How an instructor can make a class more lively?

Question

How an instructor can make a class more lively?

Answer 1

I knew a teacher who bared his chest and wrote a big S on it with the white board marker to make some point.  He quickly learned this was a BAD idea.  The kids didn't get the joke and it freaked them out.  He also threw an eraser to get their attention, and accidentally broke a window.  

Remember, we can learn techniques, but still be yourself.

Answer 2

Find out what the learning style of your students are and adjust your lessons to help incorporate their learning styles.  Make sure that your lessons reflect their communities and touch them at their levels.  Whatever a student learns needs to help them see their own lives in some way.  They have to connect to the lesson.  Be ready to start class as soon as the bell rings - don't allow down time. Keep the students actively involved.  Set up pairs and groups so that the students can relate to each other.  In my class, when they have a test , I usually allow them to work together in groups to find their wrong responses and make them right - then we discuss how the errors were made.  When it's time to read, I try to 'dress' the part or allow the students to act, dance, sing, etc parts of the story or poem.  We are an Arts Magnet school therefore the arts are always considered and allowed in our academic classes to help the students relate.  Planning, planning, planning. is the key - and it cuts down on behavior issues.  Walk around the class, don't sit.  They need to see you are watching their every move.

Answer 3

Make it lively by keeping it student centered.

Answer 4

You can make learning more lively and interesting by learning about your students' multiple intelligences.  Everyone learns differently, but when given the opportunity to learn in the way that makes sense,  your students will enjoy learning more.  There has been a lot of research done by Howard Gardner on this topic.  Thomas Armstrong has written some very helpful books about teaching while paying attention to the multiple intelligences.  This is an awesome way to differentiate instruction for your students and everyone will be confident and successful.  You can make the instruction more lively by giving your students a chance to learn the way they do best.  Give your students a choice of assignments according to their multiple intelligences.  When  you teach, keep in mind that all of your students learn differently.  

Also, movement in the classroom is essential.  Having students work in teams, with partners, or even playing a game with your lessons can help with attention and retention.  There is a book about using movement in the classroom to activate the brain called Brain Gym.  I use it in my classroom to help my students stay focused.  They also enjoy taking doing the brain exercises.

Make your classroom a fun and interesting place to be for your students.  Let them know they are important and take suggestions from them as well.  If you read about the multiple intelligences, you will realize that all students learn differently and when this is recognized by the teacher and the students, learning will become easier and more lively.

Answer 5

It depends on what grade level, but in most grades if you give students collaborative assignments that allow them to create and evaluate information. If you are more of a direct instructor, recall events that happen in your life, friends, etc and apply it to the lecture that way it seems more real world. Anytime you can apply real world situation to your lesson, I believe your students are more engaged because they can apply it to their lives. :) To energize students (depending on the age) turn your lessons into a game, interview, dramatize plays, etc. incorporate sorting activities that allow them to converse with one another and allows you to facilitate your learners.

Answer 6

Well, sometimes, you can crank jokes related to your lesson. In addition, you can facilitate a game which will serve as their activity. You may also give plus points on their next quiz's score as a prize to the highest individual/team.

Answer 7

Think of games or stories to make your lessons more interesting.

Answer 8

make sure that your lessons are culturally relevant.

Answer 9

More lively for whom?

Elementary school students (up to age 10 or so) respond really well to warm-ups.

Stand up sit down: You can tell them to stand up, sit down, and then do tricks, like say stand up twice in a row, or SAY stand up, but GESTURE sit down.

Songs: Like Bingo was his name-O. Or Head Shoulders Knees and Toes (try humming one body part). Or the Seven Steps song, but replace the numbers with claps, feet-stamping, that sort of thing.

The fly swatter game is also good, I've heard. Seperate the kids into four teams. Put posters of the vocabulary words around the room. (I'd limit it to 10 new words, at most. Six is probably better for low-level students -- use pictures for pre-literates.) Give fly-swatters to the first students on each team, and yell the vocabulary word. They must run to that poster, and hit it with the flyswatter. (-: Pandemonium!

For older students, especially sixth graders, it's hard to get them involved. Sometimes you just need to let them go do something quiet.

Answer 10

I teach middle school math and I keep my lessons lively by changing up what I am doing frequently.  A 13-14 year old only has about a 12-15 minute attention span so we do not do the same thing for very long.  We do lots of little activities during the 50 min class period.  We start out checking HW then maybe a short quiz or introduce the next lesson.  We might to a quick group activity or do some kind of class game that keeps everyone involved.  Then at the end of class they usually have time to work on their HW for that night.

Answer 11

make them see everything u teach them like a game and make them participate ... if u know the slogan "keep them busy",then apply it! another important part of a "lively"class may be some pair activity or group activity...but don't let them in contact for too long cos they might  behave bad and consequently...learn nothing!