I used this engagement strategy in my middle school classroom last semester to great effect when I transformed a boring lesson on measurement and conversion into a crime scene investigation. On the first day of the lesson, students walked into the classroom to see a crime scene, and they had to measure the evidence and figure out who committed a crime. The students absolutely loved it; they were enthralled from beginning to end! This strategy was perfect for middle school students because it appealed to their desire for novelty, emotional stimulation, and physical activity. 

2. Breakout Box/Escape Room:

I experienced this engagement strategy in my Technology for Teaching and Learning class, and I have been dying to try it with middle school students ever since. Breakout boxes can be made to fit almost any lesson, especially one that involves solving problems. For example, I could use it for a lesson on conversion between different units. Teachers can order a physical kit or use a digital template, and then start transforming your lesson into an engaging escape room adventure. This is a great strategy for young adolescents because it involves working with and talking to peers, in addition to being a novel activity.

3. Quizizz:

I have used this engagement strategy with my high school class, and I am excited to try it out with middle school students. Quizizz is a formative assessment tool that lets students go through questions at their own pace, but still compete with each other for speed and accuracy. They even see relevant memes after they answer each question. From a teacher perspective, it also tracks student data, so I can determine quickly where my students excel and struggle. It works great to review any kind of material, including the kingdoms of life. This strategy would be great for middle school students because it is relevant, competitive, and involves technology. 

4. Online Simulations:

I have used this engagement strategy with high school students, but it would be great for younger adolescents as well. Simulations give students the opportunity to personally experience a phenomenon that is too big, small, slow, fast or expensive to see in real life. Some of my favorite simulations demonstrate how disease outbreaks spread and how populations evolve. The students really enjoyed working with simulations, and they even found ways to compete! Simulations would be perfect for young adolescents because they provide a concrete experience that ties to an abstract concept, as well as being hands-on and involving technology. 

Example 1: Pentatonix – Evolution of Music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExW80sXsHs):

Play this at the beginning of class and it will catch students’ attention. The singers are good, it’s a fun mashup of songs, and students love music. After the song, have a discussion (whole group or at tables) about how the evolution of music is just like biological evolution. This will help students remember evolution is a slow gradual process and that little changes build up over time to result in dramatic changes.
Example 2: I’m my Own Grandpa (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3cCl4JKJ28):

Ask students, “Can you be your own grandpa?” and play the song, “I’m my Own Grandpa.” Direct students to draw a pedigree (family tree) according to the song. There is no incest in the song, so it is appropriate for class! 

3. Discrepant Events.
Discrepant events grab student’s attention and spark curiosity. Some discrepant events I did during the weather unit for a middle school class incorporated Bernoulli bags, convection chambers, and can-crushing. To engage students in scientific thinking, you can have students do a P-O-E (predict what will happen when I do X, observe and write observations down, explain what you observed) or a CER (claim-evidence-reasoning). It can also lead into a lab investigation where students must collect more data to figure out what happened and why. 

4. Academic games. 
Learning from play is natural and fun. Two popular games are Kahoot and Jeopardy (using Google Slides). Students are familiar with the rules, they’re point-based, and they can be easily adapted to work for any unit. I often will give winners and note-takers smarties candy for their good efforts. 

Through my high school teaching practicum, I have seen first-hand the educational benefits that games can provide. Even if the context of the game is academic, I have seen even my most uninterested students engage in the games I have tried out in my classroom. For example, during the DNA unit I had students play “Codon Bingo”. The game demanded that students use a “codon wheel” to translate a three RNA base sequence that I called out into an amino acid. Once the base sequence was translated, the students needed to find the amino acid that was on their bingo boards and place a chip on the board. Once a student had a bingo, they would receive a prize. I had amazing success with this game. A link to the resource on games is listed below: https://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/744/20-Literacy-Strategies-for-Engaging-the-Middle-Level-Brain.aspx

4. Project-Based/Problem-Based Learning
Over the past three semesters I have learned about the various benefits of inquiry-based instruction in science. The mains tenants of inquiry-based instruction are that students are guided by the teacher to pose their own questions and to answer them through research. Since inquiry-based instruction involves solving problems, it can easily be applied to project-based/problem based learning. By having students propose their own question, students are answering questions that are relevant to them. In my classroom, I plan to have students pick a genetic disorder to research during the DNA unit. I would encourage students to choose a disorder that is relevant to them because it would improve student engagement in the project. After students finished researching their disorder, they would need to propose a possible genetic therapy for their disorder. This project will also support higher-order thinking skills by asking students to create a solution to a problem. A link to the resource on project-based/problem based learning is listed below: https://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/744/20-Literacy-Strategies-for-Engaging-the-Middle-Level-Brain.aspx

