Interactive Learning Experiences, Grades 6-12

Increasing Student Engagement and Learning
Second Edition
David Samuel Smokler
Interactive Learning Experiences, Grades 6-12
September 2008 | 168 pages | Corwin
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ISBN: 9781452295763
Available from January 0001
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ISBN: 9781412963367
Available from January 0001

Description

"This book will excite teachers who want to motivate today's secondary students. Information about the brain, presented along with the author's personal teaching experiences, tips, and creative game ideas, makes for a very worthwhile read!"
—Cindy Bean, Seventh-Grade Math Teacher
Arcola Intermediate Middle School, Schwenksville, PA

Energize adolescents with memorable and engaging learning experiences!

Research shows that the adolescent brain is wired to seek novelty and ignore familiar stimuli. This innovative resource demonstrates how teachers can transform everyday classroom lectures into memorable experiences and reinforce course content by introducing new, different, and surprising elements into daily lessons.

Based on brain-compatible teaching principles, the updated edition of Making Learning Come Alive shows how to use stimulating interactive learning experiences to connect teenagers with content. Teachers will find activities and ideas for introducing each learning experience and will discover how to design and assess their own. Updated throughout, this new edition offers:

  • Nine new sample learning experiences, including four in math and science
  • A revised assessment chapter that covers standards-based education and NCLB
  • Reflection questions in each chapter

The learning activities can be used as is or modified to connect with hundreds of themes and concepts across middle school and high school curricula.

Contents

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Author

1. Why Create an Experience?

  • What Is an Experience?
  • Brain-Compatible Learning
  • Seeing Into the Brain
  • How the Brain Learns
  • Brain Research and Education: What Teachers Need to Know
  • Why Is It So Hard to Impress a Teenager?
  • Emotion: At the Center of the Brain
  • Complex Learning Activities
  • The Power of Reflection
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers

2. How to Create an Experience

  • Preparing a Classroom Environment Conducive to Experiences
  • Here's the Problem
  • Spread the Love: Rapport-Building Exercises
  • The Physical Environment
  • Strategies for Creating Experiences
  • What Does Infinity Smell Like?
  • Move Your Body
  • Using Music to Build Anticipation, Excitement, and Readiness
  • Tying Music to Your Curriculum
  • Fantasy Contexts
  • Putting It All Together: Creating Your Own Experiences
  • Student Involvement
  • Other Ideas for Experiences
  • Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
  • Ideas for English and Social Studies Teachers
  • Ideas for Math and Science Teachers
  • Ideas for World Language Teachers
  • Ideas for Health, Wellness, and Physical Education Teachers
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers

3. How Do You Assess an Experience?

  • Traditional vs. Authentic Assessment
  • Reflection as Formative Assessment
  • Aligning Your Experiences to Standards
  • Why Standards-Based?
  • Reflection as Summative Assessment
  • Other Considerations
  • See What They Already Know Before You Begin
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers

4. Sample Experiences

  • Guess Who Had This for Dinner
  • The Eliminator
  • Morning Move-Around
  • The Wave
  • Two Truths and a Lie
  • The Name Game
  • Thumper
  • Old-Fashioned Sing Down
  • Musical Moment
  • The Reveal
  • Debate Shift-Around
  • Save the Princess
  • Counter-Terrorism
  • The Arrest
  • Shelter
  • The Scream
  • The Fire
  • Power
  • Island Survival
  • The Salesman
  • Witch Hunt
  • The Farm Game
  • Crime Scene
  • Rollercoaster Designer

5. Making Experiences Work for You

5. Making Experiences Work for You

Resource A. Reproducible Handouts

  • Song Reflection Report
  • Save the Princess
  • Counter-Terrorism
  • The Scream
  • Power
  • Island Survival
  • The Salesman
  • The Farm Game
  • Crime Scene
  • Lab Report

Resource B. Additional Resources

  • Brain-Based Learning Fun Kit
  • Web Resources About Brain-Compatible Learning
  • Web Resources About Simulation Games

References

References

Index

Index

Description

"This book will excite teachers who want to motivate today's secondary students. Information about the brain, presented along with the author's personal teaching experiences, tips, and creative game ideas, makes for a very worthwhile read!"
—Cindy Bean, Seventh-Grade Math Teacher
Arcola Intermediate Middle School, Schwenksville, PA

Energize adolescents with memorable and engaging learning experiences!

