5 Interactive Classroom Ideas for Teachers

Students learn best by participating in interactive classroom activities. The attain knowledge by gathering information and utilizing it through problem-solving and verbally expressing what they have discovered. If you are looking for interactive classroom ideas to stimulate your students’ participation and growth, here are some solutions for you.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a useful process to generate creative ideas and thoughts. This activity encourages students to work together to find solutions. It is a great idea when trying to get students to think for themselves to begin a new course, or to pool together learned ideas after a course.

Free Writing/Minute Papers/Question of the Day Exercises

There are activities that prompt students to write a response to open-ended questions, and you can use these activities at anytime during your class. In just a few minutes, these activities can help kids focus on answering key questions or expressing certain ideas or predictions. Free writing, minute papers, and “question of the day” exercises are a great opportunity for students to organize their thoughts and give you feedback. These activities help students develop holistic and critical thinking and improve their writing skills.

Ice Breakers

Ice breaker activities are fun and interactive, and encourage students to interact and talk to each other. They are very effective at the beginning of the semester to help students get to know each other and talk about what they would like to learn. Some fundamentals of these ice breakers include the following:

1. Participation of all students
2. Creation of a sense of community
3. Focused attention on material that will be covered in the semester

Case Studies and Problem-Based Learning

Case studies are a great way to teach students practical lessons that they can apply in real life. Case studies, in other words, are scenario-based exercises that let students apply their problem-solving skills in the classroom. They are usually presented in a story format and often involve connections to course readings, discussions, problem-solving, and participation of groups of students or the entire class.

Interview or Role Play

Role play or interview activities are a fun, active way to get students to incorporate the lessons they have learned. They can be used to solve problems or deal with a conflict for a character, provide a new perspective for students to explore and discuss, or paraphrase the story to provide a visual representation of the lesson.

How TIMESAVERS for TEACHERS Can Help You

With a large classroom of students to attend to, it can be challenging to keep up to speed with assignments, activities, planning, report cards, etc. If you need assistance with creating teaching material or interactive classroom activities, the TIMESAVERS for TEACHERS Interactive Classroom Forms Collection can help you! Download these timesaving, essential classroom time management tools, and teacher resources and save time by using tools like our report card comments downloadable, and our Teacher’s Binder. Ready to get started? Visit our web site to download our classroom forms for teachers!

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