16 Ways to Engage Your Students from the Very Beginning of a Lesson

If you're still experiencing difficulties managing your class, perhaps take a closer look at how you are engaging your students from the very beginning of the lesson.

The first five minutes of a lesson is especially crucial for catching the students' attention right from the very beginning. A motivated class is easier to maintain interest once learning has already taken place.

When choosing those activities, the first question should be - why? What is the purpose behind the activity? And how will it connect to the rest of the lesson? As I mentioned before in a previous tip, good content IS king.

These activities should take between 3-5 minutes as a springboard to the main activity.

So check out these 16 ways to engage your students right from the very beginning of a lesson:

• Give a short oral quiz (3-4 questions) on what was learned/taught in the last lesson. Example - write 3 words you remember from that last lesson. You'll help students remember the vocabulary better.

• Ask students questions about themselves, their day or if something special has happened. This creates interest and puts the focus on current affairs.

• Write the lesson plan on the side of the board and go over. You'll keep students on track (and accountable) as to what will happen during the lesson.

• Start the class with a DO NOW activity. Write a few exercises on the board for students to do as soon as they enter the class. This gets them working and on task and quiets them down.

• Show a picture or a riddle. This stimulates them...

• Put new vocabulary on the board on colorful cards and have them sort and/or categorize them. You'll help them connect with new material while working in groups.

• Put pictures on the board and ask simple question, which encourages them to speak before they begin their reading and writing tasks.

• Write a short proverb or a short story on the board and read it together with them. You'll stimulate students just before the main part of a lesson or can be used as a lead-in or just for FUN.

• Write a new vocabulary word on the board and try to elicit its meaning. You'll be teaching new vocabulary.

• Write the goals of the lesson on the board and discuss with students, which helps them get more organized.

• Start the lesson with something surprising like showing a strange object, question or picture. Ask them to guess why you brought it. This is a fun way to get students to listen while stimulating their curiosity.

• Write on the board what was done during the last lesson which is a quick way to remind, review, retrieve and reflect on material you just taught.

• Go over class behavior and rules which helps students take responsibility for their behavior and learning.

• Write a short story or several sentences and have them copy. This gets students focused and on-task.

• Tip of the Day - Write a grammar or spelling rule on the board and have them copy it down in a notebook, which reminds them of rules you previously taught them.

• Ask students to write about a certain topic for 5 minutes or so in their dialogue journals. Example: Write about something nice that happened to you recently... This gets them focused while expressing themselves.

Don't get the wrong impression - these activities are not intended to put your class on 'automatic pilot,' but rather to help get your class focused and on-task and motivate them for the rest of the lesson.

Remember, you can work it!