What Are Some Ways to Motivate My Middle School Class?

 

It can be hard to keep middle school students engaged these days as social media has taken a front seat.  If you are fortunate enough to work in a school where cell phones are prohibited, then you have a head start.  

Even still, it can be tricky.  Middle schoolers love trends, and it can be difficult to show them that there's more school than that.  But these things have worked for me in getting my middle schoolers motivated:

1.  Teams

This has, by far, been the best classroom management system I have used since the pandemic.  It requires students to display Traits of Excellence in order to earn points for their team and win coupon books to "hack the class".  

Some of those traits are integrity, responsibility, and knowledge.  I use popsicle sticks with student names on them to ask questions about content that has been taught.  Students who answer correctly earn points for their team.  (I also give partial credit.)  This really helps students pay attention to the lesson because they want to see their points on the leaderboard.  It's amazing what a little competition can do!

Read more about Teams by clicking here.

2.  Physical Movement

Two of my favorite games to play with task cards is "scoot" and "scatter."
 
For Scatter, I tape task cards all around the room, and students have to wander around to answer them.

These cards ask students to identify claims, opposing claims, and relevant and irrelevant evidence.  They are based on 2 texts about Easter Island, and the movement keeps students engaged!

To play Scoot, I tape task cards to each desk in the room.  Everyone starts at their own desk, and I set a timer for 1 minute.  Everyone answers their card, and when the timer goes off at the one-minute mark, they scoot to the next desk in their row or in the predetermined pattern I set.  

My students love these games because they add movement to learning content.

For more physical movement game ideas, click here.

3.  Challenges

Every year, as we work on argumentative essays, students groan and moan and act like - well, middle schoolers.  :)  To make it more interesting, I start off with a question:

Who are the two teams playing in the Big Game?

Once they tell me, then I ask:  "Are they glad to be playing?"

I say, "Of course!  They want to win so they can be the best and go to Disney World!  Our state test in writing is your Big Game, and you should want to show that you're the best, too!  And we'll do this through the Argumentative Challenge!"

Then, I explain how students are going to earn puzzle pieces for a "social" by completing various "workouts" - argumentative essay tasks.

At the end of the week, I offer one day of "overtime," and then the following Monday, what everyone's puzzle shows is what they earn!  My students' prize was a popcorn "social," and they were motivated to get all the items on the puzzle, including a full bag of popcorn, salt, butter, and a drink!

So there you have it - 3 great ways to motivate any middle school class.  I recommend trying all 3 and seeing which one works best for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

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