Maximize Student Engagement: An eBook Guide!

It's finished! It's finished! It's really finished! Now I can get off my couch, clean my house, do some much needed laundry, and be a wife! Balance? I'm sorry…what? Never heard of it! :) 

But it was all completely worth it because this might just be my absolute favorite resource that I have ever shared with all of you! No this is not your typical print-and-go activities and is completely unlike anything in my shop! Instead, this eBook is a collection of ideas that you can integrate into your own lessons and instruction to maximize the level of engagement in your classroom! 

I am so excited about this new little resources that places a complete focus on ways to increase student engagement and how you can empower young learners by making your your instruction an unforgettable experience. Warning: This is a lengthy post, so please excuse my babbling! BUT…student engagement is my passion, so I feel the need to elaborate! :) Feel free just to skip right on down to the pictures if you'd like. 



I have had numerous requests to create a pack that includes all of the ideas that I talk about in my workshop, “Setting the Stage to Engage..” So that is exactly what you will find in this little set. If you have followed my blog or my shop for any period of time, you will know how passionate I am about teaching in ways that will have my students soaking up the knowledge and dying to know more. It has always been my desire as a teacher to make my classroom the place TO BE rather than the place they HAVE to be each and every day.

I remember the years when I taught directly from the text book. I tried to dig into my students’ schema, and I would only hear crickets in the room. I felt like banging my head against the wall every single time. I couldn’t get through to them. I was frustrated. They were frustrated. We were on a one way street to academic meltdown. Then I decided to throw those texts aside and teach in ways that the kids couldn’t help but pay attention to. When I started having them create, get their hands dirty in the content, and explore all that learning has to offer, they seriously couldn’t get enough. They began excelling academically and behaviorally. Their standardized test scores went through the roof. As third graders, they were all achieving exemplary in every content area. They began seeking resources to learn more about topics. And let me tell you, there was no such thing as having to dig for prior knowledge because they were making connections across content like crazy. I don’t tell you all of this to brag on myself as a teacher, because honestly I am really not that cool. (AT ALL!) The answer to empowering students and getting them to reach levels that you never thought imaginable? Engagement. Kids have to buy into the fact that school is indeed one of the coolest places to be! 


Many people call things like turning your classroom into a safari or having the students create a food model of the United States fluff…and you know what…they are exactly right if the ball drops right there. They are right that turning your classroom into a safari isn’t going to teach your students for you. But when these forms of engagement are paired equally with rigorous content and high academic expectations, the results will be astronomical. My class and content was hard. VERY hard! I used my standards as guidelines, but I wasn’t afraid to stretch my students beyond those expectations. Where you set the bar is where your students will strive to land, and I wanted that bar to be as high as possible. But the best part? They didn’t care that it was extremely challenging and that sometimes they couldn’t grasp concepts right away. Why? Because I created an environment that was engaging, fun, and motivated them to keep on working and keep on trying until they got it. Boy, were the proud when they had more knowledge than their older brothers and sisters.

This is SO true! Thank you, Dave Burgess! :) 


In this pack, you will see how I flipped my classroom, used costumes, and caught my students’ attention. But you will also see the heavy content, high expectations, and level of excellence that was included and expected during each activity.


So, I hope these ideas can empower you, can inspire you, and can help you create lessons like your students have never seen before. Is it a little more work than the average worksheet? Of course! But the payout? Stronger work ethic, a significant reduction in behavior management issues, and higher quality work. I can’t even tell you how many teachers would constantly question how I was able to get my students to accomplish so many tasks in such a short amount of time. Well, since I couldn’t ever get my magical powers to kick in, I relied heavily on some educational magic…ENGAGEMENT!

Side note: I am planning on hosting a little blog series where I will be breaking each section down and collaborating with other teachers as we take a deeper look into how we can increase student engagement in our classroom. So this is not the last that you will hear about student engagement on my little ol' blog! But until then, here is a look at my newest baby! 

Everything is definitely not pictured. This unit contains 158 pages packed with ideas, lesson explanations, costume ideas, ways to transform your learning environment, how to use sound effects to set the tone, and more...



You will find these "play me" buttons throughout the unit. I love to use sound effects to completely change the mood and tone of the surroundings in the classroom. The best part? Sound effects are completely free, and I give you all kinds of tips about how you can download these directly to your computer! 





Let's make it an unforgettable year! 



You can go check out Set the Stage to Engage: A Guide to Teaching Outside the Box in my shop right now! It will be on sale today for $10.00 {Regularly $15.00}! 

XOXO! 

15 comments:

  1. I just purchased and I can't wait to dive into it! I'm beyond motivated now, especially moving from K to 3rd grade next year! Thanks!
    Cassie
    Mrs. Thomas's Class

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hope, this is AMAZING and it's the type of resource I hope to see more of on TpT {not that I don't love and am not excited about what's on there now!}. Because of family obligations, the distance I travel for professional development is minimal. I *love love **puffy heart** love* that I can get PD from you sitting in the comfort of my own home! Woohoo -- way to go, lady! This is AWESOME.

    Sarah Plum
    There's No Place Like Second Grade

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sarah! THANK YOU! Wow…this comment means so much to me! I was so worried about whether teachers would appreciate this resource since it is not a print and go type of thing. Student engagement truly is my heart, and I hope that these ideas can motivate teachers and get them excited about returning to a new year! XOXO!

      Delete
  3. I just ordered mine. Thank you for this amazing resource!

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are all kinds of amazing (not just 12). Love you!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such an awesome resource!!! I'm excited to snag this while it's on sale tonight. Thank you so much, I'm excited to learn from your awesomeness!!! :)

    Briana
    Sun, Sand & Second Grade

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is exactly the kind of resource that I search hours for in TPT. I want to better myself as I teacher (newbie!), and while those print and go resources could come in handy, I want to create resources tailored to my kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't wait to dive into this amazing resource! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us (especially at a discount!!)

    A Teaspoon of Teaching

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hope, you have really out done yourself this time! I bought this resource last night and was up until midnight pouring over it! I am so excited to integrate all of your ideas and creativity into my own classroom. You have inspired me to become a better teacher and I cannot thank you enough for that! Thank you, thank you, thank you for providing teachers with this!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am so excited about this resource. I love love to engage my kids in outside the box ways. I cannot wait to read it and use it, use it, use it!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looking forward to reading this! I'm super impressed :) Your blog is adorable!

    -Katie
    I'm new to the blogging world. Check out my blog http://thepawsitivepencil.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is a great resource! I attended your session in Vegas and I can tell you that my hand hurt from writing! You were so motivating... and I know my students will benefit from this for sure! THANK YOU!

    ReplyDelete
  12. This looks so fabulous! And perfect for back to school!

    ReplyDelete