In this episode of "Counselor Chat" I discuss strategies to actively engage students in lessons. There are challenge of keeping students engaged but active learning activities are a way to increase student engagement, retention, and critical thinking skills.

The benefits of active learning include promoting skill development, diverse perspectives, and an increased enjoyment of learning.

Activities Discussed:

• The "partner pairing" strategy, which alleviates the pressure of students choosing partners and encourages random pairing.
• "Four corners" --a versatile activity for evaluating different perspectives on various topics.
• "Cross the line" -- an activity to prompt students to express their preferences and opinions.
• The "value line" strategy encourages students to position themselves along a continuum to represent the strength of their feelings about a topic.
• "Down the line" --a group discussion activity that involves students moving to different positions to share and discuss questions.
• "Circle in circle" -- similar to "down the line" but involves forming two circles and rotating positions.
• "Snowball fight" activity, where students write answers to questions, crumple them into "snowballs," and engage in an interactive exchange of ideas.
• "Toss and catch" involves tossing an object to students who must answer a question or pass it to another classmate.
• "Create a commercial" activity, where students work in groups to create persuasive commercials related to a topic.
• "Two Truths and a Lie" is a fun activity that encourages students to identify the false statement among two truths and one lie.

Post-activity discussionsare important to guide students in reflecting on the past, present, and future implications of their experiences

Activities to try:

• Friendship Speed Dating
• Get Up and Move Activities
• Where Do You Stand
• Four Corners Activity

Grab the Show Notes: Counselingessentials.org/podcast

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Carol: You're listening to the Counselor Chat podcast, a show for school counselors looking for easy to implement strategies, how to tips, collaboration, and a little spark of joy. I'm Carol Miller, your host. I'm a full time school counselor and the face behind counseling essentials. I'm all about creating simplified systems, data driven practices, and using creative approaches to age students. If you're looking for a little inspiration to help you make a big impact on student growth and success, you're in the right place. Because we're better together. Ready to chat? Let's dive in.

