I like to use Brain Teasers for warm-ups. There are tons of
books out there with word puzzles, math puzzles, critical
thinking, spatial ones, etc. You can tie them into your lesson,
or just be satisfied that you have their attention, they enjoyed
the brief activity, and they practiced problem solving skills.
Kids usually love these.

On 10/05/09, Sara wrote:
> On 10/04/09, lmey wrote:
>> Hello--I am new to teaching HS English and I need some ideas
>> to spice it up and get students' attention especially at the
>> beginning of the period. Any ideas?
>
> A lot of that can lie in your manner and presentation - when
> you go to a show, does the performer ask you for your
> thoughts and ideas or do they plunge in and hold your
> attention? I always suggests teachers take an acting class
> and I'm not kidding - a bit of the diva can't hurt when it
> comes to working the crowd that is a classroom.
>
> How does the rest of the period go? Fairly smooth?
>
> If so, there is the concept of 'wake up type activities'
> though you have to keep changing it up to have it keep
> working to wake them up.
>
> try this - "Paul, give me a word. Susan, another. Tom
> another - what do we have? Three words? Is it a sentence? No?
> Why not? What's missing?
>
> John, give me a noun. Theresa a verb - an appropriate verb
> please (wicked smile) Now do we have a sentence? We do but
> does it make sense? Clock cry.
>
> No but it does sound like poetry. Everybody write a word on a
> piece of small scrap paper and my challenge to myself is - to
> use them all in a single sentence. By tomorrow - it's the
> William Faulkner Memorial Challenge to English Teachers
> Challenge - who was Faulkner??
>
> Funny that you ask - today we're reading....
>
>

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