# data[].attributes.body
Q: How do we engage students’ attention while doing longer lessons?

Answers:
- Keep students part of the discussion
- ask questions
- Take a movement break in the middle somewhere
- Keep the students active in the lesson
- Think outside the box and make your lesson interactive
- Let the students work in groups or pairs to get them involved in discussing the lesson.

# data[].attributes.body
How do we engage our students attention while doing longer lessons?

- Giving students breaks during the lesson.
- Use a variety of materials that catch their attention (ex. technology).
- Incorporate mystery, so students guess whats coming next.
- Getting students involved and making it interactive.

# data[].attributes.body
Q: How do we engage students’ attention while doing longer lessons?
A: To keep students engaged during longer lessons, teachers can
- incorporate technology in their lessons such as SmartBoards, Chrome books, and IPads.
- use fun videos in your lessons to break things up.
- relate material to students' lives which will help them better understand and make connections.
make lessons interactive and hands on where students can take control of their learning and be active participants in the lesson!

# data[].attributes.body
How can we engage students attention while doing longer lessons?

According to the article 10 ways to keep your class interesting, there are different methods that we as future educators can use.
1. Incorporate Mystery into the Lessons
- learning can be fun when students don't know what to expect.
- We can give clues to help students guess
2. Don't Repeat Classroom Material
- Review is important but we should not be repeating.
- 3-2-1 strategy is a fun way to review and not repeat material. For this activity, students draw a pyramid in their notebooks and write down three things they learned
3. Create Classroom Goals
- Games are also a great way to keep lessons interesting
4. Give Your Student Choices
- Ability to make their own choices when it comes to learning
- Choice can be a powerful motivator because it helps to foster student interest and independence
5. Use Technology
- Keeps lessons interesting
6. Don't take teaching so seriously
- Being an effective teacher is important but we should not be serious all the time
- Acknowledge that your students may have different interests and learning styles than your own
7. Make your lessons interactive
- Hands on lessons
8. Relate material to students lives
- create a real-world connection to what your students are learning
9. Flip your lessons
-Students in a flipped classroom are able to work at their own pace
10. Think outside the box
- Thinking outside the box and plan a lesson that's completely out of the ordinary (guest speakers)

According to Our Experiences:
- Having students play quests (exploring a lesson online)
- Having students teach the information to the class
- Using Videos or Clips of shows (Tik Tok)

# data[].attributes.body
How do we engage students' attention while doing longer lessons?
- Give students breaks by incorporating more DPA activities (Koo Koo Kangaroo, learning a dance from a different culture each day)
- Wonder wall
- Giving students options of how they want to be assessed or how they want to present the information

# data[].attributes.body
How can we prepare ourselves for the unexpected, if students do not fully understand the content or the activity?

- Have a backup activity
- Have a review and plan for lower levels of understanding. It's easier to later build on understanding
- Think of common misunderstandings that might occur

# data[].attributes.body
How do we engage students’ attention while doing longer lessons?
- Move from the desk to the carpet
- brain breaks
- Class check-ins - (a movement - allows students to move their body)
- learning outside
- meditation
- cool downs
- breathing exercises

# data[].attributes.body
Q: How do we engage students attention while doing longer lessons
A:
Make lessons more engaging by
give students breaks in between.
Use a variety of materials such as youtube videos, computers, games

# data[].attributes.body
Should a culminating task be a specific assignment or is it okay to be open ended, to allow students to use their own ideas and be creative?
- Open ended
- Allows students to show exactly what they know and what they learned
- Allowing them to present their learning in their own creative way can be more motivating and interesting for the students

# data[].attributes.body
How many learning goals should we have for our unit plan?
- In a unit plan there is not limit to learning goals
-You can include as many as you need in order to identify the knowledge and skill you want the students to learn at the end of the unit
-Learning goals should tell the students what is expected from them.

# data[].attributes.body
How do we engage students’ attention while doing longer lessons?

- Incorporate mystery into your lessons (clues, not revealing what you are doing ask, asking thinking questions)
- Using technology (smart board, chrome books) using interactive/engaging tools (jam board, padlet)
- making lessons interactive: getting students involved in the lesson, having them come up and use the smartboards/technology themselves.
- Relate materials to students lives/experiences so students can make connections within their learning.

