Out of the Deep Freeze We Go!

I have joined up with some amazing secondary bloggers who are pulling things out of the deep freeze.  No we aren’t offering leftovers covered in freezer burn; instead, my colleagues and I would like to share an ideas that may have been buried away, ones whose time has come!

I’d like to give you a few “recipes” that will get your students’ brains out of the frozen state, ones that will energize and wake them up, so they are ready to learn.  I do not have the secret to creating a class of students who sit on the edge of their seats, eager for every lesson you throw at them, but I do believe that if we get them out of those seats as often as we can, that they are more ready to learn.

We all know from experience at staff meetings and PD
sessions that there’s nothing more deadly than having to sit for long periods of time and just listen–at least for those of us who would prefer to be active.  In fact, no one ever said that the best way to learn is on your butt–it’s just easier for us to deliver our lessons that way, and it’s certainly seen as less “disruptive”.  (Now there’s an idea that needs to go into the deep freeze–a busy, active classroom is one that invites learning rather than disrupting it!)    If you’d like some ideas for incorporating more movement into your classroom, you can download this FREEBIE.  Also, in my last blog post, I wrote about how I used movement as I helped my students prepare for their exams.

If you like the idea of activating the kinesthetic aspect of your students’ learning, I have two other products available at my TpT store. The first is the Kinesthetic Essay, a step-by-step explanation of how I reinforce the essay writing process by having the students build a “physical”one.   The other is my Grammar Games Bundle.  In it, you will find games that will help you reinforce some common grammar rules while the students get a chance to get up and get moving.  Imagine, having fun with grammar!

I hope you found some ideas to keep your students from “freezing”.  Enjoy hopping around to the other blogs to see what they have taken out of their freezers!