Carol: Hi, everyone. It's Carol. Welcome back to another episode of Counselor Chat. In today's episode, we are going to talk about putting together our lessons plans. Well, really in particular we're going to talk about some ways that we can actively get students to engage and participate in our lessons. Because if you're like me and you have to go into classes each week, or maybe you don't even go in each week, but you go in. And some people I know are just dreading the thought of having to go in to yet another lesson where kids aren't going to be listening or paying attention and not really engaging with the content. So I wanted to share with you some ways that I use to really get kids engaged and participating in my classroom lessons. Currently I teach in grades K through 6th grade and those are very different. If you are in elementary school, you can totally relate that teaching kindergarten lessons are very different than teaching 6th grade lessons. And the things that you can do and get kids excited about in the early years are not the same as what it takes to get them really actively buying into your lessons as they get older. And coming from a middle school and a high school background, this holds true for those levels as well. In the high school it was a little bit easier because most of the lessons that I did centered around careers or colleges and things like that. And so those were things and skills that our kids needed information on. So they were pretty attentive. But those middle school years, kids a lot of times didn't really want to be bothered. I really started incorporating a lot of active learning activities into my lessons. And if you know anything about active learning, it's really another word for it is experiential learning. It's when the kids are getting up and doing something and the activity that you're doing really focuses on the lesson and the objectives that you're trying to teach. Now, the great thing about active learning activities are that they are really engaging. They're not passive learning, they're actively learning. They require students to move and it can also stimulate their interest and maybe make them a little bit more motivated to learn. Active learning also improves retention and it's scientifically proven that when we hear something, we're only going to retain about 10% of that information, but if we actively do it, that really increases to almost 90%. So we really want them to participate in some way, shape or form in their learning. It also helps them with that critical thinking skills. And I know some people are not a big fan of the Common Core, but Common Core really wants us to challenge kids to think critically. Personally, I like that about the Common Core and that we are really asking our kids to think critically and to problem solve. And when we do that, it really helps promote a deeper understanding because kids are analyzing, they're evaluating and they're applying the knowledge that they learn to their futures. It also helps with skill development because many active learning activities promote the development of such essential life skills including communication with others, teamwork, time management, and once again, decision making. There's such an increased participation rate when kids are asked to do something as part of their learning because it provides opportunities for really all kids to participate, including those who sometimes may be a little bit hesitant to speak up in a traditional classroom setting. We also really gain an enhanced understanding of diverse perspectives because more kids are engaging in these lessons and they're more apt to share with their peers. We actually get more viewpoints, more perspectives and a better understanding of empathy and appreciation for those different perspectives. Active learning also helps with an increased enjoyment of learning because when kids are really actively engaged, they find learning enjoyable. And guess what? That's great news for us because when kids find things enjoyable, they're going to look forward to us coming into their classrooms. And who doesn't want to feel like a rock star when you go into a classroom? I certainly do. And I think my kids really look forward to the days that I come in. I also love it when kids clap for me and cheer for me when the lesson is over and they have actually done that in the past. It's quite amusing. But overall I love active learning. I can't stress it enough. So there are a couple of things I did today. We're really going to focus more on the older kids than the younger kids, because with the younger kids, I do some of these activities, but there are some other things that I do with them that are, I think, better suited for the younger guys. And we'll talk about that in another episode. But today we're really going to focus in on those bigger kids. So some of the things that I love to do with our kids are things like partner pairing. And this is also great for the we little loves, but the bigger kids really get into it too. Because let's face it, when you ask kids to partner up and you have them choose their partner, it can actually be pretty fear inducing for some of our kiddos because they have that fear of being left out or nobody choosing them. And I can guess if you have asked kids to pair up, you have seen that look of terror in some of their eyes as well, or the kids that's just standing there like, I don't know who to choose or I don't know where to go, or I don't know what to do. So partner pairing is really quick and simple. All it takes is really cards or pictures. I'll do if I'm looking for groups of, I don't know, fours, I will go through a card deck and I'll pull out four twos and four fours and four, fives, whatever numbers, just so that I have enough for everyone in the class. And then as I'm moving around, I just mix up the cards and I give everybody a card. And then I say, okay, go to your groups. If you're holding a two, go find out all the people with twos. If you're holding a three, find everyone with threes. And so it takes the pressure off them to find their partners because it's kind of random. I also like to do this with pairs, too, and so same approach. You could use a deck of cards or I have these cards that I made, actually, they're called partner pairing cards, and it's just like peanut butter and jelly or cookies and milk. So we will do some different pictures, and the kids kind of have to figure out who they're paired up with by what pairs actually go together. And so it's a lot of fun. It's super quick, super simple, but it really allows them to, first of all, to get up, to move and to find their partner. And from there, we would do some group activities, maybe some scenarios or discussions, but it's a great starting point for kids. Now, some other things that I really like to do with them are things like four corners, where we're going to evaluate certain situations. I use four corners a lot when we're maybe talking about study skills or our families or anything that really can require different perspectives. And I'll assign each corner of the room a number, number one, number two, number three, number four. And then I will have kids go to a certain corner for whatever scenario that I'm calling. So it could be if we're talking about siblings, go to corner one if you have a brother. Go to corner two if you have a sister. Go to corner three if you have both the brothers and sisters. Or go to corner four if you don't have any siblings. That's just one example, but you can break it down into all these different types of things. Even I like using this with study skills. So I might say go to corner one. If you sit down at the same time every night to study. Go to corner two. If you just have to study sometime before bed, go to corner three if you don't study at all. Go to corner four if you have to leave your house to study or you stay after school to get your studying done. And so we would do something like that. Another type of activity that's kind of similar to four corners is called cross the line. And I love this one if we're talking about really any type of perspective type thing. So cross the line if you prefer Coca Cola versus Pepsi or stay on this side of the line if you prefer Pepsi over Coke. That was the quickest thing that came to my mind. But you can change it up or switch it up any way, shape or form. Another kind of similar activity is called the value line, where you have kids line up according to how strongly they feel about the scenario that you're going to give them. And on one