Students often struggle to understand how the concepts they learn in school relate to their everyday life. Teachers often sigh as they hear students ask, "But when will I ever use this?" Before beginning a new lesson, tie the material into something relevant to the students' lives. Social studies teachers can point out the role history plays in current events and the importance of understanding the political system when evaluating news commentary. Science teachers can emphasize the role the natural world, chemistry and physics play in every day life. Math teachers should emphasize the ways math is used in every day life. Students who believe they will be better equipped to understand the world are more likely to find a lesson intrinsically rewarding.
The textbook "Child Psychology" explains that children often look at adults as omniscient beings whose body of knowledge is impressive. When children understand that adults had to learn the things they know, they're more likely to want to learn things themselves. Before beginning a new lesson, explain what students will be able to do after they've mastered the lesson.
Every student has her own learning style. While it's impossible to teach a curriculum in a way that is tailored to everyone's individual needs, you can adjust your lesson plan such that there are more opportunities for different learning styles to excel. Try breaking students up into small groups based upon the way each student learns. Group visual learners, artistic learners and other similar groups together and then give each group different assignments. When students learn in a way that feels natural to them, they enjoy the process of learning for learning's sake.
Children learn best when learning is fun. Give children extra tidbits of information. For example, science teachers can talk about strange diseases and unusual animals. Social studies teachers can tell interesting tidbits about the lives of historical figures. While these pieces of information might not be asked on the test, they give students the human side of the lesson plan. Games can also be wonderful learning tools. Encourage students to develop their own presentations, games and ways of understanding the curriculum. This encourages them to find what they find most rewarding about each lesson.