Middle School Science Engagement Strategies
One of the things that I want to be known for in the middle school science classroom is capturing my students’ attention and engaging them to the point that they forget they are learning. The passion started one fine day, as a first-year teacher, after I received a HORRIBLE observation note that many of my students were doing something else besides doing what I asked. Typical rookie mistake. From that point on, I grew each day and strived to make sure that every last student was involved in learning, and that they knew how much I wanted them to be successful and enjoy the subject.
Although I must say, I do purchase many items that I think would be neat to try in the classroom, whether it be food for a model, materials for a science experiment, or a neat activity on Teachers Pay Teachers; however, there are things that you can try to engage and motivate your students that will not cost a single dime!
So, how to keep middle schoolers engaged? Let’s explore more!
Classroom Engagement Strategies
Jump on the Desk
Let me tell you. If you want each and every student paying attention to what you have to say. Stand on the desk! It worked really well in my middle school science classroom because we had some sturdy lab tables, but you can make it work with a smaller desk too, or you can stand on a chair. Anything that I needed to say that I thought was important, or even the “boring stuff” that needed to be heard, I just jumped on the desk, and all of a sudden, I was the coolest teacher on the hall.
Another fun thing I’d do for this is to stand on the desk for a review activity!
Take Students Outside
There are so many things in the middle school science curriculum that will give you an excuse to take your students outside. One of my FAVORITE times to take my students out was during our clouds lesson. What better way to learn about the clouds than to actually go outside and see them? Another great time to take students outside is when you are completing a messy experiment or a lab that requires a lot of space. Middle school students do not get the chance to go outside as much as they need to. So, go ahead, go learn outdoors!
Raid Your Middle School Science Closet
Many schools have equipment that actually never gets used. Go check out your science closet, and see what’s in there! How does it relate to the curriculum? I would go to my school’s science closet on a regular basis to get ideas. One day, I found a pot and a burner, and I thought, hmm, this would make a great lesson on conduction AND we can discuss the relationship between evaporation and boiling. BAM! The students were super interested, and learning was taking place. Also, it was spirit week and pajama day, so this was a recipe for an awesome day!
Pray
Ok, so I know you are thinking. How will this get your middle school science students to pay attention? You all, with God, all things are possible! I’m not saying to have a prayer session with students, because, you know, there are rules these days, but, I’m saying, pray before school with colleagues, pray silently before the next class. Pray that your students will be receptive to the information you have to share with them. You’d be surprised how well your day will go!
Play Dress Up
I have seen this work time and time again in my classroom, and many others. Even when I walked into my classroom with a lab coat on one day, it had every student waiting to see what I was going to do. I didn’t pay a dime for the coat. I had a friend of a friend that worked at the local hospital that had an extra lab coat. Don’t hesitate to reach out to someone to get materials for your class. People love teachers and will go the extra mile to help you out. There are also sites like Donor’s Choose that you can request items you want for your classroom.
Ok, well, what if you don’t want to dress up? Let the students dress up! Have theme days. Solving a science mystery? Dress like a detective. Walking slowly for a distance-time graph lab? Dress up like zombies. The possibilities are endless!
Tell A Story About Different Science Topics
You know what middle school science students like more than anything? They like for their teacher to get distracted so that they don’t have to learn and do work. They thrive on getting their teacher to change the subject. I’ve taught at many levels, and this is a consistent and real thing, BUT what if you can make them think they are distracting you, but in reality, it was all the plan. That’s when you are a winner! Tell a story related to the lesson, but real-life experiences. What about that time that you went skydiving…did you jump out in the stratosphere? Or wait, wasn’t that Felix Baumgartner! Pull up a video. Tell that story!
What if you are not a good storyteller? Let the students tell some stories! I’m sure that there is something they’ve done in their life that can be attributed to Newton’s Laws.
Lecturing? You can Still Engage!
Lecturing gets a bad rap. There is a way to “lecture” that still allows your students to learn. Do I think you need to lecture for a whole class? No, but that’s a blog for another day. If you do choose to lecture to middle school students, you have to break it up. As an adult, I have a short attention span, so I know my students do as well. During a “lecture”, take breaks to allow for instruction, play a game, or use some of the other strategies in this post within.
I loved doing an in-class flipped classroom! As students were learning, I would let them take a stretch break (or jumping jacks, push-ups, etc.) break every ten minutes! This kept them engaged!
Middle School Science Technology
This is an exciting time to be a middle school science teacher. There is SO much that you can do with technology! There are so many WebQuests, research opportunities, Google Apps, videos, simulations, games. The “paperless” classroom is becoming a trend in schools these days. Now is the time to start using more technology in your class!
Oh, and let’s not forget Canva! There are so many opportunities with this!
Middle School Science Games
There are so many games that you can buy that align to the curriculum, and I do suggest that you check them out; however, there are many games that you can come up with on the fly to engage students in the content, especially review games like all around the world, trashketball, and Kahoot!. You can also play games with formative assessment strategies.
Invite a Guest
This is something that I didn’t take advantage of until I had taught a few years, mainly because I didn’t know where to start, or how to do it. There are many people in your community that would be willing to talk to your class such as local meteorologist, scientists, college professors, staff at the local museum, and more! What if you cannot get anyone to come to visit your classroom in person? Well, with technology, someone could visit your class virtually. Do NOT be afraid to ask someone if they will come share knowledge with your students. There worst that could happen is that they would say no, but what if they said yes? Dream big!
Bring in the Themes
With any lesson that you do, you can bring in different elements that match a “theme”. This could be props, food, music, or something else!
For example, say you are teaching about the skeletal system. You could bring in some X-rays, if you have any. If not, I’m sure you have a student that can bring in this prop to make the lesson even more exciting!
What about food? One example would be when you are teaching about phases of the moon. Why not bring in some Moon Pies to snack!
We can’t forget music! What about jamming to “We Will Rock You” when learning about rocks and minerals?
The possibilities are endless!
Mystery Boxes
Another free engaging strategy, that you can use for ANY topic, is a mystery box. This is a WONDER strategy that you can use before teaching a topic.
Just put a bunch of stuff in a box a let students guess what your going to teach about that day!
For example, say you are going to teach about sound waves. In a box, you can put rubber bands, a tuning form, instruments, a bell, glasses, etc. Take one object out at a time and let students guess!
There are many ways that you can use a mystery box. This is just an example!
Bring the WOW Factor to Your Middle School Science Classroom!
[…] everything about science. One thing I’ve learned from teaching middle school is that you have to keep your students’ attention, or they will find something else to do. This is why I have a passion for creating resources for […]