Research shows that the adolescent brain is wired to seek novelty and ignore familiar stimuli. This innovative resource demonstrates how teachers can transform everyday classroom lectures into memorable experiences and reinforce course content by introducing new, different, and surprising elements into daily lessons.

Based on brain-compatible teaching principles, the updated edition of Making Learning Come Alive shows how to use stimulating interactive learning experiences to connect teenagers with content. Teachers will find activities and ideas for introducing each learning experience and will discover how to design and assess their own. Updated throughout, this new edition offers:

  • Nine new sample learning experiences, including four in math and science
  • A revised assessment chapter that covers standards-based education and NCLB
  • Reflection questions in each chapter

The learning activities can be used as is or modified to connect with hundreds of themes and concepts across middle school and high school curricula.

Contents

Preface

Preface

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About the Author

1. Why Create an Experience?

  • What Is an Experience?
  • Brain-Compatible Learning
  • Seeing Into the Brain
  • How the Brain Learns
  • Brain Research and Education: What Teachers Need to Know
  • Why Is It So Hard to Impress a Teenager?
  • Emotion: At the Center of the Brain
  • Complex Learning Activities
  • The Power of Reflection
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers

2. How to Create an Experience

  • Preparing a Classroom Environment Conducive to Experiences
  • Here's the Problem
  • Spread the Love: Rapport-Building Exercises
  • The Physical Environment
  • Strategies for Creating Experiences
  • What Does Infinity Smell Like?
  • Move Your Body
  • Using Music to Build Anticipation, Excitement, and Readiness
  • Tying Music to Your Curriculum
  • Fantasy Contexts
  • Putting It All Together: Creating Your Own Experiences
  • Student Involvement
  • Other Ideas for Experiences
  • Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
  • Ideas for English and Social Studies Teachers
  • Ideas for Math and Science Teachers
  • Ideas for World Language Teachers
  • Ideas for Health, Wellness, and Physical Education Teachers
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers

3. How Do You Assess an Experience?

  • Traditional vs. Authentic Assessment
  • Reflection as Formative Assessment
  • Aligning Your Experiences to Standards
  • Why Standards-Based?
  • Reflection as Summative Assessment
  • Other Considerations
  • See What They Already Know Before You Begin
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers

4. Sample Experiences

  • Guess Who Had This for Dinner
  • The Eliminator
  • Morning Move-Around
  • The Wave
  • Two Truths and a Lie
  • The Name Game
  • Thumper
  • Old-Fashioned Sing Down
  • Musical Moment
  • The Reveal
  • Debate Shift-Around
  • Save the Princess
  • Counter-Terrorism
  • The Arrest
  • Shelter
  • The Scream
  • The Fire
  • Power
  • Island Survival
  • The Salesman
  • Witch Hunt
  • The Farm Game
  • Crime Scene
  • Rollercoaster Designer

5. Making Experiences Work for You

5. Making Experiences Work for You

Resource A. Reproducible Handouts

  • Song Reflection Report
  • Save the Princess
  • Counter-Terrorism
  • The Scream
  • Power
  • Island Survival
  • The Salesman
  • The Farm Game
  • Crime Scene
  • Lab Report

Resource B. Additional Resources

  • Brain-Based Learning Fun Kit
  • Web Resources About Brain-Compatible Learning
  • Web Resources About Simulation Games

References

References

Index

Index

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Interactive Learning Experiences, Grades 6-12

Increasing Student Engagement and Learning

David Samuel Smokler
Cancel Print

September 2008 | 168 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781412963367 $37.95
Hardcover 27/02/2023 9781412963350 $73.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781452295763 $35.00

"This book will excite teachers who want to motivate today's secondary students. Information about the brain, presented along with the author's personal teaching experiences, tips, and creative game ideas, makes for a very worthwhile read!"
—Cindy Bean, Seventh-Grade Math Teacher
Arcola Intermediate Middle School, Schwenksville, PA

Energize adolescents with memorable and engaging learning experiences!

Research shows that the adolescent brain is wired to seek novelty and ignore familiar stimuli. This innovative resource demonstrates how teachers can transform everyday classroom lectures into memorable experiences and reinforce course content by introducing new, different, and surprising elements into daily lessons.

