Teaching Tips - Fun Science Experiments!

Science teachers know that children believe there to be no fun science experiments. This of course is not true, but children continue believing so anyway. Perhaps it is because teachers have a difficult time getting through to their students, and showing them how fun and fascinating science can be. As a teacher, you have to understand that children have a certain attention span, and you have to catch them in that time or they can be lost to you for the rest of the period. Here are some teaching tips on how to get your students convinced that there are fun science experiments out there!

1. Research

The very first tip towards fun science experiments, of course is to find some fun science experiments! The Internet is an amazing resource, and you can find many easy and low cost experiment ideas which can be really fun for you and your class to do. Find an experiment that is fun, relevant to what you're teaching, and pretty simple. The simpler you can demonstrate a concept, the more likely your students are going to understand it.

2. Give a Class Overview Before the Lecture

Before beginning each lecture class, whether or not there will be a laboratory activity involved, tell your students what you are going to discuss for the day. Include in your class overview the fun science experiments you have lined up to help them learn the day's science lesson. Telling your students beforehand that there will be a fun part in the day's lesson will keep them attentive with anticipation. If you tell them that after explaining a concept, you will produce lightning in a jar, they are likely to stay tuned to what you have to say.

3. Appeal to Their Interests

Find a way to bridge what you need to discuss with something they will want to discuss or do. For example, declare on day as "tattoo" day. Give them a discussion on photosynthesis, how plants get color, change color, and how dye can be extracted from plant flowers and leaves. Then, open with one of the fun science projects related to plants. You can say that you will be making your own henna, and they are welcome to take the last fifteen minutes of class to create tattoos on their hands and arms. Henna tattoos are hip, and most young kids enjoy them. In this manner you were able to show your students a fun science experiment that is directly related to their lesson.

4. Call on Someone Popular

This is an age old trick, but it always works. As a teacher, you probably more or less know who the popular or well liked kids are. When you have one of your fun science experiments lined up for the class activity, call on one of the popular students to help you demonstrate or do the experiment. This will catch the attention of the rest of the class because they will want to see how well the popular kid will be able to do.

5. Learn to Be Goofy and Messy

This is something that works no matter what your subject is. If you can goof off in front of your students and learn to laugh at yourself, they are likely to enjoy your classes, and pay attention. Adding humor into your fun science experiments or not minding how big a mess you create can appeal to some students. Even if they think you're a total goof ball, at the end of the day you would have achieved you goal of teaching them a science concept, and making sure that they understand it well!

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