students will have a chance to share their holiday experiences through class discussions and writing. We will begin a study on winter and do activities dealing with snow, snowmen, etc. The students will also engage themselves in new and more challenging centers. They also enjoy it when I introduce something different. It will be good to see the first morning and receive a big hug from each student!
Ashley P.
Anderson, SC
After the winter break, the students are going to have many exciting things to share with the rest of the class about what they did. I am going to get them motivated through journal writing and sharing in the author's chair. We will also be doing lots of movement, dancing, and other engaging activities to get them ready to complete the second half of the school year!
After a long winter break, it's important to get the students motivated to learn! So I take a physical approach by actually changing the environment to liven things up. Just by moving around the furniture in the classroom gives everyone a fresh start. I also provide time to share any exciting news during the first 15 minutes of class. We call this time "class chats." The students know they have the time to share so they are more focused during the lesson for the day and more apt to pay attention. As a high school reading teacher, it's important to keep things fresh so the students are energized to learn!
by Rachelle Sosa
Kissimmee, FL