If there is one thing we know about kids, its that they have short attention spans and prefer

now to later. This is especially

true at the beginning of the year.
Teachers, more than any district or schoolwide programs, have the most power to motivate students becaus
If there is one thing we know about kids, its that they have short attention spans and prefer now to later. This is especially
true at the beginning of the year.
Teachers, more than any district or schoolwide programs, have the most power to motivate students because theyre on the
front lines. They can influence students in a way that kids can actually understand: here, now, today, in this room.
***Obviously, not enough can be said about parent involvement, but thats a Top 12 list for another day***
Motivating Students In Your Classroom or School
1. Praise Students in Ways Big and Small
Recognize work in class, display good work in the classroom and send positive notes home to parents, hold weekly awards
in your classroom, organize academic pep rallies to honor the honor roll, and even sponsor a Teacher Shoutout section in
the student newspaper to acknowledge students hard work.
2. Expect Excellence
Set high, yet realistic expectations. Make sure to voice those expectations. Set short terms goals and celebrate when they
are achieved.
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3. Spread Excitement Like a Virus
e theyre on the front lines. They can influence students in a way that kids can actually understand: here, now, today, in
this room.
***Obviously, not enough can be said about parent involvement, but thats a Top 12 list for another day***
Motivating Students In Your Classroom or School
1. Praise Students in Ways Big and Small
Recognize work in class, display good work in the classroom and send positive notes home to parents, hold weekly awards
in your classroom, organize academic pep rallies to honor the honor roll, and even sponsor a Teacher Shoutout section in
the student newspaper to acknowledge students hard work.
2. Expect Excellence
Set high, yet realistic expectations. Make sure to voice those expectations. Set short terms goals and celebrate when they
are achieved.
Related Articles

How to Decorate Your Classroom to Maximize Learning
How can my decorations enhance student learning this year?

Back-to-School Ideas: Host a Successful Open House
Here are a few tips to help you address all the necessary issues regarding your...

How to Write a Powerful College Recommendation Letter
Heres a crash course on what you should do when writing college recommendation...

Sure-Fire Ways to Teaching Vocabulary
Here are ways technology will make teaching vocabulary more effective, fun,...

Get Parents on Your Team: First Day of School Activities
Establish an open line of communication with as many parents as possible,...
3. Spread Excitement Like a Virus
Show your enthusiasm in the subject & use appropriate, concrete and understandable examples to help students grasp
it. For example, I love alliteration. Before I explain the concept to students, we improv subjects theyre interested
in. After learning about alliteration, they brainstorm alliterative titles for their chosen subjects.
4. Mix It Up
Its a classic concept and the basis for differentiated instruction, but it needs to be said: using a variety of teaching
methods caters to all types of learners. By doing this in an orderly way, you can also maintain order in your classroom. In
a generic example for daily instruction, journal for 10 minutes to open class; introduce the concept for 15 minutes;
discuss/group work for 15 minutes; Q&A or guided work time to finish the class. This way, students know what to expect
everyday and have less opportunity to act up.
5. Assign Classroom Jobs
With students, create a list of jobs for the week. Using the criteria of your choosing, let students earn the opportunity to
pick their classroom jobs for the next week. These jobs can cater to their interests and skills.
Classroom Job Examples
Post to the Class blog
Update Calendar
Moderate review games
Pick start of class music
Watch class pet
Public relations officer (address people who visit class)
Standard class jobs like Attendance, Cleaning the boards, putting up chairs, etc.
6. Hand Over Some Control
If students take ownership of what you do in class, then they have less room to complain (though we all know, itll never
stop completely). Take an audit of your class, asking what they enjoy doing, what helps them learn, what theyre excited
about after class. Multiple choice might be the best way to start if you predict a lot of nothing or watch movies
answers.
After reviewing the answers, integrate their ideas into your lessons or guide a brainstorm session on how these ideas could
translate into class.
On a systematic level, let students choose from elective classes in a collegiate format. Again, they can tap into their
passion and relate to their subject matter if they have a choice.
7. Open-format Fridays
You can also translate this student empowerment into an incentive program. Students who attended class all week,
completed all assignments and obeyed all classroom rules can vote on Fridays activities (lecture, discussion, watching a
video, class jeopardy, acting out a scene from a play or history).
8. Relating Lessons to Students Lives
Whether it is budgeting for family Christmas gifts, choosing short stories about your town, tying in the war of 1812 with
Iraq, rapping about ions, or using Pop Culture Printables, students will care more if they identify themselves or their
everyday lives in what theyre learning.
9. Track Improvement
In those difficult classes, it can feel like a never-ending uphill battle, so try to remind students that theyve come a long
way. Set achievable, short-term goals, emphasis improvement, keep self-evaluation forms to fill out and compare
throughout the year, or revisit mastered concepts that they once struggled with to refresh their confidence.
10. Reward Positive Behavior Outside the Classroom
Tie service opportunities, cultural experiences, extracurricular activities into the curriculum for extra credit or as
alternative options on assignments. Have students doing Habitat for Humanity calculate the angle of the freshly cut board,
count the nails in each stair and multiply the number of stairs to find the total number of nails; write an essay about their
experience volunteering or their how they felt during basketball tryouts; or any other creative option they can come up
with.
Motivating Students Beyond the Classroom
The idea of cash incentives is a timely yet controversial topic, so Id like to look at this attempt to buy achievement
through a different lens. It seems people are willing to dump some money into schools, so lets come up with better ways
to spend it.
11. Plan Dream Field Trips
With your students, brainstorm potential field trips tiered by budget. Cash incentive money can then be earned toward the
field trips for good behavior, performance, etc. The can see their success in the classroom as they move up from the decent
zoo field trip to the good state capitol day trip to the unbelievable week-long trip to New York City. Even though the
reward is delayed, tracking progress will give students that immediate reward.
12. College Fund Accounts
College dreams motivate athletes; why not adapt the academic track to be just as tangible for hard-working student. One
way is to keep a tally of both the cash value and the potential school choice each student has earned. As freshman, they see
theyve earned one semester at the local junior college. By second semester of junior year, theyre going to four-years at
State for half the price. By graduation, watch out free ride to their dream school.
How do you motivate your students? Share in the comments section!

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