1. Try to consistently ask your students questions about the content to keep them engaged and encouraging discourse between peers about topics related to what is being taught can make students feel obliged to talk to their peers about what they were asked to discuss, and inadvertently engage with the content.
2. Candy is a tried and tested success, but small stuff animals and little trinkets from a treasure box make good alternatives or for more dramatic effect, they could be used as “special prizes.” However, rewards don’t always have to be “material,” and long term rewards such as class parties if they reach a certain number of points can work even better. Going a step further, making the kids compete by grouping them and making it so that only one of those groups can win can actually encourage the students to encourage each other to be on task and engage to beat the other teams. Note that in younger kids, this is risky and can result in bitter conflict and unexpectedly emotional responses.
3. Again, asking questions to ur students while you teach and then asking them to do problems or projects together while you walk around and monitor the discussions makes for a great way to encourage engagement as well as check for understanding. Other ways could include student presentations which encourage research by the students to strengthen their understanding and their public speaking skills as a byproduct, trivia games (with prizes for the winner of course), and asking students to do problems on the white board or explain something to the class for extra credit or candy or whatnot.
4. Every student will have a certain style of discipline that is most effective with them, so ideally, having different options available to cater to more troublesome students would be ideal. These can range from detentions, to extra work, to simply having an honest talk with them about their behavior.
5. Building string organization habits is important and while it may not be necessary for some, enforcing them in the classroom can only benefit the students. Walking them through setting up and keeping an organized binder at the beginning of the year will set them on the right track. From there, leniency is likely best, and if certain students display that they cannot handle the leniency allotted to them, then it may necessary to do periodic checks on their backpacks and binders to help them stay organized until they are back on the right track. An alternative method may be to award prizes at random times for the cleanest desk, folder, backpack, etc., which will encourage most to stay clean as much as they can in hopes that they win the clean award.
6. They are numerous sites the offer digital learning such as khan academy to schoolcity that can help engage the students. Computer games that are wired to help students learn can also be a useful tool. But more importantly, the internet contains mountains of information that students should be encouraged to engage with in some way.
7. This will require on great effort on your part to simply recognize students that are uninterested, confused, reserved, and attempt to bring the into the fold and address the individual. Attempting to establish personal relationships with your students is just as important as well and will aid in your students education and their enjoyment in the class.
8. Technology and games are great ways to go about this.
9. The “why” of the what. Essentially, encouraging your students to think about the reason fit certain events and certain phenomena and showing them the duality of history and making them think about the decisions people have made and whether they agree can be great ways to encourage critical thinking.
10. Student relationships can be built in the classroom by listening to your students and treating them each individually as people rather than simply as little kids. Making the students feel as if they are being seen in that light and communicate freely in the classroom will greatly improve their relationship. Emailing parents and doing parent-teacher meetings or even a few events where parents and come and see their kid’s progress will be the best methods to build repertoire
