Following from yesterdays Blog, ‘Bad behaviour Wastes Time‘, which outlined in a Government report that up to 5 weeks of lesson time a year were lost due to teachers trying to pupils to behave, the Government’s top behaviour expert claimed in a major report to Government that Schools should make classes more interesting by staging game show-style quizzes and bingo to stop bored pupils switching off. A four-year review of school discipline said “relevant and engaging” teaching was vital to cut low-level disruption - identified as one of the biggest problems facing schools.
Taken from the Telegraph “Play ‘Just a Minute’ in lessons to improve behaviour, teachers told“, the report outlines a series of “starter” activities that teachers can use. These include a game based on Just a Minute which boosts children’s talking and listening skills in English.
Bingo can be used in foreign language classes as teachers read out phrases in French or German and children mark off sentences they understand.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire-style questions can be answered in pairs, with pupils competing to become the “richest”, the report says.
Pictionary, dominos and Taboo - the game in which people describe a character or event without using the word itself - could also be employed.
The report also suggests introducing a unit on Martin Luther King in religious education - and asking children to discuss “what would you be prepared to die for?” to provoke lively debates.
All well and good trying to engage un-ruly students to reduce the low level disruptions in class, but just how much time will be taken away from the lesson by playing games? In the next four-year report will it then be reported that schools are losing 5 weeks a year because of games being played in lessons?
Our education specialists at StudentRM have their own ways for engaging students, try them for yourself and see if lesson time disruptions are reduced, leave us your comments.