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Keeping students active and enagged

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Ariel Kimbrough Ariel Kimbrough 1515 Points

Hello Everyone!

My name is Ariel Kimbrough and I am an aspiring teacher. I would like to teach 1st or 2nd grade after I graduate college in May of 2021. However, that may not be the case. In any event, when teaching, children get bored and fidgetty quickly. If I become a 6th grade teacher, what advice would you give in order to keep the students active and participating? I was a student who did not like science at all, so I would often zone out duing those times. The only time I was interested was when we were doing fun and cool science experiements. With, what new advice would you give a new, scared teacher during these lessons? Should I expect students to zone out, or is it ultimatley up to me to get them ready and willing to learn new information? Please let me know, thank you in advance! 
Darcie Pilon Darcie Pilon 490 Points

Ariel,

Keeping students engaged is very important in the classroom and is one of my fears as a pre-service teacher. In one of my classes, we read an article that explained teaching is like performing magic. If you can 'sell the show' to your students, they are more likely to be engaged in your lesson. The key is to be as enthusiastic as possible about the subject, even if you are not excited about it yourself. The article explains that teachers are performers in the classroom because once you create that interest, the more likely they are to follow and engage in the activity.

Article: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/01/what-classrooms-can-learn-from-magic/425100/ 
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