In this episode of "Counselor Chat" I discuss strategies to actively engage students in lessons. There are challenge of keeping students engaged but active learning activities are a way to increase student engagement, retention, and critical thinking skills.

The benefits of active learning include promoting skill development, diverse perspectives, and an increased enjoyment of learning.

Activities Discussed:

• The "partner pairing" strategy, which alleviates the pressure of students choosing partners and encourages random pairing.
• "Four corners" --a versatile activity for evaluating different perspectives on various topics.
• "Cross the line" -- an activity to prompt students to express their preferences and opinions.
• The "value line" strategy encourages students to position themselves along a continuum to represent the strength of their feelings about a topic.
• "Down the line" --a group discussion activity that involves students moving to different positions to share and discuss questions.
• "Circle in circle" -- similar to "down the line" but involves forming two circles and rotating positions.
• "Snowball fight" activity, where students write answers to questions, crumple them into "snowballs," and engage in an interactive exchange of ideas.
• "Toss and catch" involves tossing an object to students who must answer a question or pass it to another classmate.
• "Create a commercial" activity, where students work in groups to create persuasive commercials related to a topic.
• "Two Truths and a Lie" is a fun activity that encourages students to identify the false statement among two truths and one lie.

Post-activity discussionsare important to guide students in reflecting on the past, present, and future implications of their experiences

Activities to try:

• Friendship Speed Dating
• Get Up and Move Activities
• Where Do You Stand
• Four Corners Activity

Grab the Show Notes: Counselingessentials.org/podcast

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