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As a future educator, I want to make all subjects more interesting, engaging, and fun for students. I believe that school and learning should be fun for children, and not associated with negative feelings. How can I make science lessons fun for my future students, besides using experiments?
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I always see students most excited about learning when they have some sort of choice in what they get to part take in. Giving students the options will then make them feel like the teacher isn't just always telling them what they have to do. They will take ownership in their learning. I think another thing to keep in mind is get students hands on. Take them outside and do a trash clean up. Talk to them about recycling and make a project out of recycled goods. They will love this and it benefits the school grounds as well.
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In general, I believe you can make science lessons fun by finding a way to tie it to students' personal experiences. When students can relate to what they are learning, they tend to be more engaged throughout the learning process. In addition, try using a variety of resources such as videos, interactive games, worksheets, hands-on activities, and experiments. In this day and age, students love technology. So, incorporating technological tools can be a good way to engage students.
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All actvities that we give to students should be engaging and exciting, and I understand that it could get repetitive giving experiment after experiment. Another way to make science lessons fun for your students is to have them get into a space of 'wonder'. This was something I learned in a college course that said the first step to learning and understanding is wonder. When students wonder, and by this I mean ponder, question, imagine, and discover, they are using inquiry to discover new things. Bring in a huge plant into the classroom and have it there as the students walk in, have a big clear container full of water or some other substance that the students can see, bring in a class pet into the room. Whenever a student begins to wonder, they begin to learn.
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In my opinion, hands on is best! I also like to incorporate story books into my science lessons that go along with my topic. One way my students get engaged the most is through problem based learning. I always start with something that makes them wonder, then when they ask questions about it, I can add flame to that inquiry to make them wonder even more. They get so excited, that they can't wait to find the answers. This motivation fuels their learning and their investigation.
Movement is also important. Take them for walks and make observations. We have made observations about pushes and pulls on the play ground, found slow and fast changes while walking around the school campus, and even went outside just to listen for sounds.
I also like to provide magazines and books for them to do their own research. Students do well when they have a choice and when they think they are driving the lesson. You just have to guide them in the direction you want them to go. Good luck!
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Hi Jessica! I totally agree with your suggestions for making science learning more engaging and enjoyable for students. I remember when I was in school, my favorite science lessons were the ones where we got to explore the natural world around us and do hands-on activities without the stress of having to do something just to get a grade. Since science is not a subject that every student might enjoy, I think incorporating other subject areas into science lessons might be a great way to capture more students' attention. As you said, this could be done by reading fun books that related to certain science topics! Starting off a lesson with a 'wonder' phase is also a great suggestion. Through my education courses in college, this is something I have been learning about; capturing student's attention with an engaging activity that boosts their curiosity could be a great way to increase participation and interest in learning among students. It is also important to make science relevant to the students' lives by making those connections between what you are teaching them and their experiences in the real world; this could be accomplished by having students go outside the classroom and explore the school campus for phenomenons that they could build an investigation around.
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I would connect the topic with things the students would be interested in, or connect the topic to the real world. This may help the students get interested in the topic. Also, one of my favorite strategies is introducing the students to a fun and interesting fact about what you would be teaching that day.
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I think to make science engaging and fun for your students, anything interactive, outside, or artistic is something new and interesting that they will want ot partcipate in and engage with. We made rockets out of 2 liter bottles when I was in elementary school and everyone loved it and I still remember it to this day.
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I honestly think you can also make science engaging and fun for your students if you make them feel like real scientists. Give them the opportunity of discovering what's in the universe and how things work today, how they used to work and how they are likely to work in the future. Allowing our students to be scientists and feel motivated by the actual thrill of seeing of simply figuring out something that 'no one' has before will make the activities more fun and engaging for them! :)
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