Creating Engaging Lesson Plans

Teachers, Education, Curriculum
Curated By
Paige Menne

Paige Menne is a teacher from Pearland, Texas with a specialty in gifted and talented students. Paige graduated from Texas A&M University in 2018 with her Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and a teaching certification in EC-6 Elementary Education. Paige's contributions to EncourageX focus on the values of family, teaching careers, and overcoming social issues. In her spare time, Paige enjoys spending time with her family and friends and creating arts & crafts for her classroom.

They Might Be Thinking:

  • What is considered an engaging lesson plan?
  • Engaging lesson plans take a long time to develop. I just don't have enough time. 
  • It's hard to be engaging while following the school/district guidelines. 
  • Will the school help fund some of my creative ideas?
  • Who do I talk to to get help?
  • How do I keep the students engaged?
  • No matter what I try, I can't get all of the students to buy in. 
  • If I could come up with a lesson that would engage these specific students, I know the rest of the students would jump right in, but I don't know where to start with those students. 
  • How will I know if my lessons are actually engaging? How can I measure success?
  • I've tried creative ideas in the past, but it seems to create chaos. 
  • Will I have enough classroom space for the activity?
  • If I increase activity, I'll have to increase class rules. How will my students react to more rules?
  • I have a great idea, but I don't know how to execute it. 
  • How do I prep for a multi-day lesson plan?

Words That Might Be Encouraging:

  • Your lesson plans will bring the boring text book themes to life. 
  • Have fun with the lesson plans. If you're having fun, so will the kids. 
  • You should share your idea(s) with other teachers. I bet they would love to partner or do something similar with their kids. 
  • You really enjoy [insert hobby] and you're really good at it. If you integrate something similar into your lesson plans, it would be fun for you and your students. 
  • You light up when you talk about your creative ideas; you should try them. The kids will feed off of your positive energy. 
  • Just because it hasn't been done before doesn't mean it's not a brilliant idea. Follow your instincts. 
  • I think this lesson plan is going to be very successful with your students.
  • Your students are really going to benefit from this lesson.
  • Don't be afraid to try something new. If it fails, you will learn from your mistakes.
  • Be sure to take some time to reflect after the lesson. That way you will know what worked and what did not work.

Words That Might Be Discouraging:

  • Just make sure you're covering the course content - nothing more, nothing less. 
  • That might work for some kids, but you're never going to get all of the kids engaged. 
  • That is a lot of extra work. It's easier to use a basic template. 
  • The curriculum is already set. It's going to be a hard sell to the administrators to get your lesson plan approved. 
  • [Insert subject] is just a boring subject. There's really no way to make that engaging. 
  • Good luck with that. It's going to be tough. 
  • Why don't you just do what all of the other teachers are doing?
  • You are trying way too hard.
  • This lesson is going to confuse your students; it is too complicated.
  •  I would never try that with my class.
  • I don't think creative lesson plans are as effective as the school's recommended lesson plans.
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