Wondering how to spice up your on-line lessons? Here are a few ways you can do just that.
1. Use a shared Google Doc – One of the easiest ways to get your students to be engaged in their online lesson is to use a shared Google Doc. If you have any discussion questions, you can put these on a shared Google Doc with enough rows for each student to answer each question. Then when you get to that part of the lesson, you can give your students time to fill out the document at the same time. This will ensure that all students participate. This is great for those shy students who are too timid to talk during a Zoom lesson.
2. Use Zoom break-out rooms – Since a lot of schools are still online, some kids are missing that socialization aspect of school. By using break-out rooms and encouraging group discussions and projects, students will really appreciate the change and be happy to take part.
3. Use multimedia – Nothing is more boring than a 1 hour lesson of straight lecture. Online it is even worse. Make sure to use pictures, Google Slides, PowerPoint, YouTube videos and anything else you can think of to make your online lessons have a multimedia appeal.
4. Have an impromptu dance party – If you notice your students are about to fall asleep or they look terribly bored, just take a few moments and have them all jump up and start dancing around. You can let a student pick the dance song.
5. Have a dress up day – This works well for young students, but even high school students will enjoy a dress up day. It can be anything from dressing up as animals, to wearing a big hat, to a funky hair day, or anything else you can think of. This will help students enjoy the lesson more and bring back a little of the traditional school fun to online learning!