# data[].attributes.headline
Learning Goals and Success Criteria . How to Craft them

# data[].attributes.subject
Learning Goals and Success Criteria . How to Craft them

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Posted by

"Effective teachers start with a standard, break the learning that standard requires into lesson-sized chunks, and then phrase these chunks so that students will be able to understand them." (Hattie, 2017, p. 41)

Whether you're new to the idea of identifying and collaboratively developing learning goals and success criteria with your students, or have been practising this critically important element of the assessment loop, you probably have some wonderings on this topic.
Effective learning goals and success criteria
In this post we describe a process for how educators, when planning, can determine the learning goals and success criteria for a period of learning. In a future post, we'll discuss how to guide students to know and understand them.

If you've read our first posts about learning goals and success criteria, you've already encountered some important criteria for doing this effectively.

Effective learning goals:

identify the important knowledge and skills that students are to learn;

focus the learning on manageable 'chunks';

are written in language meaningful to your students and helpful to their learning, and;

foster a learning community and encourage students to take ownership of their learning.

Effective success criteria:
Getting started

describe what it looks like/sounds like to achieve the learning;

are rooted in the high-level criteria described in the achievement chart*;

focus on both qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the learning;

are written in language meaningful to your students and helpful to their learning;

are organized in a way that is helpful to the learner, and;

encourage students to take ownership of and monitor the learning.

Imagine that you're planning for the next cycle of learning experiences. In Ontario, the curriculum policy documents identify the knowledge and skills that are to be learned, so that would be your starting point. It's good practice to carefully analyse those expectations to be crystal clear on the knowledge and skills identified in them. Once identified, you'll want to think about how to organize these elements in a way that is most beneficial to your students. Further, the curriculum expectations provide clues as to what it looks like to learn, i.e. the success criteria.

We've thought long and hard about what to suggest as a process for doing this. As much as we would like to give you a simple, step-by-step procedure for determining learning goals and success criteria, teaching and learning are complex processes, and it would detract from the effectiveness of learning goals and success criteria to over-simplify this process.
What knowledge, skills and processes are students to learn?
Rather than a list of steps, we suggest using the following questions to guide your thinking process:

It's tempting to pick an expectation and to 'turn it into a learning goal'. However, if we're going to invite students to be active in their learning (to own it!), we need to go beyond telling them what the goal of 'today's lesson' is (not that this isn't important). By looking at a cluster of expectations (an overall and its related specifics), we can plan a period of learning experiences, and share with students not only what they are expected to learn, but how these different bits of knowledge and skill are interconnected, and for what purpose.

The curriculum expectations embody both the broad concepts and the fine details of what is to be learned. Both learners and educators benefit from organizing this information into a 'roadmap' of learning. Here's one way to do that:

Look at a cluster of expectations (an overall and its related specifics).

List the knowledge, concepts, and terms that students are to know and understand.

List the skills and processes that students are to develop.

Here's an example from the Writing Curriculum for Grade 5: (We've colour coded the items in columns 2 and 3 to correlate to the expectations in column 1.)

OVERALL & SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS Knowledge, Concepts that learners need to understand Skills and Processes that learners are developing

1. generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;

generate, gather, and organize ideas and information

1.1 identify the topic, purpose, and audience for a variety of writing forms

1.2 generate ideas about a potential topic and identify those most appropriate for the purpose

1.3 gather information to support ideas for writing, using a variety of strategies and a range of print and electronic resources

1.4 sort and classify ideas and information for their writing in a variety of ways

1.5 identify and order main ideas and supporting details and group them into units that could be used to develop several linked paragraphs, using a variety of strategies and organizational patterns

1.6 determine whether the ideas and information they have gathered are relevant, appropriate, and adequate for the purpose, and do more research if necessary

topic, purpose, and audience

writing forms

strategies for gathering information

print and electronic resources

ways to sort and classify ideas and information

difference between main ideas and supporting details

words and phrases that link paragraphs

strategies and patterns to organize writing

generate ideas

gather information to support ideas for writing

sort and classify ideas and information

identify and order main ideas and supporting details

group ideas and information into paragraphs

linking paragraphs

using strategies and organizational patterns to organize writing

assess ideas and information to see if they are relevant, appropriate and adequate

researching

What is the big idea of this learning? What do you want students to know and remember in the long term?
This process of analysing the expectations means we now have a clear idea of what our students are to know and be able to do, providing a starting point for crafting the learning goals and the success criteria.

