HowDoIFeel?

EngagementStrategyoftheWeek
Examples
(Marzano,Jensen)

HowdoIfeel?

Hellostaff!

EricJensenstatesthat,Allstudents,nomatterwhattheirsocioeconomic
status,havetroublemaningtheirownmindbodystatestheyneedyour
helptohaveaproductiveday.(p.113)Thequestionthenis,howcanwe
asstaffhelpallstudentsfeelenergized?

Jensensharesfouractionstoelevatefeelingsofenergyandfocusthe
followingfourweekswillfocusononeoftheactionsandgiveyousome
ideasofquickstrategiestoincreaseenergy,focus,andtherefore
engagementinaclassroom.

FourActions:

1. Get students moving!

2. Energizestudentsintheirseats.
3. Lowerenergytoincreasefocus
4. Influenceenergylevelswithmusic

Energizersshould:
Bepurposeful
Beshort
Arebestusedtostartaclass,justafterlunch,asatransition,or
brainbreak

Strategies(Jensen):

WalktheLine:
Createalong,curvylineusingexistinglinesonthefloororrugorbyusing
maskingtapeorpainterstape.Havestudentswalkthelinewhilesoft
musicplays.Becreativeandaddinobstaclestojumpover,steparound,
etc.iflookingforadditionalchallenges.

Examples:Feelfreetousenaturallinesintheschoolbuildinglinesofthe
sidewalk,tilesonthefloor,circlesinthegym,etc.

Freeze:
Startbyplayingmusicwhilestudentswalkaroundtheclassroom..When
youstopthemusic,studentsmuststopwalkingandgettoanearbysafe

zone(s)anareamarkedbytape,acarpetsquare,aspecificdeskor
table,etc.Youmaketheactivitymorechallengingbyremovinghalfofthe
safezonesandencouragestudentstoworktogethertofindaspot.

Examples:Youcouldalsoassignacolor,vocabularyword,imagefor
eachzone,andwhenthemusicstops,holdupthatspecificassignment
andhavestudentsgotothematchingzone.

FollowtheLeader:
Dividestudentsintogroupsof35andselectaleaderforeachgroup.
Eachgroupmustfollowtheleaderonajourneythatincludeswalking
aroundtheroom,jumping,clappingatwill.Oncestudentsmasterthe
basics,playthetourguide,whereeachgroupsguideleadsthefollowers
throughimaginaryscenarios.

Examples:Considermakingconnectionstoscienceandsocialstudiesby
havingthemwalkthroughsnow,movethroughspace,hikethrough
landforms,orexplorewiththeVoyageurs.

GoonaScavengerHunt:
Startbyaskingstudentstostandup,thenaskthemtolocateandtouch,
fiveobjectsintheclassroom.Eachobjectcouldbeacertaindistancefrom
thelast.

Examples:Inmath,youcouldhavestudentstouchobjectsthathavejust
oneofsomething(fornumbers),arightanglepresentinitsshape,things
thatarecircles,etc.Inreading,youcouldhavestudentstouchfivethings
thatarecharactertraitsfortheclassroom,wordsthatareproper/common
nouns,punctuationmarks,objectsthathavecertaincolors,etc.

WhatsmostimportantishonoringthatYOUareourbestresources!
Whatisyourfavoritestrategytogetstudentsmovingaroundtheroom?

HowdoIfeel?

Hellostaff!

Jensensharesfouractionstoelevateenergyandfocusthefollowing
weekswillfocusononeoftheactionsandgiveyousomeideasofquick
strategiestoincreaseenergy,focus,andthereforeengagementina
classroom.

Areyoueverthisperson?Someteachersfeelunsettledbytheprospect
ofhavingstudentsmovingaroundtheroomandwouldpreferthemtostay
put.(Jensen,p.119)Mostofushaveprobablysaidyesatonetimeor
another.So,toprovideoptionstomoveaswellasstayingseated,this
weekfocuseson....

