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EL Strategy or Visual Learners

Physical Environment: Anchor Charts

Description: Using visual models, pictures, other physical models to provide a visual explanation, reinforcement, or summary for a topic or concept.

Uses: Helpful for EL students or visual learners.

Grade: K-2, 3-5

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5 Questions About Motivation and more research on student motivation.

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In his motivation theory, Daniel Pink states that leaders should use a new approach to motivation which is based on self-determination. According to it, people have an innate drive to be autonomous, self-determined and connected to one another.

Most problems with behavior and motivation really do have their root causes in places and factors outside of school. We really have to commit to maximizing the 10, 20, maybe 30 percent of that influence that's ours to really influence their behavior.

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Principal's Playbook - Motivating Unmotivated Students

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Motivating Unmotivated Students Based on the research of Rita Pierson, Dr. Daniel Pink's "Drive" and "The Puzzle of Motivation: 5 Questions About Motivation", ", and the American Psychological Association's "Psych Learning Curve"

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Technology: Digital Journal

Digital Strategy

Description: Students use a technology platform on their school provided device to reflect on their personal and learning experiences. Teachers can respond and add grammar corrections and other comments.

Uses: Build student-teacher relationship, build personal writing voice, practice writing and grammar skills.

Grades: 6-8

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Technology: Kahoot!

Link: https://kahoot.com

Description: An interactive quiz game that promotes active participation in all students with healthy competition.

Uses: Reinforces content and motivates student participation.

Grades: 3-5, 6-8

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Physical or Digital: Choice Boards

Disability Support Strategy

Description: Giving students the opportunity to choose from a variety of task types to demonstrate their knowledge and serve as their assessments.

Uses: Supports differentiation, student engagement and self- confidence, and lessens test anxiety

Grades: K-2, 3-5, 6-8

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Tech Tool: Class Dojo

Link: https://www.classdojo.com

Description: Classroom management, motivation, and communication tool. Allows teachers to track and quickly give feedback in real time students behavior. It also allows student’s guardians to track their students progress and message their teacher.

Uses: Student motivation, possibility for parental updates and communication

Grade: K-2, 3-5

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Tech Tool: Class Dojo

Link: https://www.classdojo.com

Description: Classroom management, motivation, and communication tool. Allows teachers to track and quickly give feedback in real time students behavior. It also allows student’s guardians to track their students progress and message their teacher.

Uses: Student motivation, possibility for parental updates and communication

Grade: K-2, 3-5

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Physical Environment: Think-Pair-Share

Description: Students are given a question or task to think about individually, then after a few minutes they then go and discuss it with a peer or partner. After talking it out with another student, they share with the whole class their thoughts. This activity encourages listening skills, collaboration or teamwork, and builds self-confidence

Use: Builds student engagement, builds peer interaction skills,  builds self-confidence in sharing ideas

Grade: 3-5

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EL Strategy or Visual Learners

Physical Environment: Anchor Charts

Description: Using visual models, pictures, other physical models to provide a visual explanation, reinforcement, or summary for a topic or concept.

Uses: Helpful for EL students or visual learners.

Grade: K-2, 3-5

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Physical or Digital: Choice Boards

Disability Support Strategy

Description: Giving students the opportunity to choose from a variety of task types to demonstrate their knowledge and serve as their assessments.

Uses: Supports differentiation, student engagement and self- confidence, and lessens test anxiety

Grades: K-2, 3-5, 6-8

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Physical or Digital: Choice Boards

Disability Support Strategy

Description: Giving students the opportunity to choose from a variety of task types to demonstrate their knowledge and serve as their assessments.

Uses: Supports differentiation, student engagement and self- confidence, and lessens test anxiety

Grades: K-2, 3-5, 6-8

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Technology: Kahoot!

Link: https://kahoot.com

Description: An interactive quiz game that promotes active participation in all students with healthy competition.

Uses: Reinforces content and motivates student participation.