Looking at the curriculum in this way, it becomes clear that we want learners to see the value of planning before they write, and to know what to consider when they are planning their writing - topic, purpose, audience; choice of writing form; relevance, appropriateness, and adequacy of ideas and information; how to logically and effectively organize the text. A 'big idea' might be:

We can communicate our ideas more effectively if we plan before we write. Or
What is the goal of the learning?
Planning before writing means our ideas will be communicated more effectively.

There's no one right way to express a learning goal. You will need to consider your learners' prior knowledge and prior learning experiences to decide how to express the goal. Here's an example:

We are learning to plan before we begin writing, so that we can communicate effectively with our audience.
What does it look like to demonstrate the learning goal? What are the success criteria?
This goal flows from the overall expectation - the skills of 'gathering, generating, and organizing ideas' have been summed up as 'planning before writing'. What that looks like will be set out in the success criteria.

You can draw on several resources to craft the criteria: the curriculum, the achievement chart*, and your own professional experience and expertise.

The curriculum: Here's where the specific expectations and the work that we did in analysing them will be useful in identifying the success criteria. The specific knowledge, concepts, skills and processes should be reflected in the success criteria so that learners have a clear description of what successful learning looks like.

The achievement chart: In Ontario, educators use the achievement chart as a framework for all assessment and evaluation. The chart sets out high-level criteria that provide clues about what successful learning looks like. You'll see connections with the knowledge, concepts, skills, and processes you identified in the curriculum. Here's an example of some criteria we identified, and their connections to the achievement chart:

Professional experience and expertise: Having expertise in a subject area definitely supports you in your ability to accurately describe what it looks like to achieve the learning. However, it is sometimes difficult to remember what it was like not to know something or know how to do something, once you have mastered it. A great way to put yourself in your learners' shoes is to do a task that is related to the learning goal. In this case, we thought about what is involved in planning to write while we planned to write this post.

Having drawn on all our resources, here are the success criteria we identified for the learning goal:

To show my learning,

I identify and describe the intended audience for my writing.

I decide on the purpose for writing before starting to write.

I know a variety of text forms.

I use a text form that is appropriate to my purpose, and I can justify my choice of form.

I can come up with appropriate ideas for my topic.

I gather relevant information using a variety of ways and a range of print and electronic resources.

I can select and use a graphic organizer to plan out my writing.

I know a variety of patterns for organizing text (cause and effect, procedure, chronological, etc.) and can justify my choice of organization.

I decide if I have enough information to communicate my ideas and message to my audience, and do more research if necessary.

I use paragraphs to organize a main idea and supporting details.

I use linking words and phrases to connect paragraphs.

Having crafted the learning goal(s) and success criteria, we 'self-assess' using the criteria for effective goals and criteria set out at the beginning of this post: Is the language 'meaningful' to students, and supportive of their learning?
(We've again used the same colour-coding to show the connections between the criteria and the curriculum.)

Most often, educators wonder, 'If I use the terminology from the curriculum, the language may be meaningful to my students. What do I do?' Ask yourself - if the terminology is new to students, is it something that they would be expected to learn? Then use it. If it is a barrier to learning, then rephrase it.
Are the success criteria organized in a way that is helpful to the learner?
In our example, we could just as well have phrased the learning goal, "We are learning to generate, gather, and organize our writing, so that we can communicate effectively with our audience." The words "gather" and "organize" are probably familiar to a student in Grade 5; perhaps "generate" would require some explanation.

We have come up with criteria! That's a lot of criteria for learners to keep track of, yet they are all important aspects of the learning goal. One way to help learners is to organize the criteria into categories. For example,

When planning for writing, I need to remember:

Audience, Form and Purpose

I identify and describe the intended audience for my writing.

