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50waystomotivatekidsBy Caralee Adamso often you tell us that motivation is the key to everything you do in the classroom. You want to motivatekids to read, write, and solve problems. You want toinspire them to take pride in a fluently-read paragraph ora simple act of kindness. You hope that your encouragement will help students to find their passions so they canbecome lifelong learners. It’s an important job, and a bigone. That’s why we surveyed veteran teachers andexperts for their tips on reaching kids. Everything’s here,from advice on helping children to eat healthier to gettingthem to pick up a book. We hope this special back-toschool guide will serve as a resource throughout the year,as you turn a new group of kids onto learning.PHOTOS: TO COMESTURN THE PAGEAND DIVE IN!INSTRUCTOR SEPTEMBER 200647

50 ways6INSPIRING GROUND RULESParty. Kids are motivated bylessons built upon big ideasand by hands-on activities.Here’s a secret: You areyour own most powerfulmotivational tool. Get toknow each child as an individual. Let them know you.Building a cheerful community will set the stage for effective learning.1Focus on motivation toachieve, not motivationto avoid failure. Set realisticgoals in small steps so students can experience success. To build confidence,praise progress and effort.4Run the classroom as alead manager, not a boss.Focus on explaining what isexpected, and how to meetthose expectations, ratherthan threatening or punishingkids who don’t comply.2To motivate strugglingstudents, get to knowtheir individual strengths andweaknesses. You may needto make instructional andcurricular adjustments morethan motivational adjustments. Be ready to reducethe curriculum and acceptreasonable effort— not just100% effort all the time.Rather than materialrewards, talk aboutquality of life rewardsfrom learning. That’swhat’s important and whatwe can lose sight of.—JERE BROPHY, AUTHOR OF MOTIVATING6STUDENTS TO LEARN3 TeachFavoriters’Motivation Meottos❶ Attitudesare coIs yountar5Plan assignments thatencourage critical thinking. For instance, whenstudying the Revolution, havestudents role play journalistswriting about the Boston Tea35s worgiousching .?ings go wrohaveng, youto gowith tdon’them.It is betterto failthan itrt is tofail to yingtry.❷ When thth cat❸WAYS TO TEACHHEALTHY EATINGHave kids look at theirlunches and group theitems into the food pyramid.They’ll see where they fallshort and can make goals forthe day, week, or year.1Stay away from talking aboutfoods as “good” or “bad.” Trycalling desserts “once-in-awhilefoods,” and apples and carrots“all-the-time foods.”2Try taste tests in class:Compare skim, whole, andtwo percent milk and see if youcan tell the difference.348 INSTRUCTOR SEPTEMBER 2006Plant a school garden.If you have a plot, thepossibilities are endless. Inthe classroom, you can growradishes, carrots, and herbs.4Don’t use food as a reward.Try stickers, pencils, or extrarecess time. And never punishkids by withholding recess orrequring extra physical activity.Kids follow our lead!—ANDREA GIANCOLI, SPOKESPERSON FOR5THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION

50 ways5MOTIVATION SECRETS FROM TEACHERSGive students the chance to contribute to your school. At my previous school, we developed a programwhere our 5th and 6th grades volunteered at 14 different school jobs.Office assistants sorted mail andanswered the phones, the activity crewset up the sound system, and tourguides greeted visitors. Kids felt a partof the school and had a sense of purpose. Over two years, attendanceimproved and discipline referralsdropped. —DR. PAM NEWELL BRADLEY , MUSKOGEE17TH AND 8TH CENTER, MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMAConnect learning to real life. Ourstudents do a major “budget project” in which they research a career,2buy a house and a car, and pay bills.The kids do stellar work and see mathin the English classroom, and the valueof English skills in math. We do similaractivities in social studies and science.—MICHELLE DAVIS, LANGUAGE ARTS TEACHERS, IMPERIALMIDDLE SCHOOL, LAHABRA, CALIFORNIASEATTLE WASHINGTONWe held a student skating partyafter the state assessments.Students who were “caught” usingtheir “super test skills”—highlighting,underlining, and rereading—receivedspecial recognition. The next time, wenoticed an increase in the use of theseimportant strategies. —TERI FULTON, NEW3CHELSEA ELEMENTARY, KANSAS CITY, KANSAS4TIPS FOR KIDS WITHSPECIAL NEEDSSet up a learning environment that givesstudents with special needs an opportunityto succeed—and to bring home good grades.Differentiate: Make learning goals appropriate (and As and Bs achievable) for allstudents.Shorten the length of assignmentswhen possible. If completion seemsachievable, students will be much moremotivated to keep trying.Spend more time explaining assignments. Often, students with special needsmay appear “unmotivated” but are actually unclear what to door how to get it done.Walk through the assignments step-by-step.Give special needs students the opportunity to work in groupsand to take leadership roles. Participation fosters friendship,self-esteem, and motivation to succeed.1234—DR. GEORGE GIULIANI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS49 INSTRUCTOR SEPTEMBER 2006Hold a poetry slam! When kids aregiven opportunities to perform andshare in a public forum, they rise to thechallenge. They put out their besteffort to express themselves, and ittakes the learning to a much deeperplace. —SARAH FITZPATRICK,MERCER MIDDLE SCHOOL,4I motivate my students with FunMoney. They earn class currencywhen they are working well, showingresponsibility, being caring of theirclassmates, volunteering to read, etc.Each Friday, we trade in the FunMoney for real treats. —MIMI BLACKWELDER,5DESTINY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, SEAFORD, DELAWARE

