Revolutionize Your Classroom Engagement with These 5 Easy Things

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Do you have the same 4 or 5 students that raise their hand for every question asked? If you have a class of 25 then the engagement percentage is not great. Imagine this - Instead of asking your students questions, you choose to give them a task or tasks they must complete. This task requires them to do or show you something therefore student engagement has just skyrocketed!

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Teachers are currently looking for ways to increase engagement in their classrooms. This is because they want their students to participate in their learning. Teachers know students learn better when they are actively engaged. Here is a simple way to make sure ALL students are participating in the lesson, following along, and listening to what is being said. With tasking, you will know exactly which students are not engaged. Then you are able to dive deeper to figure out why it is they might not be participating.

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Boosting Student Engagement: The Power of Accountability Through Tasking

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As teachers, when we pose questions to our students, we often see several eager hands shooting up in response. However, we typically choose just one student to provide an answer, and at that moment, we have effectively engaged one student in the learning process. Yes, there might be a few others listening to that person’s answers but most likely not all of the students. When we ask questions we lose several of our students. They have made the choice to zone out. There is no accountability for them to even THINK of an answer.

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Whenever a task is given, then there is accountability. The expectation is that the whole class completes the task and if someone chooses not to do the task then they should be seen by you and that could be a great indicator that they are not grasping a concept.

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The more you task then the more students are actively engaged. When student engagement is high, then misbehavior is low. You will see misbehavior during lessons whenever students are disengaged. This could lead to interruptions during your lessons whereas when tasking students’ attention is on the task rather than other things.

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Elevate Engagement with Creative Tasking Techniques: From Thumbs Up to 50+ Innovative Ideas

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Tasking could be as simple as asking your students to give you a thumbs up or thumbs down for a question. Tasking could also incorporate whiteboards and movement. You also have the capability of stacking tasks. For example, you could say 1) Think of the answer in your mind. 2) Thumbs up when you’ve got the answer 3) Turn to your neighbor and share. If you’d like more written out ideas then you will want to check out my list of 50+ ways to task.

It is always helpful to have this list easily accessible by printing it and having it hung or taped near your teaching space or at your desk. I highly recommend choosing just a few ideas at first and focus on them throughout the day. That way you adjust to tasking and get some practice in. After you feel more confident in it, then you will probably have some favorites that you use the majority of the time and sprinkle in a few new ones here and there.

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Amplify Engagement with the Power of Your Voice: Creative Techniques for Captivating Students

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Another great and FREE tool to increase classroom engagement is your voice! There are so many different things you can do to gain the attention of your students. You can change your voice level. Have you ever tried to whisper to your class? This is amazing to watch. They quiet down so that they can hear what you are saying. What about singing a verse from a popular song or nursery rhyme? Students will finish it for you!

These are just a few examples of how to use your voice to gain your students’ attention. Another favorite of mine is using season themed call backs. I feel that students grow tired of using the same call back all year so I created a handful for each season. It made it fun for the students and they enjoyed learning the new call backs. You can find a bundle of ideas here.

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Enhance Classroom Engagement with Interactive Activities: The Snowball Fight Strategy

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Another great way to increase engagement in your classroom is by using engagement activities. One of my favorites is having a snowball fight! Now this is not literally going outside and throwing snow at one another but it does have the same idea. Students are given a paper to do one of many things with - maybe answer a question, write a question or problem, or check a peer’s work.  

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You give students their task and then after they’ve completed it they crumple up the paper and throw! Students then find a paper, preferably not their own, and then do the next step of answering, solving, or correcting. Students enjoy participating in this activity. It can be used with any subject and anytime of the year! You can find  the snowball fight engagement activity here.

Increasing Engagement in Your Classroom with Games

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If you’re looking for a few more easy ways to engage your students then games such as jeopardy or 4 corners are a great choice. You can come up with jeopardy questions for any subject and make it interactive with using your promethean or smart board. It provides a little friendly competition to keep students engaged. Jeopardy is great for reviewing material!

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4 corners is where you set up answer choices in each corner of the room. You would have the students start towards the middle of the room then you would read a question with answer choice and the students select their answer by moving to that corner. This is great because all students participate due to the movement. All you have to do is create the questions or pull them from a review and make sure they are multiple choice.

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Revolutionizing Classroom Engagement: Strategies for Inclusive Learning and Active Participation

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In the quest to enhance classroom engagement, teachers are increasingly seeking innovative approaches to ensure all students actively participate in the learning process. Traditional question-and-answer sessions often leave many students disengaged, with only a handful eagerly participating. However, the concept of "tasking" offers a transformative solution. By assigning tasks that require students to actively demonstrate their understanding, accountability is instilled across the entire class. This not only boosts engagement but also provides valuable insights into students' comprehension. High engagement levels also correlate with reduced classroom disruptions, making it a win-win strategy for educators.

Additionally, teachers can harness the power of their voices to capture students' attention through varied approaches, such as altering voice levels or employing engaging call-and-response techniques. Furthermore, engagement activities like the "snowball fight" foster active participation and can be adapted for any subject. Lastly, classroom games like jeopardy and 4 corners inject an element of fun and competition, ensuring that all students participate and learn effectively. Ultimately, these strategies empower teachers to create vibrant, engaging learning environments where every student has a chance to shine.