Have you ever avoided games, movement, or group work for fear that your classroom would become complete pandemonium? This session provides research-based strategies for intensely engaging students in activities that will keep them focused on the content. You will leave with ideas that can be immediately used in your classroom.

1. Engaging Minds Without Losing Yours!
I. Creating Groups/Pairs
A. Popsicle Sticks – Use these to divide students into groups, assign
classroom chores, call on students to answer questions, and color/dot
code to differentiate.
B. Stickers/Cards – For random pairs/groups use sticker cards or
playing cards to divide students.
C. Clock Buddies – Students find a partner for every hour on the clock.
Each time you need them to work with a partner, they take out their
clocks and find their partners. For example, “Please meet with your 4
o’clock buddy and share your answer for #17.” If students lose their
clocks, this strategy becomes ineffective. Have students put their clocks
in a safe place, such as taped in their notebooks Handout #1 – Clock
Buddies
II. Building/Accessing Background Knowledge
A. Transparency Folders – These are used to pre-assess knowledge,
practice learned material, or drill and practice.
B. Three-Column Vocabulary/Illustrated Vocabulary – Students create a
three-column chart in their notebooks. In the first column they write
the term and create a symbol or illustration to represent the term. In
the second column, they write the definition. In the third column, they
write a sentence connecting the term to the theme of the unit.
C. Vocabulary Game- Create a Category –Handout #2
D. Vocabulary Game - Which One Doesn’t Belong?
E. Vocabulary Game - Concentration - Just like the childhood game,
students match terms and definitions.
F. CLOZE Reading Predictions with a Partner – CLOZE is a technique
in which words are deleted from a passage; students insert words
individually as they read and then share with a partner – Handout #3
– CLOZE Example

2. III. Practice and Application
A. Seek and Find – Students work with a partner to answer questions
while moving around stations in the room. Handout #4 – Seek and
Find Example
B. Tactile Techniques – Students use various charts, post-it notes, and
pieces of paper to physically move information around. – Handouts #5
and #6 – Thematic Maps Classification
C. Give and Take – After students complete their assignment, they meet
with their partner and decide what they will “give” away and what
they will “take” to add to their final product.
D. Find Your Spot - used to categorize information –Several categories
are placed around the room. All students are given a word or a
sentence about a topic and must find their correct category or “spot.”
E. Human Time Line / Human Box and Whisker Plot - Use students
instead of pencil and paper to create an example.
IV. Review and Assessment
A. White Board Review – White boards create a non-
threatening opportunity for all students to participate
B. Review Bingo - Based on the familiar game, students find
classmates who can answer the questions on their cards and
write the classmate’s name in the square. When the squares
are full, draw students’ names (popsicle sticks). If the card
has the name that was called written on it, they can cover
that square. When “BINGO!” is called, check
comprehension by requiring students to answer the
questions. Handout #7 – China Bingo
C. Finish the Sentence – Choose 3-5 students to orally
complete a sentence that reviews the lesson. Each student
can only say one word at a time.
D. Bang! - Terms are placed in a tennis ball can or a Pringles
can. In small groups, students take turns pulling words out
of the can. If they can define the word, they get to keep it.
If a Bang! is pulled, all the cards they have collected must
be returned to the can. The student with the greatest
number of cards when the game ends is the winner.
E. Round Robin Review - Using the Jigsaw format, students
compete to correctly answer review questions.