FourActions:
1. Getstudentsmoving

2. Energizestudentsin(orcloseto)
theirseats.
3. Lowerenergytoincreasefocus
4. Influenceenergylevelswithmusic

Strategies(Jensen):
Airswimming:
Havestudentsfacethefrontoftheroom,andthendirecttheminair
swimming.Theycanstartwithafreestylestroke,thenaddsome
challengeswithotherstrokes.Considerhavingthemdoonestrokewith
onearm,andanotherstrokewiththeother.

Examples:Considertyingittowhatstudentsaredoinginphy.edormotor
time.Havethempracticepedalingabike,kickasoccerball,throwa
baseball,orevenusestudentchosendancemoves.

Combinemathwithmovement:
Pairstudentsupandhavethemsitinchairsfacingtheirpartner,thenstart
theactivity.

Examples:Ifstudentsareskipcounting,theymusttouchthefloorwith
theirrighthandandsay,Two!,thentouchthefloorwiththeirlefthand
andsayFour!andkeepalternatinguptothenumberyouwantthemto
reach.Studentscoulddoacrosslateralshouldertouch,nameanumber,
thendoacrosslateralkneetouchandmultiplythefirstnumberbyanew
number.Studentscanalsoformangleswiththeirarms.

Writewiththebody:
Chooseacoupleofkeywordsfromalessonandaskstudentstowritethe
wordsintheairwiththeirfingers.Youcanaskstudentstoprint,thenuse
cursive.Studentscanformpairswhileonepersonwrites,whiletheother
triestoguesstheword.Astudentcanalsowritetheword,butverbally
givethedefinitiontohelptheguesser.

Example:Trythestudentsnames,contentvocabulary,wordstudywords,
Wordmasterwords,etc.

Dothewave:
Dividetheroomintosections,andgiveeachonealabel,suchacolor.
Whentheleadercallsoutacolor,thestudentsinthatsectionmuststand
upandwavetheirarmsfromsidetoside.Whenyoucallanothercolor,
studentsinthefirstsectionsitdowntoletthenextgroupgetupandwave
theirarms.Continueuntilyouvecalledallthesections,thenstartagain,

fromthelastgrouptothefirstgroup.

Examples:Ifstudentsareintablesordeskgroups,callthembysection,
usestudentnames,separateintocornersoftheroombasedonachoice
favoritegenre,season,etc.
HowdoIfeel?

EricJensensharesfouractionstoelevateenergyandfocusthefollowing
weekswillfocusononeoftheactionsandgiveyousomeideasofquick
strategiestoincreaseenergy,focus,andthereforeengagementina
classroom.

FourActions:
1. Getstudentsmoving
2. Energizestudentsin(orcloseto)theirseats.

3. Lower energy to increase

focus
4. Influenceenergylevelswithmusic

Thisweeksstrategyconcentratesonnarrowingstudentsfocustothe
taskathandortheirownthoughts.Someeffectivetechniquesinclude
simpleandslowstretchesormovement,selftalk,mindfulness,or
personalreflection.(p.123)

Strategies(Jensen):
PauseandCollect:
Thisstrategyworkswellwithtransitionsfromoneactivitytothenext.
Whenoneactivityends,havethemraisetheirarmsslowlyastheytakein
slow,deepbreaths.Whentheyhavefullyraisedtheirarmsabovetheir
heads(orashighastheycango),askstudentstoholdtheirbreathfor25
secondsbeforeslowlyexhalingthroughthemouthandloweringtheir
handstotheirsides.Next,havethemthinkindividuallyorpairupwitha
neighborandtaketurnssharingbriefresponsestoareflectionquestion.
Considerasking,HowamIfeeling?WhatamIinterestedinthelesson?
Whyisthisimportanttome?Whatarewedoingnext?Whatismygoal,
andhowcanIreachit?Oncepartnershaveanswered,havethemmove
ontothenextportionofthelesson.

Example:Thiscouldalsobeareflectiveclosuretoalessonoractivityas
awaytoselfassess.

MobileMirror:
Studentsbeginbyfacingapartnerfor20secondsandtryingtomirror
eachothersmovementsinslowmotion.Atyourcue,studentsmustfinda
newpartner.

