How to Make Learning Fun for Teens

Developing a variety of skills is important for teens. Getting them to mingle more with their peers is also essential.

Try icebreaker games to help them open up and feel more comfortable in group settings. Consider activities like learning a new language, budgeting, or baking. Teach them how to read a map or how to use public transportation.

Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger hunts are one of the best tools for enhancing learning with active, engaging activities. They’re easy to adapt and can work for any subject or theme that you’re teaching; the possibilities are endless. For example, if your students are learning about space, you can have them hunt for items that are related to the topic, such as planets and stars. Similarly, if your kids are studying about trains, you can have them hunt for train-related materials such as locomotives or train stations.

Scavenger hunts are great for boosting observation skills, as they help students discover things around them that they might not have noticed before. They also teach children how to process information in bite-sized chunks, which helps them focus on the main ideas and details while learning. Additionally, scavenger hunts help students develop executive functioning skills as they navigate through the clues and make decisions on where to look next.

Scavenger hunts are also a great way to get students moving outside for a fun break from their desks. Whether you’re sending them around the school to find different items or you’re taking them on a nature hunt, they’ll enjoy being outside with their bodies and hearts racing while learning. You can even use scavenger hunts to teach kids about their classrooms, as they can learn where the school nurse is located or how all of their classes are connected by finding each room on the scavenger hunt map.

Brain Teasers

Students in this age group need to be challenged, but they also have a sense of humor and enjoy having a good time. This makes it important to vary the types of lessons they have on a daily basis. Adding games, presentations, and question rounds to their learning can help make them less likely to become bored with a topic or lesson plan.

Brain teasers are great for incorporating into lessons because they often require lateral thinking to find solutions. They also help to activate the right side of the brain, which is responsible for creativity. This activity also helps build memory, as it requires them to recall shapes and patterns.

Using these puzzles as classroom warm-ups or transition activities will get kids’ minds engaged from the start of the class session. Then, they can focus on the lesson plan. This can be a short riddle or visual problem that challenges the brain and prepares it for the new material.

Another way to use these puzzles is as a mental break during long study or work sessions. This can help rejuvenate their focus and increase productivity. Similarly, they can be used as homework challenges to encourage independent thinking and self-direction. For example, one challenge could be a logic puzzle that asks students to find an equation that works using two numbers.

Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles are functional problem-solving activities that promote cognitive development, visual perception, and memory. Kids can use a variety of strategies to solve each puzzle, which provides opportunities to practice trial and error. They also learn the importance of establishing theories, testing hypotheses, and modifying their perspective. These skills translate to academic subject matter and the workplace, improving critical thinking and creativity.

Jigsaws can be done individually or in groups, making them a great way to improve socialization and teamwork. They also provide a low-stress activity that keeps kids engaged and productive. They don’t require a large space, and they can be worked on in small increments throughout the day. This makes them a great activity to add to the beginning or end of class to keep students focused and engaged.

You can encourage your learners to work on jigsaws together by setting goals and time limits for family puzzle nights. This encourages kids to work efficiently and helps them feel accomplished as they achieve milestones. Additionally, it allows families to spend quality time together and develop positive communication and collaboration skills. Kids can learn to communicate strategies, describe piece traits, listen to one another, and help each other overcome challenges by working side-by-side. You can even find jigsaws online that are designed with educational themes and images for an additional learning opportunity.

Journal Writing

In addition to being a great way to practice their English, keeping a journal is a very personal and emotional experience for teens. When students write down their emotions in writing, they are able to process the events that happened during the day and gain a better understanding of their own feelings.

This type of journal writing also offers an excellent opportunity to practice the different writing styles of your students, such as narrative, descriptive, and critical. A study by Kerka 2 found that using a guided journaling activity helped to improve students’ writing skills, as they began to write more in their own style rather than imitate someone else.

Journals can be written at a specific time during the day, or students can use them throughout the school day. The teacher can monitor the journals by checking them for proper writing conventions and questions, as well as by conducting individual or small group conferences with students.

Another way to make learning fun for teens is by providing them with a variety of educational games and activities that involve movement. Whether they are playing games that incorporate a physical challenge like balloon popping or brain breaks to help them calm their minds, students will be more engaged in language learning when it involves more than just sitting down and listening.