Keeping students engaged in the lessons is extremely important, and doing so can sometimes be costly. However, it doesn’t have to be! Being able to keep students engaged with new and interesting materials and visuals without breaking the bank is a skill that every teacher needs, so here are some resources that can help keep students interested while saving you a little money!
Videos
Videos are a really easy way to get your students interested in the material that they will be learning in class. A lot of the time, teachers may not have access to the same resources as others, so a video of a demo or experiment is a great way to get around that barrier.
Here is a video that could be shown at the beginning of a chemistry lesson on solvents!
By showing the students the video, even just a part of it, you are able to get the students interested in what is going on without breaking your bank!
Simulations
Simulations are a great way of showing your students concepts that you are unable to get your hands on. A great website for simulations is PhET, a free resources for science and math simulations! Below is an example of a simulation from PhET on the Greenhouse Effect.
Demonstrations
One of the best ways to get your students engaged in their learning is through experiencing a demonstration. They get to truly engage with their learning through watching you perform a demo! An example for this could be a physics lesson on light refraction, and the only materials you need are a bottle of water and some paper with markings on them! The demonstration shows the students the *magic* of light refraction!
Games
Games are a great way for students to get excited about the prospect of learning, and they are able to connect to the learning in a way that is fun and enjoyable, and looks similar to what they may do on a daily basis in the age of technology! PBSkids.org has a wide range of games on their website that provide some fun ways for students to get into the groove of learning! Below is an example of a game where students get to explore caves and their formation while hunting for the different types of flora and fauna that call them home!
Brain Teasers
Getting students engaged within the first thirty seconds of class is a feat in and of itself, and a great way of doing that is by introducing a brain teaser! These are fun riddles and problems that students have to solve by thinking outside the box, using some thinking practices that they would be learning while doing experiments and trying to figure out solutions to problems! Braingle has a bunch of different brain teasers that involve scientific phenomena and concepts that your student would be learning in class!
With the internet a keystroke away, teachers have more resources available to them than they may think, and it is always better to explore your options before breaking your budget!
ENGAGED on a BUDGET? It's easier than you think! Keeping your students engaged without going broke is a skill that every science teacher needs, and knowing what resources are available is extremely helpful in accomplishing that goal! @AnnMacKenzie #EDT432 #scienceteaching
— Mr. Thomas (@BryceSBThomas) February 6, 2019
Bryce,
Big fan of the brainteasers. Even if it doesn’t directly relate to the day’s concept, at least it gets the kids thinking! As for the other strategies, I can agree that anything visual and online can help change the typical classroom dynamic. Playing around with simulations is much more engaging than reading from a textbook! Thanks for the tips.
Bryce, Thanks for those resources! I checked out Braingle and I think it would be a lot of fun to use that in a future classroom. I really liked that its a pretty typical brainteaser style, but still brings in the science concepts.
How do you think you would use these resources in your classroom? Is there a type of activity like this that you would consider using regularly?
-Pete