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As a future teacher, I have always wanted one of my top priorities in the classroom to be how can I make learning material enjoyable for my students. This is an important aspect of teaching young minds because it helps them to better memorize certain material when they can recall having fun or enjoying themselves. So, my question is what type of tips, activities, or lessons would you recommend to be able to teach material to young students and help them retain the information?

I agree with you that it is easier for students to remember information when they remember themselves having fun (they are thinking back to an episodic memory). However, I think teaching science, especially to young students like you are looking at, is more about getting students to explore the world around them and make sense of it, rather than memorize facts or other material. I think one way to do this is to bring up a topic that you would like students to focus on and see what questions they have about it. Then, you can design hands-on opportunities for students to explore the topic in search of answers to those questions. In addition, since many of the state standards and NGSS standards are starting to focus more on the processes within science, you can always find ways to tie in the standards you need to with the activities you are designing to help students answer questions. 

-Kaylee

Wartburg College class of 24

Elementary Education Major with endorsements in reading, early childhood, and special education 

I've always found that making the topic relevant to the students helps a ton. I make sure I get to know their interests, and give real world applications for the topic. If they see the relevance to their own lives, they're way more engaged. 

Children come to us with limited experiences from which to draw in classroom discussions. Doing something very quick and easy with the students gives them all an equal ground and a good starting point for conversation so that when they do a student-driven experiment or inquiry, they are all coming from at least one shared experience. This is especially helpful for a diverse or marginalized community of learners who are less likely to have been exposed to the wonders of science in the community or a school where supplies are limited.