When that bell rings and it’s time for class, you know there are a handful of students who already don’t want to be there. These kids aren’t thrilled about learning, and would probably rather be anywhere else.
The tough part about being a teacher? It’s your job to break through those preconceived “school-is-so-boring” notions and find a way to get these students excited and engaged in what you are teaching.
And aside from the few who really dislike being in class, almost all students struggle to pay attention from time to time. That’s why prioritizing student engagement is so important. Kids might be doodling on notebooks, sneaking their phones out under their desks, daydreaming about the moment school is out, or wishing it was lunchtime.
So with the major challenge of capturing the attention of all these kids, what do you do? Get creative with your resources! There are so many resources that already exist that can help you hook your students and encourage them to actively engage in your lessons. Here are our favorites.
Quizizz
Gamifying your classroom can motivate students to actively engage in your lessons. Quizizz makes it easy! This is a free online resource that already has millions of quizzes created for you to use in the classroom. There are quizzes readily available for all subjects or you can create your own. Your class can participate in a live quiz or you can assign a quiz for homework so students can work at their own pace. Quizizz does the grading for you so you get quick data on student understanding.
TedEd
TedEd has tons of educational videos, organized by age and subject, to supplement your curriculum. They also have a whole curriculum on Earth Day to get kids connected and involved in nature. Their videos are designed to spark curiosity and encourage students to learn more. Through TedEd, you can create customized lessons by adding customized discussion questions and topics to the videos you choose. Students can even create their own TedTalk-style videos to share their own ideas.
BrainPop
BrainPop creates educational videos that are both fun and informative. They have videos for all ages that cover an extremely large variety of subjects. BrainPop has a daily topic section that includes videos pertaining to current events. These videos can be a great classroom tool to spark discussion and grow interest in relevant world topics. Aside from their creative videos, BrainPop also offers thousands of games across different subjects to engage students as well as informative blog posts to help teachers.
Evernote
Note-taking is a critical part of learning, but it can be difficult to teach students how to take notes efficiently and use them correctly. Evernote is a virtual note-taking app that allows students to quickly take notes and go back and find past notes quickly. Not only can you take notes using this app, but you can also add documents, audio, images, and PDFs. Students can personalize their dashboard and format their note-taking in their own way. Instead of flipping through notebooks to try to find old notes, Evernote stores things in a sensical way that makes studying and finding information easy.
Flocabulary
If you want to get your students excited about vocabulary, Flocabulary is the way to go. This website uses hip-hop music to teach vocabulary with fun, upbeat videos. Their videos are standards-based and come with extra activities for students to engage in. Flocabulary focuses on tier 2 and tier 3 vocabulary words and incorporates all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Each lesson includes a hip-hop style video, vocab cards, a vocab game, a reading passage with vocabulary practice, and a quiz.
Prodigy Game
Prodigy Game takes math games to a whole new level. Prodigy disguises math practice through a role-playing game where students have their own character, move through different worlds, and battle each other. It’s basically a video game that teaches math! Teachers have found incredible success with this platform and say their students are always excited to play the game. Prodigy’s algorithm will assess data for you and highlight areas for growth. There is no grading or planning involved, and their math practice is aimed to meet different standards.
Miro
Miro is a virtual whiteboard where teachers and students can interact. This is a great resource for virtual-learning and allows teachers to track participation. Teachers and students have access to different widgets and designs to add their ideas to a collaborative virtual board. With this app, you can split your classroom into teams or work together as a whole. Apply for an educational account to get unlimited access, or a free account to get 3 virtual whiteboards right away.
Kahoot
Kahoot allows you to make custom games and quizzes to engage students in learning. Their platform makes it easy to create games using your own questions and curriculum, or you can choose from over a million games that already exist. Kahoot can be hosted live in the classroom or over a video conference for remote learning. You can assign challenges for students to complete on their own and easily track their progress.
Sli.do
Getting everyone to participate in a remote class can be tough, especially for students who rarely speak up. Sli.do is a virtual Q&A and polling app that can easily get all of your students engaged. You no longer have to worry about students refusing to turn their mic on to answer a question. Simply present a poll to the class and all students can answer virtually. Sli.do collects data and allows you to easily analyze responses. You can present a list of questions to the class and your students can vote on which question most interests them. This can help drive discussions and future topics.
Factile
As you can see, games are one of the best ways to increase engagement among your students. Kids love to compete and play against each other and Factile makes game creation easy. With Factile, you can create customized jeopardy games that can be played on computers, tablets, or phones. Don’t have time to create your own? Don’t worry, Factile also has tons of pre-made games ready for use.
The Juice
Finding unbiased material that matches the reading level of all your students can be time-consuming. The Juice has your back! Signing up with The Juice means you get 6 current events articles sent to directly to your inbox. There is no searching or prep needed. These articles include discussion questions, vocabulary development, and “Extra Juice” that allows students to dive deeper into a news story. Students can interact with the curriculum virtually and be in charge of their own progress. Each article comes with a standards-based quiz question that will help teachers check for understanding. Your students will love the “Life-Hack” videos which teach fun ways to solve everyday problems.
