How to Motivate Students in Third Grade

Lesson plan

Children in third grade learn about a variety of different subjects, such as reading, writing, math and history and concepts associated with life science, physical science and Earth science. Third grade reviews and embellishes upon the materials covered from kindergarten to second grade, in addition to introducing new ideas. For example, children will learn more about cursive writing in third grade and also be introduced to properties of measurement and changes in physical matter. Children in third grade are typically 8 to 9. Nevertheless, learning and understanding all of this material can become stressful. In order to motivate students in third grade, you should explain to the students what they will be learning about, use demonstrations, advocate class participation and practice positive reinforcement.

Instructions

1. Create a lesson plan and explain it to the students. In order to motivate students in third grade, you need to make them want to learn about the upcoming material. Sometimes, if students are just given an assignment without the proper introduction, they will become overwhelmed and not want to put in the proper work. This is especially true of third-grade children because third grade is the year when there is a large increase in the amount of work that is expected of them. Therefore, before you begin to teach the lesson, explain what it will be about.

2. Use diagrams and words to explain the concepts. In order to motivate students in third grade, you have to stimulate all of their interests. Not all children remain focused or interested if the lesson is only being conveyed through notes. Pictures are needed as well. They create a visual element that allows the student to understand the information in a more concise manner. For example, if you are explaining a concept such as the water cycle, write notes about the process and draw a diagram in which the water is transported through the processes of condensation and evaporation.

3. Use demonstrations during the lesson. You can motivate students in third grade by doing demonstrations that relate to the material you are teaching in class. Third-grade students will become more interested in the material if they can see a physical representation of how it works. For example, if you are teaching the students about changes in matter, then do a simple demonstration of how ice melts and freezes. It will encourage the students to ask questions and to make observations.

4. Make connections between the various subjects that you are teaching. One of the reasons why third-grade students can become overwhelmed is because they will feel as if they are learning about an abundance of concepts that do not relate to one another. In order to ameliorate this, you need to explain to the students how certain elements of the material do correlate. For example, the measurement techniques they are learning in math will help them to perform their science experiments. Precision of measurement in science is extremely important.

5. Advocate class participation. In order to motivate third graders, you have to encourage them to participate in the lesson. You can do this by asking questions as you are presenting the lesson and allowing the students to volunteer in the demonstrations.

6. Practice positive reinforcement. You can motivate third grade students by encouraging them. Third-grade students continuously need to be reminded that they can learn, even if they do not understand the concept the first time. Therefore, try not to become frustrated if a student is confused. Instead, focus on the aspects of the concept that the student does understand and help the student to improve the areas of the concept that he is confused about.

References

• Scholastic.com: What To Expect In Third Grade
• Oswego Community Unit School: Third Grade Curriculum Overview
• Mercer Island School District: Third Grade Science Learning Targets