I decide on the purpose for writing before starting to write.

I know a variety of text forms.

I use a text form that is appropriate to my purpose, and I can justify my choice of form.

Ideas and Information

I can come up with appropriate ideas for my topic.

I gather relevant information using a variety of ways and a range of print and electronic resources.

I decide if I have enough information to communicate my ideas and message to my audience, and do more research if necessary.

Organizing my Writing
Do the learning goals and success criteria foster a feeling of community, while encouraging students to take ownership of their learning?

I know a variety of patterns for organizing text (cause and effect, procedure, chronological, etc.) and can justify my choice of organization.

I can select and use a graphic organizer to plan out my writing.

I use paragraphs to organize a main idea and supporting details.

I use linking words and phrases to connect paragraphs.

Do the success criteria focus on both quantitative and qualitative aspects of the learning?
You'll notice the use of the phrase, "We are learning". The "we" is so much more inclusive than "students will", conveys the idea that 'we are in this together, we are going to help each other". The criteria, on the other hand, use "I", acknowledging that each learner is an individual, and will have individual successes and challenges in learning. Further, to support and motivate learners, it is helpful to include a rationale in the goal. Consider adding a 'so that...' to the statement to provide students a motivation for learning.

Quantitative criteria are like on-off switches - students have either met, or not yet met them; a response is either correct or incorrect. We often see criteria that are very quantitative - and that's ok. It is helpful to learners to, for example, know that they must be able to identify at least three different organizers for their writing.

Qualitative criteria describe characteristics of learning that range in a "continuous gradation" (Sadler, 1989, p. 124) from 'not yet met' to 'met'. The most significant understandings and skills in the curriculum are described using qualitative criteria. For example, relevance. An example presented in a text can be completely relevant, not-at-all relevant, and shades of relevance in between those two extremes. If we want our students to learn these important abstract concepts, we need to embed them in our success criteria.

"Students' understanding of learning goals and what it means to master them is fundamental to their success, because without such an understanding they are unable to monitor their progress or to generate relevant internal feedback." (Timperley, H. & Parr, 2009, p. 57)

One last thought - and call to action! a

As a learner - young, old and in between - knowing what knowledge and skills I'm supposed to develop and what it looks like are critical pieces of information I need. If you're not already using these practices, ? Find a colleague who will learn with you and try it out! If you are, use the resources in this blog to refine and polish this aspect of your assessment practices. We've provided a why not make a commitment now planning template that follows the process outlined in this blog post.

*The achievement chart is a framework within which teachers "assess and evaluate student achievement of the expectations...It enables teachers to make consistent judgements about the quality of student learning based on clear performance standards and on a body of evidence collected over time." (Growing Success, 2010, p. 16)

Hattie, J., Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2017). Visible learning for mathematics: What works best to optimize student learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2010). Growing Success: Assessment, Evaluation, and Reporting in Ontario Schools. First Edition, Covering Grades 1 to 12. Toronto, ON: Author.

Sadler, D. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional Science, 18, 119-144.

Timperley, H. & Parr, J. (2009). What is this lesson about? Instructional processes and student understandings in writing classroom. The Curriculum Journal, 20(1), 43-60.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Learning Goals and Success Criteria: How to Craft Them

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's tempting to pick an expectation and to 'turn it into a learning goal'. However, if we're going to invite students to be active in their learning (to own it!), we need to go beyond telling them what the goal of 'today's lesson' is.

# data[].attributes.headline
72 Creative Ways for Students to Show What they Know

# data[].attributes.subject
72 Creative Ways for Students to Show What they Know

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Toss that Test Aside!

As we all know, students already get plenty of tests, so why not let your elementary students show what they learned creatively? Whether your students are reading independent books or your class has just finished an inquiry project on space or pioneers, a culminating project can really cement that learning. Whether you're focused on building academics or building character, we have some great ideas!

Here are 72+ fun presentation ideas for elementary students to show what they know, including presentation ideas, simple service projects for schools, and community service projects. These ideas are perfect for making learning more engaging and fun for younger students.