Grades: 3-5, 6-8

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Technology: Digital Collaboration Room

Digital Strategy

Description: Digital platform where students can work together, share ideas and notes, and plan an outline for a project for assignment. A pace where students can workshop and explore ideas before committing to a game plan in their assignment or activity.

Uses: Encourages student engagement in content and peer relationships by mimicking in-person group work, but less opportunities for in-person distractions.

Grades: 3-5, 6-8

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Technology: Digital Collaboration Room

Digital Strategy

Description: Digital platform where students can work together, share ideas and notes, and plan an outline for a project for assignment. A pace where students can workshop and explore ideas before committing to a game plan in their assignment or activity.

Uses: Encourages student engagement in content and peer relationships by mimicking in-person group work, but less opportunities for in-person distractions.

Grades: 3-5, 6-8

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Alternative ways to end your lesson and connect it to your content or give that time meaning.

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When you've got a few minutes left before the period ends, it's only normal to wonder: Do my students really understand what we covered? Do they remember what we started with, as well as what we just discussed?

While cleaning up and going over homework assignments often take up those final moments of class time, effective closing activities allow you to make better use of them by checking for understanding, correcting misunderstandings, and putting a little fun into the process to motivate your students to make sense of what they've just learned.

Closing activities don't need to happen every day, and they don't always require lots of advanced planning. They can occur at the end of a chapter, or even at the end of a large learning unit, and can also take various forms-incorporating movement, technology, and even components of social and emotional learning to build a stronger classroom community.

Here are 10 creative and fun closing activities we sourced from experienced teachers that you can try in your classroom.

1. Two-Dollar Summary: Ask students to write a two-dollar (or more) summary of the lesson they've just learned. Each word they use is worth 10 cents. For extra scaffolding, ask students to include specific words in their statement. For a twist on this, ask students to explain something as if they were teaching it to a first grade student. This will also push them to simplify complex ideas for themselves and therefore understand them better.

For a different spin on this, try educator Sarah Frisby Cook's "six-word summary" of the most important idea or concept. On Facebook, Cook told Edutopia that because students are limited in word choice, "they really have to think about what is most crucial to say."

6. Video Journals: Educator John Thomas uses the free app ChatterPix to get students creating and sharing video journals describing what they've learned. Because this can take a little time to create, this strategy might be best suited as a wrap-up activity at the end of a unit. The videos are playful and fun, and can easily be posted to classroom platforms like Seesaw.

8. Quiz the Next Class: Nikki Cobb-Struzynski gets her students to use the free platform Kahoot! to come up with quiz questions and multiple choice answers to give to their peers studying the same material in other classes. Recent research suggests that generating good questions promotes deeper engagement with content and improves retention. When a person formulates a question, "One has to reflect what one has learned and how an appropriate knowledge question can be inferred from this knowledge," University of Kassel researcher Mirjam Ebersbach told Edutopia.

9. Make Your Classroom a Beach: This activity will get students out of their seats and sharing with the whole class. Educator Eman Bekheet told Edutopia that she writes reflective questions on a beach ball using dry erase markers. Questions might include things like: "What is one thing you learned during today's lesson?" or "What was challenging about today's lesson?"

As the ball bounces around the room, you can come up with a mechanism for deciding which question they have to answer out loud-such as the question their left thumb is touching, or the very first question they see. Use the responses to generate further discussion about the day's lesson.

The Human Bar Graph is another twist that gets students moving. Label points along a line drawn on the floor or across a wall that show different levels of mastery: I'm confused, I'm okay, I got this. Ask students to stand where they feel most comfortable. This exercise requires a certain level of vulnerability, so it's best to try it once you built some trust with students.

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Instead of cleaning up or going over homework assignments, try these creative activities that can help students make sense of new material-and have fun in the process.

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Tips for engaging students and changing their perspective.

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10 Ways Teachers Can Instill a Growth Mindset in Students

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Understanding and fostering a growth mindset in students has become a priority for teachers across education levels. Learn how to do it.