The following sources below are some examples and suggestions on how to make your classroom engaging and fun while your students learn! Instead of just sticking to the mandatory textbook, explore sites or classroom activities that can help students to learn the needed material while making things interesting. The following websites, videos and classroom activities chosen below are suggestions to switch things up in the curriculum!
●Classroom Jeopardy Review Game
Link: https://www.superteachertools.us/jeopardyx/
A class activity that can make class reviews competitive and interesting in the classroom. Instead of giving a simple review sheet or a review lecture, a teacher can have students work in groups as they try to buzz in to be the first to answer correctly and help them prepare for an upcoming test. For instance, a math teacher can make the categories based on the sections of a chapter and have the questions be related to each section. Teachers are able to create their own game and modify it so that the game can help their students be prepared for a test.
●Kahoot!
Link: https://kahoot.com/schools/
Kahoot! is a game that is currently implemented in schools as a fun and engaging way for students to participate in class while they still learn in the classroom. This website allows teachers to find particular quiz games or create a quiz game of their own to use in their lesson plans and have students answer by downloading the Kahoot! app on their phones. This multiple choice quiz game can be used for a test review, to introduce new content on the subject one is teaching or to simply help students retain the info that they have learned. Kahoot! is perfect for grades K-12 for any school subject.
● SPENT game
Link: http://playspent.org/
This game created by ad agency McKinney for Urban Ministries of Durham is an educational game where students start out with 1000 dollars and need to survive 30 days. The game ends when the student survives the 30 days with the money left over or when they run out of money. This helps give students a view of what decisions people make who live in poverty and are close to becoming homeless. This lets students know and learn that not everyone is lucky to have their own home, that not everyone has their refrigerators filled up with food, or that sometimes missing important doctor appointments may be necessary in order to have more money. This resource can be used to teach students about socioeconomic classes, the lower class in particular and the difficulties that one lives when it comes to poverty. Playing this game could be appropriate for students in grades 7-12. The weaknesses of this game are it doesn’t really continue once a person runs out of money and does not show what one can do to raise money and the struggles of being homeless. I would have made the game continue in showing what would happen once you don’t have enough money to pay rent, and what you can do to avoid living on the streets such as looking for shelters.
● The Gripping Sermon That Got ‘Under God’ Added to the Pledge of Allegiance
Link: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/06/14/the-gripping-sermon-that-got-under-god-added-to-the-pledge-of-allegiance-on-flag-day/%3foutputType=amp
This article by Rachel Siegel found on the Washington Post website discusses on how the phrase ‘Under God’ is added in the pledge of allegiance that elementary and high schools in the U.S. recite every morning. This article can be read together with students and have a discussion on the phrase which they can provide their opinion of whether they would be for or against the idea of adding that phrase under the pledge of allegiance. Students in grades 8-12 can discuss the idea of perhaps reciting the pledge without saying ‘Under God’ since not everyone believes in the same God or perhaps don’t believe in one at all.
● What LGBT Students Want You To Know
Link: https://youtu.be/B-G4vA6TsX4
This video by Teaching For America is a short video about two students of color who are in the LGBT+ community that tell their stories of how what their peers or their teachers say can impact on how they perform academically and affect their confidence in their identity. It is important for educators to show this to their students, especially in the beginning of the school year so they can understand that they need to watch what they say towards others. It should also be a lesson to students to respect their LGBT+ peers. This video is appropriate for students in grades 6-12 since this is the age range of adolescence where students are trying to find their identity. However, to improve this video, I would look for more stories about LGBT+ students and their experiences of bullying in school.
● First Encounters With Racism
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/us/first-encounters-with-racism.html?_r=0
This New York Times Article with the collaboration of Youth Radio tells the stories of 4 young adults that are people of color that share when they have experienced racism in their lives. With having students reading this article when learning about the topic of racism, a teacher can have a group discussion with students and have them share their stories if any of them have also experienced racism like these 4 people in the article. This article can also open the eyes to privileged students who have not experienced racism and understand the need for equality inside and outside of school. This article is appropriate for students in grades 6-12.
●Disabilities Awareness Packet
Link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.dvusd.org/cms/lib/AZ01901092/Centricity/Domain/1318/Disability%2520Awareness%2520Packet%25202.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwio6ficg5TpAhXEm-AKHR3iB8kQFjALegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw18bU5aiDnLZmWBNKgK1I0P
This links to a pdf that educators may print out and use for the lesson plan pertaining to disability awareness in the classroom. The packet includes information on disabilities such as autism, hearing impairments, etc., and provides activities for students to get to know what a child who actually has that disability experiences everyday. The activities vary from doing it individually in small groups. The packet allows educators to even send feedback to Lidia Vittore, the creator of the packet. I feel this packet can help students in elementary/middle school levels or even in the high school level to learn about disabilities. The only thing I would do to possibly make this better is to list the type of disabilities in each category.
●Garcia, Valeria, “Teaching Diversity To Our Youngest Generation,”
Link: https://readingpartners.org/blog/teaching-diversity-youngest-generation/
This article discusses on the importance of teaching race/ethnicity to younger children and provides discussion guides that relate to children’s books that discuss race/ethnicity. The author recommends books such as “Amazing Grace” by Mary Hoffman and “A Piece of Home” by Jeri Watts and also lists which age groups these books are appropriate for. With using these books students can know the struggles of what it is like to feel when you come from another country, or that one’s skin color does not completely define who you are.
A Curriculum Toolkit 