Innovation Presentation Ideas (projects for elementary students)

1. Create a poster

2. Make a PowerPoint presentation - You can use presentation tools or templates to guide your students and make the process easier.

3. Design a model

4. Make a shoebox diorama

5. Use a 3-panel display board

6. Make a timeline

7. Create a board game incorporating key elements

8. Write a poem

9. Write and perform a skit

10. Make a TV or radio commercial

11. Make a collage

12. Make a mobile

13. Create a test about the topic

14. Make a word search

15. Make a crossword puzzle

16. Write a report

17. Create a flow chart or diagram

18. Write an interview of a relevant person

19. Create questions and an answer key

20. Write journal/diary entries

21. Write a postcard or letter exchange

22. Create a scrapbook

23. Create a photo album

24. Make an instructional video

25. Give a presentation

26. Create an interactive notebook

27. Create a set of task cards

28. Make a pamphlet or brochure

29. Write a newspaper article

30. Perform a puppet show

31. Hold a debate

32. Hold a mock court case

33. Create an episode of a reality show

34. Create a game show

35. Have a panel discussion of "experts"

36. Compose a rap or other song

37. Use a Venn diagram to compare two aspects of the topic

38. Design a comic strip about the topic

39. Create a children's story about the topic

40. Create a map

41. Write a fable or myth about the topic

Have you tried Minds in Bloom Unlimited? Sign up for a free trial and choose 3 book report activities of your choice!

1. Create a help wanted ad and a letter/resume to answer it

2. Write a text message dialogue relevant to the topic

3. Write a series of tweets relevant to the topic

4. Create a Facebook wall relative to the topic

5. Create a Pinterest board relative to the topic

6. Start a blog or explore other website ideas for students to share their knowledge on the topic at hand

7. Decorate a box and fill with relevant objects

8. Create a foldable

9. Create a flip book

10. Create a Cootie Catcher

11. Create a cereal based on the topic (cover a cereal box)

12. Assemble a time capsule

13. Create several bookmarks about different aspects of the topic

14. Write a recipe relevant to the topic (good for showing causes of an event)

15. Do a newscast

16. Write an acrostic poem

17. Create an Internet scavenger hunt

18. Write an advice column with several problems related to the topic

19. Create flash cards or trivia cards

20. Create a cheer relevant to the topic

21. Make a short documentary film

22. Create a museum exhibit, an informational presentation format that doesn't rely on technology, allowing students to express their understanding in a tangible, hands-on way

23. Create a top 10 list relevant to the topic

24. Create a simple video game

25. Make a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story

26. Create a mini book with one fact/idea per page

27. Create a glossary of relevant terms

28. Make a paper chain with a different fact for each link

29. Make a flower with a different fact for each petal

30. Write a handbook or instruction book

31. Create a newsletter

32. Design a mural related to the topic

33. Create a quiz show-style game for classmates to participate in

34. Build a diorama using LEGO bricks or other building materials

35. Develop a trivia board game related to the topic, like historical events

36. Create an infographic to illustrate key concepts

37. Design a 3D model or sculpture using clay, cardboard, or other materials

38. Create a short animation or stop-motion video about the topic

39. Organize a class art gallery featuring artwork inspired by the topic

40. Make a digital storybook or eBook on the topic

41. Write a series of short stories or a novella related to the topic

42. Create a virtual reality experience or simulation about the topic

43. Implement a Genius Hour where students can discuss their passions!

For High School and College Students

While the ideas above are mainly geared towards elementary students, middle school, high school, and college students can also benefit from exploring creative presentations and projects.

The following sections provide additional suggestions for older students looking for unique ways to showcase their knowledge.

Creative Presentation Ideas for High School and College Students

1. Develop a multimedia presentation slides, PowerPoint, or Google Slides) using video, audio, and visual elements. The entire presentation can be recorded and the video presentation can be shared with the appropriate audience.

