With the end of the year wrapping up, it can be difficult to keep students engaged the last few weeks of the school year when their minds are on summer. Fret not, we have come up with 4 student-approved activities to keep your class engaged and learning the next few weeks.
Let your students teach
Having your students teach each other is a wonderful way to increase student engagement and retention. Split your class into groups of 3-4 and let each group choose a topic you studied earlier in the year. Give students time to work together to research the topic in greater detail and invent an activity for their fellow students to reinforce what they taught. You can assess them on the amount and accuracy of new information they provide and how engaging their activity is.
Research shows engaging students in the learning process increases attention, focus, and encourages them to practice higher-level critical thinking skills. It also promotes meaningful learning experiences, which can be difficult to do this time of the year.
Take your class outside
It is a beautiful time of year to take your class outside, taking your students outside is a great way to teach them about the math that is naturally around them. Want to review angles with your students? Give each of them a piece of chalk and go on a geometry walk. When your students locate a 45, 90, or 180 degree angle have them mark it with chalk. Your kids will have a blast, they will expel some of their pent up energy and they will make real-world math connections.
Scavenger Hunt
Plan an information scavenger hunt! Have your students hunt through books and websites to search for answers. This is a great way for your students to work together and to improve their researching skills. If you don’t have time to put together a scavenger hunt yourself, here is a great resource that provides you with pre-made hunts.
Jenga!
This is a really fun way for your students to review past concepts in an interactive manner. Write a question on each Jenga block and have your students answer the question before their turn is over. Or, color the Jenga blocks and have each color associate with a type of problem (red is addition, blue is multiplication, etc.) See how one teacher incorporated Jenga into her classroom. Jenga is great for teachers who use Centers!