side it's like I don't really feel strongly at all. Or on the other side of the room, I feel really strongly. And in the middle is kind of the continuum. And so you have them pick their spot in that continuum, how they feel on that subject. So do they not feel any way, shape or form about it to yes, I am passionate. This is everything and you have them line up. Another activity that I like to do with kids is called down the line. And so I'll break the kids up into two groups. Sometimes I might have to break them up into four. If the classroom is kind of small, and I'll have two groups in the front of the classroom and maybe two groups in the back. But these two groups are going to be about the same number of kids, because I want the lines to be even, and I'm going to have the two groups form a line, and the lines are going to face each other. And then one group will just be kind of like listeners while the other group will usually have some sort of discussion question that will be placed in their hand. I usually try to do their groups of, let's see, six kids, there's going to be six different questions. Person one will have question one, the second person line, question two, three, four or five and so on and so forth. But what they're going to do is that person is going to read the question to the person on the other side who's looking at them, and then they're going to discuss it. And I usually give them like a couple of minutes to discuss it with their partner and then I'm going to say, okay, switch. And so what happens is the people with the question cards are going to switch their order. So if they were the first one in line, they're now going to become the last and they're just going to move and we're just going to repeat the process so that every kid gets to talk about every question but with a different part. And that's a really great way for kids to hear from a variety of their peers, but it also engages them and gets them talking with everyone. And even if they don't get along very well, they know that they're only going to be there talking with them for just a minute or two. So it works out pretty well. Another activity pretty similar to this is called circle to circle. And it's the same type of thing, but if your classroom is set up so that maybe there's a big space in the middle of the class, this works really well because you form two circles, a smaller circle and a bigger circle, and it's the same deal. The outside circle might have a question card or maybe the inside circle does, but one of your circles will have the question cards and the other ones will not. And so the person across from them is who they're going to be talking to. And then you're going to say switch and then one of the circles will move and the other one is going to stay in their spot. So once again, they're going to be mixing up their partners with who they're going to be talking with. Another activity, and I'm sure you probably heard about this one, is snowball fight, where you have the kids write the answer to their questions or to the question on the snowball. Then they're going to crumple it up. They're going to have a little snowball fight. They're going to pick it up, read the answer, and then add theirs on top of it. And you're going to keep doing this until the answers are all mixed up. And kids get to share their answers a variety of times, think of new ones and see what their classmates have to say as well. Another activity is called toss and catch. And this is just a really simple activity. As you are discussing the questions, you are going to just simply toss the ball and say, okay, if you catch it, you're the one who's answering it and then you can have the kid. If they look at you like, I can't answer this question, you can have them call a friend or phone a friend or pass the ball to another player or another classmate who could perhaps help them answer it. And then the ball is just going to keep getting tossed. And the person who has the ball is the person who gets to answer the question. But it keeps them a little bit on their toes because you never know where that ball is going to go. And I usually don't get anything hard, but usually like a beanbag or something like that and just pass it around the class. Another activity that you can use to get kids really thinking about an answer and why something is so important. So let's say you're talking about bullying. Why is bullying important? And if you had to make a commercial to really get it across to other kids, like why we shouldn't bully or what do we need to do to prevent it in our school? How would you make this commercial? So you have them work with a small group of their peers in making a commercial to convince the rest of their class or the rest of the school or the rest of the world why it's so important. But you don't give them a lot of time. You give them maybe five, 7 minutes, and then you cut them off and then you regroup and you have each group present their 1 minute commercial. It's a lot of fun. Usually there's some acting involved and it's just a really good time. Another thing that I love to do with the kids is to get them thinking is called Two Truths and a Lie. And you can do this sort of variety of way. You can have kids if you want them to share something about themselves. You can have them kind of share two truths and one lie and have their peers pick out, like which is the lie or which is the truth. Or if you're learning about a topic, like I like to do, and I'm giving them a lot of information or facts, I will do a little review game with them called Two Truths and a Lie. And so I'll have two of those facts that are truthful and one that I've made up that's completely random. And then they'll have to think in their little groups, all right, now, which are the truths and which one is the lie? Like, which one was wrong? And just have them brainstorming and talking and thinking about what and reflecting back on to really what they learned. So two truths and a lie is a good means of reflecting back to what they learned, especially, like I said, if you're giving them a lot of details. So this is also fun if you're learning about the brain. So you might say and you're talking about the PFC and the amygdala, and maybe you want them to know something about the brain stem. And so you give them the different parts of the brain and two of the parts will be really what they do, and another one is completely made up and they have to remember back to, okay, what does the amygdala do, what is the brain stem for, what does the PFC do? And so they have to remember those things. So that's always fun. And another thing that you can do with kids is just to have them interview each other and share their thoughts about the topic that you're working on. And then they have to report that back to the class. So you're working on those listening skills, those communication skills, and those being able to reflect back and remembering what somebody said. So a really good skill set to teach. So these are just a few things, and I know I ran through them really quickly, but they're also really fun. Now, as you're doing any of these things, you really have to remember that after you do all of this stuff, you have to go back, and you have to really have discussion. So you have to be able to say, okay, my friends, we just did it. So what did we do? What does this mean, and how can I use this in my future? So you're really looking at the past. What did we do? The so what? So what does this mean? The present, we are here. What does this mean? And then the now what? How does this affect us in our future? What can we take forward? How can we use this information to make our school better, our community better, our home better? So you're always looking back at those three things, those three components. Anyway, friends, this was just a quick little rundown of some things that you could do to bring a little excitement to your classroom lessons. And next time, hopefully, we'll be talking about what we can do with those littles all right, until next time. Have a great week. Bye for now.

Carol: Thanks for listening to today's episode of Counselor Chat. All of the links I talked about can be found in the Show Notes and@counselingessentials.org Podcasts. Be sure to hit, follow, or subscribe on your favorite podcast player. And if you would be so kind.

Carol: To leave a review, and I'd really appreciate it. Want to connect?

Carol: Send me a DM on Facebook or Instagram at counseling essentials. Until next time. Can't wait till we chat. Bye for now.