Yes, you can add entertainment to education. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, entertainment is something that provides amusement or engagement. With this in mind, think about the practices that amuse and engage you daily. We tell Alexa, "good morning," as we make our coffee to have her entertain us with her daily highlights. Furthermore, we listen to Pandora or our favorite podcast on the way to work. We set our DVR timers to record our favorite shows. Also, we watch YouTube videos, go to concerts, scroll through our Instagram feed, and play games to entertain our minds. Entertainment is something we value. For that reason, we should be entertaining the students in our classrooms! That doesn't mean we need to dress up as a clown and juggle or play the latest blockbuster movie. But, we do need to mix up some of our traditional activities and assessments to move away from the boring and add entertainment. Let's talk about five ways you can add entertainment to education.
Play Games to Add Entertainment to Education
Playing games in the educational setting can be tons of fun and interactive for kids. You can play indoor, online, or through zoom with high school, middle school, and even elementary school students. When you're coming up with ideas, think about activities that are trending and relevant. Gimkit is a popular one right now. And it's one of my favorite ways to add entertainment to education because they are constantly adding new modes of gameplay.
Jenga, other board games, card tournaments, and television games are very popular with student groups. And, using them for educational purposes is easy. For card and board games, give your students questions to answer and incorporate the strategy. For example, when we play Jenga, I provide the students with question cards that have the answers, like these Biology Review Question Cards. They take turns asking each other a question. If the student gets it right, they pull one tile. If the student gets the question wrong, they pick two.
Minute to Win It is also a crowd-pleaser. I divide the class up into two teams. For each challenge, the teams select the player(s) to participate. The team that completes the challenge the quickest gets the most questions to answer (and therefore can earn the most points for that round). Our personal favorites include Face the Cookie, Defying Gravity, Nutstacker, and Stack Attack.
Use Incentives to Add Entertainment to Education
And of course, provide incentives or prizes for winners. Using a classroom rewards system can boost engagement and reinforce positive behavior. Even a certificate can lead to joy! As students win things, do well on assignments, or participate, they earn Cowart Coupons that they can use in our Classroom Store. I stock the store with snacks and non-food items such as stickers, fancy pens, wristbands, sensory toys, key chains, and more. There are many trinkets you can buy from Amazon in bulk for cheap. Many other rewards don't cost money. You can provide tokens for bonus points and exemptions from assignments. Yes, I teach high school!
Involve Social Media to Add Entertainment to Education
And because I teach high school, I do my best to involve social media. Teenagers love this form of communication, so why not use it. Create an Instagram for your classroom. Take pictures of your students working and share that through your story. However, remember to always follow your district's technology and social media guidelines. The students will love it, though. Think about all those selfies they are taking. They love seeing themselves. And if they don't, be sure to respect those student wishes.
You can also create challenges. A Facebook Group is perfect for these sorts of posts and activities. You could challenge your classes to snap a picture of succession. Or share an answer to an interview question of a city council member about environmental stewardship. You could make a challenge about anything you were learning in class! Just make sure you adjust the settings where you have to approve members of the group and posts.
Encourage Popular Presentations to Add Entertainment to Education
In science, there's a lot of "develop and use a model," "construct an argument," and "communicate information." All practices which task the students to present what they have learned. Allow them to choose from popular platforms. Yes, they can make a Tik Tok video over different types of energy transfer or properties of ionic and covalent compounds. Your students can create quality posts using Canva or another app and posts to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. They can record a podcast of their argument or create a music video to post on YouTube. Our students are the experts in this domain. Trying asking them how they would like to share what they know and do what you can to make that happen.
Finally, Mix it Up
Now, you might be thinking, "Do they ever do anything serious"? Yes, every once in a while, we do need to do a worksheet for practice. Oh wait, you can mix that up, too! In my Mix it Up eBook, I will show you how to take a traditional worksheet for any science content (or math, ELA, history), mix it up, and turn it into digital or print entertainment for kids. Learn how to take a few easy steps to boost engagement in your middle school, high school, and homeschool classrooms. These strategies will provide differentiation for meeting all students' needs and summative and formative assessments that allow you to quickly check for student comprehension, understanding, and proficiency. Did I mention you will receive an ever-growing set of templates, too? Click here to download your free copy of the Mix it Up eBook and templates to make your own mazes, puzzles, and more!
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