We spoke with Amanda, a 7th-grade geography teacher, about how she uses TeacherMade to help engage her students. She discussed activities to keep students distracted to help with classroom management.

How does TeacherMade help with student engagement?

My name is Amanda Mendenhall, and I teach 7th-grade geography in Oklahoma. Classroom management is a huge issue for a lot of teachers. Students get bored or disengaged and don't stay focused, so in turn, they cause problems. As large as our class sizes have gotten, it is hard to keep all students engaged in the content that you are teaching. On a constant basis, teachers keep the wheel turning to keep all the students engaged and on track with the lesson.

How do TeacherMade digital activities keep students from getting distracted or bored?

TeacherMade has allowed me to help my students stay engaged, so they are more likely to be on track most of the time. Students are able to watch the embedded videos, complete interactive assignments, and interact with each other in the document. Students often get distracted and bored when reading paper documents or textbooks, so they get themselves in trouble. Intern, the teacher is constantly trying to find new engaging activities. It creates a domino effect of the teacher always working and finally getting burnout.

How do you use TeacherMade assignments for small groups?

With the different assignments I create on TeacherMade, I can sometimes see where my students are at and put them in small groups. They are able to work independently or collaborate with other students on assignments at their level versus having to work on a level that is not conducive to learning. Small groups allow my students to see that they can succeed even if they struggle with the concept. 

How do you assign TeacherMade assignments for in-class group work or homework?

TeacherMade allows me to give assignments in different manners. We can complete the assignment together with the whole group, we can complete the assignment independently during class, or the students can complete it independently at home for homework.

I can even do this midday and give the assignment to my students to see what we're talking about because they can see the real-time assignment. The students can also correct an assignment that has been turned in once I return it to him so we can review it.

How do you use TeacherMade assignments help with classroom management?

TeacherMade has allowed me to create simple review assignments to work on complex assessments for my students each week. I am able to keep them engaged, which in turn keeps the classroom management issues down. Research tells us that the more engaged students are, the fewer disruptions you have in class. Unfortunately, in today's world, we must entertain our students constantly because they do not know how to be bored.

TeacherMade helps teachers create interactive, digital worksheets and assignments that engage students and aid in classroom management.