What made you laugh today? What made Miss Ice laugh today?
As a teacher, on back-to-school night, I always shared with parents that asking about our classroom giggles was a surefire way to elicit a more memorable response than “How was your day?”
Another added benefit is that it encouraged my students and myself to tune into the joy in the classroom. By asking about joy, I ensured that my learning objectives and lessons were student centered toward lifelong learning. This school year, let Learn360 support your students and their sense of humor with these five student-centered strategies to spark joy in the classroom.
1. Give Your Students Options
Can you read it in a robot voice? What about a sloth voice? Whether your students are five years old or fifteen years old, there is nothing more powerful than giving students some laughter and some choice in their learning experiences. Students will be more invested and engaged when they are given options. From choosing their favorite silly voice for a read aloud to choosing the topic of their research paper, Learn360 has all the assets to support student agency. Challenge your students to read and act out Officer Buckle and Gloria (Item #83313) at your next school assembly. You’re sure to get everyone laughing.
2. Connect Learning to the Real World
Limitless access to information can be both exciting and overwhelming. Support your students by building connections between their learning in the classroom and their real-world experiences. Giving students the agency to create change and propel learning has a deep impact on their learning in the classroom. Inspire students with National Geographic’s IMPACT with Gal Gadot (Item #283882, 2021) and explore videos and stories of influential figures that have created change in their communities. Challenge your students to reflect on the impact of various leaders with TMW’s Changemakers series (Item #282287, 2021). Connect your students with real-world examples and role models and inspire lifelong learning!
3. Build Strong Relationships
Learning is a social experience. Help your students forge connections with their classmates by planning opportunities for relationship building. With Learn360, you can help your students identify their strengths and get to know each other. Connect your students with There’s Only One Me! Back-to-School Pages (Item #211752). With videos, games, and printables in multiple languages, Learn360 has all of the resources to embrace each student’s individuality and differentiate projects for your classroom.
4. Embrace Your Passion Project
Does it bring you joy to transform your entire classroom with a new theme each year? Do it. When students see their teacher excited about an activity or new initiative, that enthusiasm is contagious. From bulletin boards (Item #211046) to podcasts (Item #195267), Learn360 has amazing resources to help you share your passion with your students. This year, we are so excited to jump into our Open House (Item #211765) resources and transform our classrooms into castles (Item #211632). We believe teachers deserve to be treated as royalty!
5. Collaborate Creatively
Just like our students, every teacher has different strengths and interests. Collaborate with your colleagues and harness the power of interdisciplinary project-based learning. With Learn360, you can connect a myriad of resources to support not only your students, but your fellow teachers. From constructing cultural landmarks and bird feeders to designing brochures and businesses, Learn360 has all of the videos, interactives, and printables to support meaningful project-based learning. Click here to view our more recent webinar on project-based learning ideas.
This school year, fill your classroom with laughter and make the most of your Learn360 resources.
What Is Learn360?
The ultimate streaming multimedia resource for the K–12 educational market, Learn360 is a vetted, easy-to-use media library that is correlated to standards, organized for educators, and full of K–12 content from the industry’s top producers. Learn360 gives teachers, students, and parents access to more than 191,500 media resources—videos, interactives, printables, audio content, and more—on any Internet-enabled device, anytime, anywhere.
Learn360 includes a wide range of exciting, current, and diverse content and features that make it a powerful tool for flipped classrooms, blended instruction, project-based learning, and 1:1 environments. Teachers can use this versatile resource to find content for lesson plans, to introduce topics, as assignments, and much more. Students can use Learn360 independently for research, homework help, or self-directed learning; to enhance projects and assignments; or even just for fun. Plus, Learn360 was created with school budgets in mind, making it a sustainable resource year after year.
Want to see Learn360 for yourself? Take a FREE TRIAL today!
See also:
- Learn more about the Learn360 Educator Ambassador Program
- FREE Webinar: Project-Based Learning in the K–12 Classroom
- FREE Case Study: Hawaiian Middle School Leverages Streaming Media for Personalized Instruction and Highly Productive, Self-Directed Learning
- 7 ELL Best Practices with Learn360
- Learn360 Is One of Tech & Learning’s “Best Tools for Back to School”!
- Digital Learning Ideas for Your Elementary or Middle School Classroom
- Help Students Master Math with Infobase
