When it comes to student engagement, the biggest challenge for teachers is being able to consistently motivate and inspire students through different lesson topics and learning formats. We also have to navigate the different seasons and holiday breaks, both of which can detract from the routines we have worked so hard to reinforce.
As I write this, our winter break is right around the corner. My middle school students understand the expectations for each day, and we are already setting our goals for the next calendar year. School life for both students and teachers is in a good spot, but the challenge will be to maintain this positive momentum right before and after winter break.
This is the time of year when proactive work levels tend to decrease, student enthusiasm wanes, and all of those awesome routines take a back seat to both the anticipation and hangover of holiday excitement. As a teacher, this is the time to get creative with our student engagement strategies.
Don’t let all of the amazing work you accomplished in the first quarter go by the wayside. Instead, find new ways to keep your students inspired and motivated during these lulls in the school calendar. See below for a few ideas to boost student engagement in your language arts classroom.
These are the “secret tools” I use when our class routine needs a little bit of a shakeup. The good news for you is that I’ve already created several options for every month of the year, so you won’t have to spend hours of lesson planning time to implement them with your students!
Tip #1: Get your students up and moving!
I use reader’s theater on a regular basis throughout the school year, but even more during the different holiday seasons. Through the use of different seasonal scripts, reader’s theater keeps my students’ attention while developing better fluency, enhancing their vocabulary, and strengthening comprehension and writing.
Reader’s theater is my go-to ELA strategy for boosting student engagement. If you implement different scripts throughout the year, you will soon be amazed to witness students cheering when you announce it as the lesson of the day! Grab one of my reader’s theater lesson plans and watch student engagement soar!
If you haven’t tried this idea before, I’ve put together some tips for getting started with reader’s theater.
Tip #2: Put down the papers, pencils, and Chromebooks… Get students TALKING!
Yes, I’m saying to encourage students to talk with each other! Naturally, we have to guide the discussion, which is why I created chit chat cards. They are similar to my task cards, but they offer students a break from the normal comprehension work. Students have nothing to write down or record (and you have nothing to grade) because they are discussing their thoughts about a text.
My most popular chit chat cards revolve around the characters, setting, and plot in literature. I’ve designed the cards so they can be used with any reading selection. Your students will LOVE not having to worry about writing in complete sentences or paragraphs because their main focus is speaking and listening. Check out these print-and-go reading tools below:
Tip #3: Make sure your reading selections are engaging!
I’ve mentioned before how sports can help with reading motivation, but the concept of motivating every reader comes down to the reading selections and formats we present to them. Technology has helped teachers access better passages than we had available when I started teaching, but I wasted so much planning time searching for engaging selections that I decided to create my own collection of seasonal and thematic passages.
I’ve featured my collection of close reading passages below if you are interested, but the big idea here is to customize selections for your student audience. If you want to boost student engagement during your reading lessons, then you will definitely have to dig deeper into the selections you are presenting.
Tip #4: Get your students involved in service learning.
If you are looking for a fun way to boost overall classroom morale during the winter, try working with your students to develop a clothing, coat, food, or blanket drive. Local shelters, community centers, and food pantries could really use as much as they can get in the cold months, and this aligns with the awkward time before and after Christmas break.
Have your students vote on some sort of drive that they would like to pursue, and encourage them to bring in whatever items they can contribute to the cause. Most of these places are happy to pick up any of the items donated. Your students will feel empowered that they are able to help others.
The ultimate prize for any teacher is maintaining student engagement throughout the year. While consistency is part of the game plan, you also need to add variety to keep kids on their toes. I hope the ideas I listed here give you some inspiration for engaging your students to be their best during the school year.
