Explaining concepts and presenting lessons might not be the easiest part of teaching, but keeping kids engaged in a lesson? Now that’s even more challenging.. Teachers may already have the resources and the best curriculum to get kids to learn in the most effective way possible, but keeping kids engaged in a lesson can be difficult. Especially when there are a lot of distractions. When it feels like you’ve hit a wall and kids aren’t paying attention, take it as your cue to change things up. Learning requires focused attention for kids and a lot of patience from you as their mentor. When it comes to teaching, you need to be willing to improve your methods progressively as changes occur. Here are a few helpful strategies for how to make learning fun for kids:
Give them choices
Choices keep things interesting. Presenting children with choices allows kids to have a sense of control over what they want to do next, while still keeping the ball in your court. This means that you are giving them a choice about what to do, without ditching class activities completely. Make it a point to always involve learning in the choices you give. Choices can be given in many ways, for example deciding to send students home with an activity for homework or letting them finish it in class. Or, for example, you may let students choose which items or questions to answer on a homework assignment.
Use Game-based learning
Kids love to have fun, which is why games are a great approach to make learning fun and interactive for kids. Classroom activities can get boring when you only present topics in the form of lectures everyday. Involve students in various tasks that challenge their skills and understanding of the lessons, and you’ll pique their interest in no time. Not only is game-based learning a fun approach to learning new material in class, but games can also be used to enrich learning through the use of different forms of media. These kinds of activities can help to reinforce knowledge through individual or group classroom activities, and you can intervene in addressing points where students are having trouble understanding the material taught in regular lecture sessions.
Adapt to your students’ interests
When designing lessons for your students, it’s important to take into account their individual interests and learning styles in order to adapt your teaching style based on their needs. Not everyone learns at the same pace, and not everyone learns best through traditional teaching techniques. Structure your lessons accordingly and ask your kids about their interests. What are their hobbies? What are they passionate about? Find ways to incorporate their interests and passions into the lesson to help maximize their learning potential. You’ll be surprised by what your kids can accomplish by incorporating their interests into your lessons, and you’ll watch their attention increase.
Teach lessons through practical applications
Have you ever asked why they students need to study all of these different things in class? What purpose do these lessons and topics serve in the real world? As teachers, not only is your job to teach different concepts, but you are also there to serve as a mentor to teach kids the practical applications of the lessons they learn. It may be difficult to find answers to these questions , but when possible, it’s best to link the classroom lessons to their real-life applications. Problem-solving in math class helps hone our real-life problem solving skills and helps us think critically as we look for the best solutions. The same idea applies when we’re studying literature, history and philosophy. All of these academic areas have real-world counterparts and exploring them can train students to become better adapted adults. Teaching lessons through practical applications opens up a child’s mind about how the lessons you’re teaching can be of great use in their future endeavors.
Cornerstone Learning Center provides a positive learning environment where your child is able to thrive. We combine positive reinforcement with top quality education, ensuring a strong balance for every child at our school. To learn more about Cornerstone Learning Center and what we have to offer, feel free to call us or visit our website at learnatcornerstone.com.