Allowing students to move around and break the monotony of sitting in a chair for eight hours can be a great technique to increase engagement in a lesson. Ways I’ve seen this used in the middle school have been going outside for bird and pollinator field studies. In my time in high school, my teacher set up a collection of stations in the school garage and we were able to experience physics concepts first hand. This could also be done at the middle level. Things such as sitting in a chair with a weight and moving it towards and away from yourself. Nowadays, students could also go out in the hallway and use a recording app to take videos of their peers running and then analyze the clip for position, speed, velocity, and acceleration. 

An example for kindergarten students, but could be done similarly for middle level:

2. Object lessons/Be Concrete

Students at the middle level age range are likely to still think in concrete terms rather than abstract, so creating a lesson that makes an abstract concept more tangible is a great way to bridge that. An example could be when discussing density, to actually bring in a tank of water and perform experiments and ask questions about why things happened the way they did. 

3. Music, Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap

I still remember concepts taught to me through song, see School House Rock, and I think it is a great way to convey dense information or key concepts to students in the sciences. For anyone looking to use this method, earlier in the course of our Secondary Science Methods class, we were introduced to a group called They Might be Giants, who post science music videos on YouTube. One example, referenced in the picture seen below, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRb5PSxJerM

4. Technology

Technology is an essential piece to learn in order to be on the cutting edge of the physical sciences. Utilized correctly (so as not to distract from the core lesson or detract from using intra group social skills), students can see how professional scientists may actually collect data. This gives them a good stepping stone towards seeing themselves as future scientists if they so choose. One example of how to use this would be to include data capture equipment in labs, such as Vernier probes, as funding allows.

I place students into groups and have them each read one article or become an expert on one topic and then share it with the rest of the group. This allows students to get to know one another, and when students become teachers, they learn the material much better. It’s  a good way to keep students accountable as well.

2.    Hands on activities (Labs)

Labs are a great way to get students involved. Specifically anything that students find cool or different will help increase student engagement. Having students work together to solve a problem or tackle a dissection will help improve the engagement as well since they are learning together instead of relying on the teacher for information.

3.    Storytelling

Using Case Studies is another way to engage students. I love talking about real cases or bring in a real world scenario that happened to help tie connection between science and the rest of the world. During my student teaching experience, students particularly enjoyed learning about Typhoid Mary and the outbreaks she caused when we started learning about bacteria. This real world event engaged students and helped them make connections to their own life.

4.    Incorporating aspects of students lives into the lesson

This is by far my most favorite way to add student engagement to the classroom. When learning about anything, I ask my students if they are familiar with the topic and have students teach us what they know- this can be as simple as talking about invasive species and having a student talk about the kudzu vines down south and how they cover everything! I also ask my students at the beginning of the year what some of their favorite things are and then keep those in mind as I plan the rest of my lessons.

 

I have planned field trips in a couple of my positions, just not as a teacher (since I am not in that role). I know that planning field trips takes time, preparation, a plan B, isn’t always easy to get extra chaperones, can be overwhelming, and is expensive.  HOWEVER, field trips (if planned right) can provide a hands on experience to information being taught in class.  A field trip that stands out to me is one that my daughter took a couple years ago.  They went to Junior Achievement “Biztown” in St. Paul.  This program is a program that starts with lessons in school, students learn about lifetime success through age-appropriate learning opportunities.  The lesson include educating students on how they impact the world through their individualism, as workers, consumers, and how to succeed in school.  Students then get assigned a “job” and work that “job” at Biztown.  My daughter learned how to manage a checking account, deposit checks at the bank, manage her business, and much more.  

 

 

 

I think that it’s good for students to brainstorm ideas on what a new topic may be about.  For example, if I were to put the words “Rock Cycle” up on the board, what would this topic include?  Also, what do students want to know about?  Having students start talking and opening up discussion about the topic that is going to be introduced gives them the opportunity to interact and ask questions before they start learning about the topic.

 

 

I have used Quizlet for my own school studies, but not in a teaching role.  I know that my children’s teachers use both Quizlet and Kahoot often when studying for tests.  These activities can be done as a class (competition), as a small group, or on their individual time outside of school.  

 

 

It is important to use our environment as a resource/tool for the classroom.  Going on a nature walk/exploration not only gets students up and moving, it gets them outside to explore.  This could be searching for different leaves, rocks, wildlife, flowers, etc.