Where is the MOTIVATION!?!

• "I can't seem to get them to do anything." 
• "I just wish they were excited about learning." 
• "They seem so lifeless..." 
• "It feels like they don't care anymore!" 
• "My students just aren't motivated!" 

As we enter into our final quarter for the year, I have been hearing more and more of the statements above. I had one fourth grade teacher in particular ask me if I would lead a lesson in his class on motivation. I (over-confidently) said, "Yes! Of course!" However, when I began looking for ideas...I couldn't seem to find anything that hooked me. I always strive to have creative, inspiring and worthwhile lessons and so I was beginning to feel discouraged when I wasn't finding much when it came to motivation. 

I took some time to reflect on my OWN motivation and how it impacts my work. I will admit, the start of the fourth quarter has been a little more difficult for me and I even find myself dragging my feet in the mornings. So I found myself wondering, "How am I going to inspire motivation in students if I struggle with inspiring it within myself?" I was even beginning to think that I may need this lesson just as much as the students! 

I looked around my room for inspiration...art supplies, clay, puppets, toys, balloons...BALLOONS! I remembered a lesson I did with my first graders in which we used balloons to talk about emotions and they absolutely loved it! I thought about how I use balloons to teach about Anger and how if we don't release our anger it can make us POP! I decided I was going to use my trusty balloons again to help me teach about MOTIVATION!

HERE IS HOW THE LESSON WENT: 

• I started off by writing the word "Motivation" on the board. I then had students brainstorm about the meaning of motivation and we had a small discussion. 
• Then, I presented two deflated balloons. I said to the class, "I brought some balloons for us to play with today." I then blew up one balloon and tied it. The other balloon, I left deflated and tied it. I then let the kids play with the two balloons for a minute. It was obvious that the inflated balloon was the most popular choice and the students became bored with the deflated balloon within a matter of seconds. 
• I then shared that the inflated balloon was like someone FULL of MOTIVATION (fun, eye-catching, inspiring) and the deflated balloon was like someone who had NO MOTIVATION (lifeless, no energy, a bit boring) . I attached them to the board and had students create a list of what motivates (fills) them around the balloon and what does not motivate (deflates) them around the other.
• Afterwards, I had them fill out their own sheet about what fills-them-up and what brings them down. We discussed how the key to motivation is remembering to fill yourself up and avoid the things that bring you down. 
• We concluded by showing a video by Kid President. 

After the lesson, I found that I felt more motivated as well! Since I work with a 99% ELL population, I found that the concept was a bit abstract for them but I think it was a good way to get them to begin thinking about motivation.

What tips do YOU have to encourage motivation with your students?