Put Excitement in Your Lessons!

By Larry Bell
I hear a lot of teachers say, “That child is unmotivated. She doesn’t care.” To that teacher I have this response: There is no such thing as an unmotivated child. What that child is, is uninspired. Then I add, “And I believe that an empowered teacher -- a teacher who believes he or she can reach all their students -- inspires young people.”
The main thing I have found for inspiring the un-inspirable is this: Teachers must put excitement in their lesson plans. I propose that it is hard to inspire anyone by boring them to death. The best way to excite students is to be excited yourself about what you are teaching. We educators must be excited every day we walk through that door. My gosh, if we are teaching it and can’t get excited about it, how do we expect students -- especially our most challenged students -- to get excited about what we are doing? All teachers need to create lesson plans that are going to inspire their students. But there are some other things teachers can do to make their classes inspiring.
Guest speakers. When I was in the classroom, I often generated excitement in a topic by inviting guest speakers to speak to my science students. I invited professionals in their fields to speak on their topics of expertise. Some people think guest speakers are a waste of time, but I see them as a way to achieve my state standards. I see them as a way to inspire students while keeping the academic integrity of my classes intact. One year, when my students were studying weather, I invited a local TV meteorologist into my classroom to bring life to our unit. I watched the excitement happen as kids listened to her, asked questions, and related her talk to relevant curriculum material we had covered. This speaker proved inspiring. It was time very well spent. I also invited former students to be guest speakers in my classroom. Students who went on to college and are taking classes relevant to my curriculum can get my current students excited by telling them about how the information I’m teaching is helping them in what they’re doing in college. In addition, my students need role models and former students who are having success in college are great role models.
Academic Games. Games like “Jeopardy” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” are popular with students who -- let’s face it -- spend a lot of time in front of the tube. I contend that it is possible to use games such as those and keep the academic integrity of my curriculum intact. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not advocating that games be used in the classroom every day. If you did that, the games would quickly bore students too. But, from time to time, why not spice up your class with an academic game? Knowing there will be a game tomorrow might inspire students to do some class-related reading tonight.
Interviews. If you’re planning to teach about a topic that relates to everyone’s life in some way, why not have kids go home and interview their parents or neighbours about the topic in question? What was the worst weather incident a family member or neighbour can recall? Where were they when they learned that Martin Luther King, Jr., had been assassinated? What book read as a child brings back the happiest memories? Have students share the responses they collected as others take notes. Even your most resistant students might tell about things they learned by interviewing family and friends. The interview technique can also be used to collect data to be graphed in math class. It can be used to help students collect information as they write their autobiographies in language arts. Interviews can be used to generate many different and inspiring lessons.
Competition. Another way to get kids excited is to use friendly competition in the classroom. Arrange students into teams and have them compete against each other as they gather information, answer questions, or complete assignments. When I was in the classroom, I created at TV show called “It’s Scientific” that I modeled on a local TV game show called “It’s Academic.” I chose four representatives from each of my classes and had them compete during our school’s club time. I videotaped the game and showed that video to all my classes. It was so exciting as kids watched and joined in on the fun.
Guest speakers, academic games, interviews, and friendly competitions can get kids excited about learning. But the most important thing of all is for teachers to model excitement and enthusiasm.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Nothing great is ever achieved without enthusiasm.” We educators must show every day what we want our students to feel.