SMART Board
How to Get Students Engaged
1.
Use the timer when you give an activity. This can be found in the gallery under
“Professional” and “Presentations.”
2.
Use a random number generator to select student volunteers. This builds in “wait time”
and keeps students engaged.
3.
Have students come to the board to sort text/data/numbers/information into
columns/diagrams, etc.
4.
Put your objectives on the board and talk about what you want them to learn at the
beginning of each lesson.
5.
Use the Internet to connect the lesson to their lives and the “real world.”
6.
Matching activities (Have the students drag the answer to the question, word to the
definition, etc.)
7.
Sequencing Activities (Have the students drag information into the correct order.)
8.
Build games (Jeopardy/Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) to review concepts.
9.
Find interactive Internet sites that reinforce basic skill/concepts.
10. Brainstorm ideas (Have the students come up and do the writing.)
11. Have students come up to fill in blanks or write out steps to math problems (This is
great for the review of homework).
12. Have students create projects to present to the class.
13. Students can email projects/papers to you to display and discuss.
14. When students have a question in class, use the web to find the answer.
15. Start each day with a math problem or Daily Oral Language activity (for editing) on the
board.
16. Go on virtual field trips.
17. Use video clips, music clips, pictures, and current events in your lessons.
18. Have students build timelines/label maps.
19. Graph (Have every student in the class come to the board to record their data.)
20. Make connections outside of the classroom. As a class email a question/thought to an
expert, an author, or another class.