Active Engagement Strategies

Engagement is very important because that is the only way students learn. Students attention spam is very short compared to adults. Therefore, we have to switch activities every 10,15,20 minutes depending on the student's age. Some of the student engagement activities I've used are songs in Spanish to learn concepts introduced in the classroom. Thinking maps are used all the time. Mix and match between students with music. Hand and body movements to remember concepts or new vocabulary.   Line up according to the index card and category of the word you have. Centers with puzzles, bingo, dice, dominoes. I've used think, pair, and share. Kagan structures are some of the best activities to implement in the classroom. Make sure student's follow the instructions and directions first. Stick to 5-6 structures and use them often enough so students already know what to do.
Here are some of the structures that are available out there. My instruction time with two groups of students that switch every half-day makes it hard to do sometimes, but it is worth doing between switches, and transitions, or to apply concepts learned in class.