2. Create an interactive website or blog to present the research or project

3. Design an engaging infographic to illustrate key concepts

4. Host a podcast episode or series related to the topic

5. Collaborate with other students to create a short film or documentary

Creative Study Guide Ideas for High School and College Students

1. Develop a mind map to connect and visualize key concepts

2. Create flashcards with illustrations or mnemonics to aid memory

3. Design a flowchart to outline the steps or stages of a process

4. Develop an interactive quiz or game to test knowledge

5. Collaborate with classmates to create a shared study guide or resource

Online Projects for Students (for use on various presentation websites)

1. Create a virtual museum or gallery showcasing a specific topic or theme

2. Develop a web-based learning module or tutorial

3. Collaborate with other students to create a virtual event or conference

4. Design a digital escape room focused on a particular subject. Read more about how you can make your own escape room!

5. Play around with augmented reality! Read about Quiver.

6. Create an online community or forum for discussing and sharing ideas related to a specific area of study

As you can see, there are numerous creative presentation ideas without PowerPoint that students can use to showcase their own learning and understanding. From elementary students to high school and college project ideas, these innovative activities provide a fun and engaging way to demonstrate learning and foster a deeper understanding of the material.

10 Simple Service Projects for Schools

1. Organize a school supplies drive for a local school in need

2. Set up a creative activities workshop for students at a nearby preschool or kindergarten

3. Create a community service project focused on environmental conservation

4. Partner with a local food bank to organize a food drive

5. Volunteer at a local food pantry to help distribute goods to those in need

6. Plan a school-wide clean-up day to beautify the campus

7. Organize a clothing or toy drive for a local children's shelter

8. Develop a tutoring program for younger students in need of academic assistance

9. Coordinate a school-wide recycling initiative to promote sustainability

10. Host a charity fundraiser event to support a cause important to your school community

Further Reading and Related Blog Posts:

If you enjoyed this post and are looking for more ideas and inspiration, be sure to check out these other related posts on our blog:

1. Summer Projects for Teachers and Their Kids - Discover fun and educational summer projects that teachers can enjoy with their own children, making the most of the break while still engaging in learning.

2. Parents: Please Don't Do Your Kids' Projects! - This post discusses the importance of allowing children to complete their own projects, fostering independence, creativity, and critical thinking skills.

3. Awesome Hands-On End of Year Projects - Explore a variety of hands-on projects perfect for wrapping up the school year, keeping students engaged and motivated as the summer break approaches.

4. Hands-On Projects for Creative and Critical Thinking - Dive into a selection of hands-on projects that promote creative and critical thinking skills, making learning an interactive and enjoyable experience for students.

5. Make Project-Based Learning Fit Your Students' Needs - Learn how to adapt project-based learning to suit the unique needs of your students, ensuring they get the most out of these engaging and educational experiences.

By exploring these additional resources, you'll find even more creative ideas and strategies to enhance your students' learning experiences and promote their growth in and out of the classroom.

You can get 15 of these ideas with student instruction sheets and grading rubrics with Ready-to-Use Creative Book Reports.

Did we miss any of your favorite creative ways to show student learning? Leave it in the comments!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
72 Creative Ways for Students to Show What They Know

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Toss that Test Aside! As we all know, students already get plenty of tests, so why not let your elementary students show what they learned creatively? Whether your students are reading independent books or your class has just finished an inquiry project on space or pioneers, a culminating project can really cement that learning.

# data[].attributes.headline
10 Golden Rules to Keep Your Class Interested. 

# data[].attributes.subject
10 Golden Rules to Keep Your Class Interested. 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Have you ever been in the middle of teaching a class, glanced at your students, and caught them staring into space? Just when you think you've created the perfect lesson plan or engaging activity, you may find that your students are unfocused and out to lunch. Yet it's essential that you find ways to keep your classes interesting so your students can absorb and retain the information that you present.

For decades, educators have been trying new teaching strategies to keep their students on their toes and get them excited about learning. Although some strategies have failed, others have been found to be quite effective. Explore 10 teacher-tested ways to keep your class interesting so your students will stay engaged all the time.

1. Incorporate Mystery Into Your Lessons

Learning may be the most fun for your students when they don't know what to expect. Try to incorporate a sense of surprise and mystery into your lessons. When you're about to unveil a new lesson, give students a new clue each day up until the last day before the start of the lesson. This is a fun way to make your lesson mysterious, and you may find that your students are actually looking forward to finding out what they'll be learning about next.

