Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Engaging all students
Today was a rough day in my Personal Finance class. The students seemed to be very tired and did not want to particapate in the lesson. I had a hard time getting responses from most of the class. There was a few kids who were fully engaged, but not the whole class. We were discussing life insurance in this lesson. Does anyone have any ideas of how to get more students involved when they seem to be tired or not interested? Any strategies or tips. Thanks all
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That's kind of a tough one. It seems like I've been fighting the other end of the spectrum. I've been trying different ways to get my students to take turns and participate properly in discussions. However, to get them interested, I have found that humor goes a long way. Coming up with personal examples that are funny or even made up examples to help solidify the concept while simultaneously making it interesting can draw kids in. Just an idea.
ReplyDeleteI'm being totally serious as I write this...I remember my 7th grade teacher would give us Jolly Ranchers late in the morning or afternoon to rejuvinate us when we were lagging. The sugar stimulated us enough to perk us up and get engaged in the conversation. If you're not into giving candy, or just don't have any on hand, I've noticed just stopping the lesson for a moment and having students stand and stretch is also beneficial.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to life insurance, I could see how students might be uninterested if they think they won't need it until later in life. That's tough for the teacher. I'm sure you did this, but try making the content as applicable as possbile helps...maybe suggest various plans their parents have or discuss why people take out the plans they do (to maintain high lifestyle; policies for people in dangerous lines of work, etc.)
I hate to say this, but i think that those are just days we all are going to have. I know that isnt very helpful....
ReplyDeleteOne thing that you could do is to try a differnt approach, do something that is hands on and involves them thinking about themselves. Life insurance is hard...but you might be able to have them try to guess what it would cost for a funural. i mean i that was not part of your original lesson plan, but adaptaion is what we are all about right? if you had them guessing (and maybe planning) for something they may be more involved. You could then use that to talk about why you would want life insurance (to cover funeral costs) and so forth!
I agree with Austie, those kind of days are hard and I have them often in my 7th period Finance class. It is hard to get students motivated, especially since I have them the last period of the day. Maybe take Angie's advice and bring candy or something to perk them up!
ReplyDeleteTry to relate the insurance to their life as much as possible. Relate the content to what is going on their life, or their families life if at all possible and maybe they will think... "hey this is information that will be important for me to know and use in the future," then again... I struggle with this too!