How to engage students is the most common question among teachers today, and having high-engagement can be especially challenging towards the end of the year. Let’s face it, even the most compelling and relevant unit won’t make much of an impact if students aren’t engaged with the content.
This week on Growing with Proficiency The Podcast, we’re diving into the topic of student engagement and discussing three low-prep activities that you can incorporate into your classes tomorrow. I share my insights and experience on how to create a more engaging classroom environment. I also explore ways to spark student interest, keep them motivated, and create meaningful connections between the language and their lives.
Three Pillars of Successful Language Acquisition
First, let’s discuss the three pillars that I include in my Framework for successful language acquisition.
Comprehension
This helps students develop their comprehension skills. It is important to provide students with comprehensible input by using activities that challenge students’ comprehension in an interactive way.
Communication
This helps students develop their communication skills. For this pillar, it is important to provide opportunities for students to practice speaking and listening in a supportive environment.
Connection
This helps students connect with the material and develop a personal connection to the language. We can do this by making language learning relevant and meaningful to students’ interests and experiences.
To find out more about these pillars, grab My Framework resource here. Remember that high-engagement activities help with these three pillars.
High-Engagement Activities
Snowball Fight
This fun and interactive activity promotes engagement by allowing students to actively participate in the learning process and collaborate with their peers. It focuses on challenging students’ comprehension skills and is a great way to incorporate movement into the classroom.
There are many variations of this activity. One way to play is to have your students write a question about a story used in class on a piece of paper. Then, have them roll it up into a ball. Next, let your students throw these balls of paper at each other for a certain amount of time. When they stop, they read the question to a partner and they have to answer it. Listen to episode 30 to hear another variation of this high-engagement activity.
Running Dictation
This activity focuses on developing students’ communication skills and ability to work cooperatively. It promotes engagement by providing an opportunity for students to interact with their peers and practice their language skills in a dynamic and interactive way. It really gets your students moving!
Do this activity after your students truly comprehend a story from class. Then, write 5-10 sentences about that story on pieces of paper and place them along my hallway. Next, I divide my students into groups of three. One of the students, the athlete, runs into the hall, reads a sentence, runs back, and tells it to the writer student. The writer student writes the sentence down. Then, the artist student illustrates it. The students love it! I also explain an add-on part of this activity in episode 30.
Respond, Reflect, Review Protocol
This reflective activity helps students connect their language learning to their own experiences and interests. It promotes engagement by creating a sense of personal relevance and connection to the material, and encouraging students to take ownership of their learning.
Basically, ask a question to your students, any type of question. Then, they write the answer down on a post it note. Next, have them silently put it on their desk or chair and move around the room reading others’ comments. After reflecting on the other student’s comment, they have to comment. Everybody is engaged, and everybody is responding.
In episode 30 of the podcast, I’m also sharing a bonus activity: Gallery Walk with Emoji Sentences. Listen above, on your favorite podcast player, or here.
If you’re looking for new ideas to engage students with powerful activities also listen to episodes 6, 7, 9, 10, 21, 22, 27 of Growing with Proficiency The Podcast.
More Resources
Check out the links and resources mentioned in episode 30:
My Framework
Growing With CI FB Community
Blog
Teacher Pay Teachers Store
IG & Twitter: @claudiamelliott
Cinco de Mayo
Running Dictation
Join the LIVE session of “Turn Compelling and Comprehensible Readings into Highly Engaging End-Of-The-Year Activities“
