Games provide an excellent means of teaching important lessons while keeping the class entertained. For instance, try playing "password" with your class. The popular game involves putting a picture on the bulletin board. The picture or "password" might be of an animal, such as a hippopotamus. Two students have their backs to the bulletin board and do not see the picture. Meanwhile, the rest of the class may raise their hands to volunteer one-word clues. The contestant who guesses the word first stays in the game and another student is selected from the class for the next round.
In today's wired world, a classroom may have online video, websites and other multimedia available. Regardless of technology, passive viewing does have its place in primary school. It gives both students and teachers a time to relax between more interactive and social activities. And the moving image often conveys concepts and ideas that some primary students may not be able to apprehend linguistically.
Besides the routine activities of elementary school, set aside time for informal discussions on social and personal issues. For instance, solicit students' thoughts and comments on current events such as the Gulf Oil Spill or the earthquake in Haiti. Explain the significance of certain historical figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr. At the end of the school year, organize a participatory discussion in which each student in your class comments upon a particularly important lesson he or she learned that year.
Rote memorization still has a place in primary school and good old-fashioned flash cards are an effective means of helping kids learn vocabulary words, basic arithmetic, and state capitals. Students can also team up in pairs to test each others' knowledge.