BalanceandPoint:

Startbyaskingstudentstostand.Askthemtoliftonelegandbalanceon
theother.Whentheybalance,givethematask,suchaspointingto
variousplacesintheroom.Then,havethemswitchlegs.Youcan
eventuallyhavestudentsbalancewithoneeyeclosed,thenwithboth
eyesclosed.

Examples:Addamemorycomponentbyaskingstudentstorecall
somethingfromthelastlesson,orlastweek,whattheyhadfordinneron
Tuesday,etc.whilebalancing.

WritetoFocus:
Beforeanassessment,givestudentsafewminutestostretchtheir
bodies,dosomeslowbreathing,andwriteabouthowtheyfeelaboutthe
upcomingtest.ConsiderusingpromptssuchasHowdoIfeelaboutthe
test?WhatcanIdotodowellontheupcomingtest?
Example:ForprimaryorEarlyChildhood,studentscanselfidentifywith
differentfacialexpressionseitherofthemselvesorclipart.

FosterPositiveSelfTalk:
Modeltostudentshowtheycanworkthroughanassignedtaskbytelling
themselveswhattheyaredoingandhowtheywillgetitdone.Makesure
toteachstudentsproperphrasingforstudentsdobetterwhenthey
promptthemselvestomakeadecisionratherthanuseadirective.

Example:Whensharingtheobjectivefromalesson,askstudents
questionslike:
DoIunderstandwhatthegoalisforthelesson?HowcanIfollowthrough
onthegoaltobesuccessfulinthelesson?Ifyoufeelconfidentinthe
goal,howcanyoucontinuetoenrichyourself?Ifyoufeelchallengedby
thegoal,howcanyoufindsupport?
HowdoIfeel?

**COACHES
youhaveto
attachthe
freegalwebinar
thatMissymade
(undermusic
resources)asan
attachmentand
notalink!!

FourActions:
1. Getstudentsmoving
2. Energizestudentsin(orcloseto)theirseats.
3. Lowerenergytoincreasefocus

4. Influenceenergylevelswithmusic

Musicworksbestwhenitisusedpurposefully(Jensen,p.126)

Whenusingmusicintheclassroom,considerthefollowingquestions
of:
1. Whatisthetaskoractivity?
2. Whatistheoptimalstateofmindfortheactivity?Energized?
Focused?Calm?
3. Willthestudentsneedtotalkduringthetask?
*Jensenrecommendstoneverplaymusicwithvocalswhenstudents

needtotalk.
4. Whatdoyourstudentslistento?
*Greatopportunitytoembedmusicfromtheircultures,aswellas
includegenresstudentsareinterestedin.
5. Whichmusicselectionwilllikelyaccomplishthetask?

MusicalThemes:

Forseatworkorteamdiscussiontry
:Bach,Vivaldi,smooth
jazz,NewAge,orenvironmentalsounds(ex.waterfallorocean
sounds)
Forhighenergytaskstry
:classicrhythmandblues,upbeat
popvocals.fastinstrumentalmusic,upbeatLatinmusic,classic
rock,oldies,orpunkrock
Forslowfocusingactivitiessuchasstretching:
instrumental
music
Forunderliningaspecifictheme,topic,situation,or
emotion:
country,folk,reggae,hiphop,contemporaryrhythm
andblues
Forgrouporteampresentationsorwholeclassfunand
bonding:
singalongsongsfromTVshowthemesandmusical
theater

Resources:

HennepinCountyLibrarySystemsFreegal
Clickthislinktowatchhowyoucandownload5free
songsaweekfromthelibrarysystem:
FreegalWebinar
TransferYouTubemusicvideostojusttheaudio
ListentoYouTube:
www.listentoyoutube.com

(orany
otherwebsitethatletsyoudownloadjusttheaudio)
SearchforaPinterestboardtitledSingtoLearn,createdby
HelenWells(StriveSPEDteacheratWestwoodElementary).
Link:
HelenWellsSingtoLearnBoard
Shehasputtogethera
largecollectionofsongsthatsheuseswithherstudents.Iam
nowafollower!
GoNoodle
:CheckoutGoNoodlefavoritesandMinnesota
nativesKooKooKangaroo