2. Don't Repeat Classroom Material

It's appropriate and essential to review classroom material, but try not to repeat it verbatim because this can make it less interesting for students. The next time you need to review material, try playing a review game during which you present the information in a way that's different from the first time you taught the students. The 3-2-1 strategy is a fun way to review and not repeat material. For this activity, students draw a pyramid in their notebooks and write down three things they learned, two things they thought were interesting, and one question they still have.

3. Create Classroom Games

Whether you're 5 or 25, playing a game can be fun. Games are also a great way to keep lessons interesting. If your students need to remember their spelling words, conduct a spelling bee-a contest in which participants are eliminated when they misspell a word. Or if the students need to practice math, have a math bee, which is similar to a spelling bee, but with math problems or facts instead of spelling words. Games make learning fun, and games in class are a prescription for happy kids.

4. Give Your Students Choices

One strategy that teachers have found to be effective is offering their students the ability to make their own choices when it comes to learning. Choice can be a powerful motivator because it helps to foster student interest and independence. The next time you're planning an activity, try making a choice board. Print out a tic-tac-toe board and write down nine different tasks for students to complete. The goal is for each student to choose three tasks in a row.

5. Use Technology

Technology is a great way to keep your lessons interesting. Children love electronics, so try incorporating it into your overall teaching strategy. Instead of standing in front of the room and lecturing, try using a Smartboard interactive display. Expand your cooperative learning activity lessons by connecting to a classroom in another city or country via videoconferencing. Use technology in a variety of ways, and you'll see the interest level in your classroom increase by leaps and bounds.

6. Don't Take Teaching so Seriously

Being an effective teacher is an important job, but that doesn't mean that you have to remain serious in class at all times. Try to loosen up a bit and acknowledge that your students may have different interests and learning styles than your own. It's OK to laugh at yourself at times and to have some fun. You may find that your students are more interested when you're a little more relaxed.

7. Make Your Lessons Interactive

In a traditional classroom, the teacher stands in front of the room and lectures to the students as the students listen and take notes. Unfortunately, this is not the most effective way to hold students' interest. Make learning interactive by creating hands-on lessons that involve students every step of the way. Try using the Jigsaw cooperative learning activity in which each student is responsible for his or her own part of a group activity. Or try a hands-on science experiment. When you involve students and make your lessons interactive, your class becomes more interesting.

8. Relate Material to Your Students' Lives

Try to create a real-world connection to what your students are learning. This will give them a better understanding of why they need to learn what you're teaching. If they're constantly asking you why they need to learn something and you're always answering with "because," you will soon lose credibility. Instead, try giving them a real answer such as, "You're learning about money because in the real world, you'll need to know how to buy food and pay your bills." By giving a straightforward answer, you're helping them make a connection between what they're learning in class and how they'll use this information in the future.

9. Flip Your Lessons

The flipped classroom has been gaining in popularity since the term "flipped" entered the broader education world in 2012. When it was first presented, the idea that students could learn new information at home and then come to school and use class time for critical thinking activities and reinforcement of concepts was unique. However, many teachers are using this strategy and achieving positive results. Students in a flipped classroom are able to work at their own pace (which is great for differentiated learning) and engage with their peers in a more interactive, meaningful way when they're in the classroom. Try using the flipped teaching strategy for your next lesson and observe the depth of your students' engagement.

10. Think Outside the Box

Lesson plans don't have to include worksheets or lectures during which students sit and take notes time and again. Try thinking outside the box and plan a lesson that's completely out of the ordinary. Invite a guest speaker, go on a field trip, or take learning outdoors. When you try something new and different, there's a good chance that your students will respond positively. When planning a lesson, try collaborating with another teacher or taking your students on a virtual field trip. Learning that engages students is the most effective. Your students will find it more interesting to learn when you present the material to them in a variety of creative ways.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Have you ever been in the middle of teaching a class, glanced at your students, and caught them staring into space? Just when you think you've created the perfect lesson plan or engaging activity, you may find that your students are unfocused and out to lunch.