First of all, every teacher experiences it, so don’t take it personally. (Seriously, we’ve ALL been there!) The trick, however, is finding ways to get out of your slump. Most teachers agree that higher levels of engagement mean higher levels of achievement, so finding things to do in your classroom to increase engagement are vitally important. I personally used to fall into the misconception that the only way to engage students was to do massive room transformations or wear costumes, and although I love doing those things on occasion, they are not feasible for every day use. One of the easiest ways that I have found to reengage your class is by introducing headlamps. It sounds weird, but hear me out. The reason why I love using headlamps in my classroom is because it instantly increases the student excitement surrounding the task at hand. The next best thing is that there is no added prep. Did you hear that? NO. ADDED. PREP. You can take something as simple as task cards, or a problem solving sheet, and turn it into something that the kids can’t wait to complete. You introduce the activity or task the same way that you would any other day… you just turn out the lights and the students work with headlamps. I have done this with independent reading, math worksheets, task cards and more. The possibilities are endless, and every year my students love it when the headlamps come out. One of my favorite ways that I used headlamps this past year was by taking our Halloween crime scene investigation and making it even more fun. The students had to use their inferring skills to determine who vandalized our classroom and stole our Halloween party treats. Working in the dark took an already fun lesson and made it even more memorable. Use the link below to order them for your students and let me know how you use them in your classroom.
Teacher Talks A Lot 
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