Physical activities allow students to enjoy the feeling of success, motivating them to work for success in other areas. Consider the age of the students, who will engage in the activity, setting physical challenges they can meet. For instance, younger students require physical challenges that focus on running, while older students can engage in activities that involve climbing. Set up an obstacle course on the playground, incorporating some of the playground equipment in your course. Cheer your students on and encourage the other students to cheer with you. Use this activity to motivate your students by the overall feeling of completing a challenging course. Have students race against their own individual times to come up with their personal best, rather than choosing a winner and a loser.
Group work provides a small educational community for your students, but it can also motivate students to get involved with the group and work towards general group goals. Provide an assignment for each group, with clearly delineated parts, ensuring each group can divide a project up between its members. Use these groups to provide a positive form of peer pressure, peers motivating each group member to complete their part of the project and work hard for the overall group benefit.
Giving students choices to make involving assignments is a self-motivating tool, encouraging students to work harder on an assignment they had a choice to accept. Provide assignments that give students choices in topic or style, such as art projects for younger students, where the students get to pick their favorite style of art to apply the lesson to, or letting students select the topic of their essays for older students, allowing them write about topics they already have an interest in. Use these assignments to self-motivate your students, incorporating the student’s personal interests and preferences into class projects.
Older, academic role models can provide a positive motivational force. Work together with teachers of older students and ask for volunteers amongst the older classes, such as an eighth grade class working with your first grade class. Pair each younger student with an older student, and host a gathering at the school where each pair can meet and get to know each other. Give the students time to meet at school, encouraging older students to help younger students with homework or other school problems. Use these groups to motivate younger students through the encouragement of an older peer, while motivating older students to take a leadership role in your program and become a positive influence.