As an elementary teacher or tutor, you’ve probably struggled once or twice to keep your students’ attention. We know too well the look of a child whose mind has wandered into la-la land and is blocking out anything you’re saying. Getting your students focused and eager to learn and finish their tasks can be challenging, especially after lunch or recess. However, with a few strategies, you can keep your students focused on tasks throughout the day. In this article, we’ll discuss a few ways to get elementary school students engaged in class.
Teach With Enthusiasm
Sometimes it’s hard to start every day enthusiastically, but excitement is contagious. If you’re excited to teach math, your students will be excited to learn. By having a positive attitude about learning a not-so-fun topic, your students will give it a chance and stay engaged in the lesson. Start your lesson with a fun fact about the topic or find an appropriate song that students can sing along with to help them remember important points.
Pace Your Lesson Well
Whether you teach kindergarten or seniors in high school, you should always plan for short attention spans. However, younger students typically have the shortest attention spans, so it’s especially important to pace your lessons strategically for them. Avoiding long lectures and breaking tasks into segments are good ideas.
You can incorporate show-and-tell, questions-and-answers, voting, or short videos to help keep your students engaged. These short activities will aid in reinforcing or teaching the subject while keeping the students’ minds moving.
Use Group Work and Collaboration
Elementary students love to collaborate and share ideas with their classmates. To help keep the class engaged, you should incorporate group work and projects with your students. These activities can be short to prevent your students from being talkative. This will promote socialization and grow bonds between students while they learn.
Turn Lessons Into Games or Activities
Sometimes a lesson can be fun and games! Incorporating educational games or creative activities is a great way to keep your elementary students engaged in class. You can add classroom art projects to your lesson plan to help foster art appreciation and creative thinking. These are fun ways to teach a subject in a way your students will enjoy!