50 ways5poverty and the elderly. You’llfind instructions, meeting activities, resources related and possible partners.TIPS FOR HELPINGKIDS REACH OUTAs a class, try to identifycommunity needs by brainstorming together about issues,conducting a survey to ask whatkids’ greatest concerns are,giving them a list to rank, orreading the local newspaperto find stories that point tocommunity problems.1Check with your localVolunteer Center to findage appropriate and youthfriendly volunteer opportunitiesin your community by calling1-800-VOLUNTEER or visitingwww.1800volunteer.org.2Tie service into the seasons.The Seasons of Service(www.pointsoflight.org/programs/seasons) includenational opportunities for students to volunteer for serviceprojects and activities throughout the year, including MartinLuther King, Jr. Day, NationalYouth Service Day, NationalVolunteer Week, and Join HandsDay. In addition to the traditionalholiday season, studentscan practice good deedson Valentine’s Day,Earth Day, Veteran’sDay, and duringRandom Act ofKindess Week.—KATHY SAULITIS, DIRECTOR,5Consider common avenuesfor getting youth involved: Working with other youth Running drives Working with the environment Working with seniors Working with hunger andhomelessness.3Check out Kids Care Clubs,a program of the Points ofLight Foundation, designed todevelop compassion and thespirit of service in elementaryand middle-school-aged youth.Go to www.kidscare.org forinformation on new service projects each month centered onissues such as literacy, hunger,4“POINTS OF LIGHT FOUNDATIONkids k Whenyou b now thpoten elieve in attial, itheirtsamotiv poteator.” nt—GeorgeGiuliani3IDEAS TO HOOKTHEM ON BOOKSChildren like to read what they are familiar with. So expose kids to alittle bit about a lot of books. Every day, share one fiction book, onenon-fiction, and one that is something else, such as poetry. Hold it upand talk about it. Then put the books in your library and watch thekids snatch them up. You’ll introduce them to 15 books a week.12Start a “Beloved Books Library.” Ask for donations of gentlyused books from a non-profit or church. Create a library ofabout 200 books that can be used as gifts for students. Onspecial occasions, give one to each student. Personalizeit with a name plate. It communicates that booksand reading are highly valued.Follow up silent reading with a “quickshare.” Have kids turn to a partner and tellsomething interesting, exciting, or puzzling about whatthey just read. They’ll be more motivated to pick up thebook again. —LINDA GAMBRELL, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF IRA350 INSTRUCTOR SEPTEBER2005

50 ways5HEART-THUMPINGENERGY BOOSTERSGet into the groove with an active lifestyleby enrolling students and teachers in thePresident’s Challenge, sponsored by thePresident’s Council on PhysicalFitness. You can win awards fordaily physical activity. Go towww.fitness.gov for details.1Use a map to set a walking goal for your class.For example, find out howmany miles from one borderof your state to the other andover the course of the year tryto log that distance as a class.Walk some at school andencourage kids to continuewalking at home.2Try teaching different types ofdance in school, such as Latinjazz and rumba, to make it funky andcool for children to get moving.3Make sure kids are actually playingand being active at recess and not justsitting around chatting. Encourage gamesand movement. Appoint a childfor the day to be the “fitness hero” tocome up with fun movements on theplayground. “Something that is peer topeer is most successful.”4Bring in a high-profile person tomotivate kids to be physicallyactive. Check out the C.H.E.E.R. forCharacter Program, where theHarlem Globe Trotters do schoolassemblies in the 200 cities wherethey play games each winter.—MELISSA JOHNSON, DIRECTOR, PRESIDENTS’5FITNESS AND SPORTS6MARILYN BURNS’MATH MOTIVATORSSuccess comes fromunderstanding whatyou’re doing, not just doingthings by rote. Explainconcepts rather than drill.1Math is not everybody’sfavorite thing. If mathisn’t your favorite thing,don’t let your students know.You want the “I can” attitude.2Give kids a mental mathproblem. Have the kidsthink about the answer tothemselves, then talk to a352 INSTRUCTOR SEPTEMBER 2006“COUNCIL ON PHYSICALpartner about it. It gives allof the students the chance toair their thoughts.Pose problems that lendthemselves to differentstrategies. After they’ve hada chance to think on theirown, see how many waysthere were for finding theanswer. For example, askif kids can think of threenumbers that add up to 100.4Falsepraise doesnwork. We ne ’tekids opportund to giveauthentic sucities forcess.”—Dave Montaguethink mathematically.Students love being read toand books provide richsources for learning math.Use references to numbersto encourage them to makepredictions or solve problems based on the story.Play math games, especially when the gamesinvolve some kind of strategic thinking. —MARILYN BURNS,6FOUNDER OF MATH SOLUTIONSUse children’s books tomotivate students to5PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT(WWW.MATHSOLUTIONS.COM)