Based on brain-compatible teaching principles, the updated edition of Making Learning Come Alive shows how to use stimulating interactive learning experiences to connect teenagers with content. Teachers will find activities and ideas for introducing each learning experience and will discover how to design and assess their own. Updated throughout, this new edition offers:

  • Nine new sample learning experiences, including four in math and science
  • A revised assessment chapter that covers standards-based education and NCLB
  • Reflection questions in each chapter

The learning activities can be used as is or modified to connect with hundreds of themes and concepts across middle school and high school curricula.


Table Of Contents:

  • Preface
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
  • 1. Why Create an Experience?
  • What Is an Experience?
  • Brain-Compatible Learning
  • Seeing Into the Brain
  • How the Brain Learns
  • Brain Research and Education: What Teachers Need to Know
  • Why Is It So Hard to Impress a Teenager?
  • Emotion: At the Center of the Brain
  • Complex Learning Activities
  • The Power of Reflection
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers
  • 2. How to Create an Experience
  • Preparing a Classroom Environment Conducive to Experiences
  • Here's the Problem
  • Spread the Love: Rapport-Building Exercises
  • The Physical Environment
  • Strategies for Creating Experiences
  • What Does Infinity Smell Like?
  • Move Your Body
  • Using Music to Build Anticipation, Excitement, and Readiness
  • Tying Music to Your Curriculum
  • Fantasy Contexts
  • Putting It All Together: Creating Your Own Experiences
  • Student Involvement
  • Other Ideas for Experiences
  • Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation
  • Ideas for English and Social Studies Teachers
  • Ideas for Math and Science Teachers
  • Ideas for World Language Teachers
  • Ideas for Health, Wellness, and Physical Education Teachers
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers
  • 3. How Do You Assess an Experience?
  • Traditional vs. Authentic Assessment
  • Reflection as Formative Assessment
  • Aligning Your Experiences to Standards
  • Why Standards-Based?
  • Reflection as Summative Assessment
  • Other Considerations
  • See What They Already Know Before You Begin
  • Reflection Questions for Teachers
  • 4. Sample Experiences
  • Guess Who Had This for Dinner
  • The Eliminator
  • Morning Move-Around
  • The Wave
  • Two Truths and a Lie
  • The Name Game
  • Thumper
  • Old-Fashioned Sing Down
  • Musical Moment
  • The Reveal
  • Debate Shift-Around
  • Save the Princess
  • Counter-Terrorism
  • The Arrest
  • Shelter
  • The Scream
  • The Fire
  • Power
  • Island Survival
  • The Salesman
  • Witch Hunt
  • The Farm Game
  • Crime Scene
  • Rollercoaster Designer
  • 5. Making Experiences Work for You
  • Resource A. Reproducible Handouts
  • Song Reflection Report
  • Save the Princess
  • Counter-Terrorism
  • The Scream
  • Power
  • Island Survival
  • The Salesman
  • The Farm Game
  • Crime Scene
  • Lab Report
  • Resource B. Additional Resources
  • Brain-Based Learning Fun Kit
  • Web Resources About Brain-Compatible Learning
  • Web Resources About Simulation Games
  • References
  • Index

Recent Product Reviews:

"This book will excite teachers who want to help motivate today’s secondary students. Information about the brain, presented along with the author’s personal teaching experiences, tips, and creative game ideas, makes for a very worthwhile read!"
Cindy Bean, Seventh-Grade Math Teacher, Arcola Intermediate Middle School, Schwenksville, PA
"Makes teachers think about the purpose and connection that a game will have to the curriculum as well as to students’ lives. This book helps clarify the purpose of including meaningful experiential games in the classroom."
Joan Baltezore, Biology Teacher, West Fargo High School, ND
"Smokler passionately argues the need for games in the curriculum as a means to create authentic and meaningful learning experiences. Hands down, this is the best book I’ve read about the use of games in the classroom!"
Sherry Annee, Biology Teacher, Brebeuf Jesuit Prep School, Indianapolis, IN
"The book begins with the teenager’s brain. In layman's terms, it lets teachers know why teenagers are difficult to engage and how to create a classroom atmosphere that will hold their attention and allow them to learn."
Melody Aldrich, English Teacher, Florence High School, AZ
"Gives teachers a variety of simulations and creative ideas they can try in their classrooms to help enhance and energize their teaching."
Chris Baker, Eighth-Grade Social Studies Teacher and Department Chair, Salem Middle School, Apex, NC

Recommendations