Getting  students to listen to your lesson is always a challenge.

Is my lesson boring? Is my explanation lulling them to sleep? It’s never too late to incorporate new ideas to your lesson to improve the engagement level in the class.

Here are 7 tricks to get your students to follow the class:

1. Spice up your lesson.

Avoid having lengthy lecture about a topic. Try to start each lesson with an impact – maybe a short anecdote, or an interesting fact of the day which relates to the topic of your lesson.

Once you manage to get their attention, students will be more willing to listen during the rest the lesson.

2. Encourage note-taking in every lesson.

Every child should be encouraged to take notes, because it increases their absorption and retention of material. Don’t forget to give them a little time to catch up on their notes.

When you see a student hasn’t been catching up with their notes, you can simply point to his/her notebook to remind him/her.

TIP: Bring this up at the start of the year and put it in your class’ rules to make it a routine.

3. Use tools and visual aids.

Remember: not all students learn best using the auditory (listening) style!

Always use visual aids for ‘visual’ students, and some amount of practical work (i.e., learning by doing) for the kinesthetic students. Read more about different learning styles here.

4. Walk around when speaking.

Don’t stay in front of the board or in the center of the class while you are speaking. It helps children to move their gaze and keep their focus a little longer.

5. Call out students’ names when they start to lose focus.

Try to be as seamless as possible. So, rather than saying “James! Pay attention please!”, you can try “Those are the importance of raising awareness about global warming, do you agree, James?”.

Or, you can also tap James’ shoulder while walking around and speaking.

6. Incorporate discussions in your lesson.

Where’s the fun if you are the only one who talks all the time? Discussion is a very powerful tool to help children learn.

They are not only learning a particular topic, but they also learn how to communicate their ideas, review what they learn, and listen to what others think.

Have a little circle time in every session!

7. Make yourself the most interesting person in the class.

Don’t be that boring teacher who speaks in a monotone: Use lots of eye contact, vary intonation, facial expressions, and body language in front of students. Talk to your students as people. Give them examples, such relatable or even personal stories which your students will remember for life.