{"id":831,"date":"2019-05-08T22:05:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T04:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/?p=831"},"modified":"2019-05-24T09:11:07","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T15:11:07","slug":"creating-opportunities-for-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/08\/creating-opportunities-for-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Opportunities for Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left\">I like to bring a little magic to my room every now and then. I feel like my students need an extra boost especially when the lessons are boring, but it is really hard (and tiring!) to create special lessons every day. However, if you look for opportunities to create memorable moments within an everyday lesson, the effort is more manageable. The way I do that is by adding props to my activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"text-align:center\">MAGNIFYING GLASSES<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left\">Cheap sunglasses and magnifying glasses make for awesome detective activities. I use them for skills like making predictions and inferences, compare and contrast, provide evidence from the text, and so much more! You can also incorporate them into your Math, Science or Social Studies lessons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left\">You don&#8217;t need to go all out and buy magnifying glasses. You can create your own. I promise your students will be just as excited as holding real ones. You can get my magnifying glasses <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1hqWIajLe9Sh9-oo-wlFqe7T7wzPSnyCT\/view?usp=sharing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"here (opens in a new tab)\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"3264\" height=\"2448\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/detective-glasses.jpg?fit=640%2C480\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"832\" data-link=\"https:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/?attachment_id=832\" class=\"wp-image-832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/detective-glasses.jpg?w=3264&amp;ssl=1 3264w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/detective-glasses.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/detective-glasses.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/detective-glasses.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/detective-glasses.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/detective-glasses.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"3264\" height=\"2448\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-1.jpg?fit=640%2C480\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"833\" data-link=\"https:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/?attachment_id=833\" class=\"wp-image-833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-1.jpg?w=3264&amp;ssl=1 3264w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-1.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-1.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-1.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-1.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"3264\" height=\"2448\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-2.jpg?fit=640%2C480\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"834\" data-link=\"https:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/?attachment_id=834\" class=\"wp-image-834\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-2.jpg?w=3264&amp;ssl=1 3264w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-2.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-2.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-2.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-2.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"3264\" height=\"2448\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-3.jpg?fit=640%2C480\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"835\" data-link=\"https:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/?attachment_id=835\" class=\"wp-image-835\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-3.jpg?w=3264&amp;ssl=1 3264w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-3.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-3.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-3.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-3.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/magnifying-glass-3.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"text-align:center\">FLASHLIGHTS AND BUZZERS<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left\">Incorporating flashlights or buzzers into your lessons is another fun way to help students to stay focused and build comprehension skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide\" style=\"grid-template-columns:28% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2448\" height=\"3264\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/flashlight.png?fit=640%2C853\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/flashlight.png?w=2448&amp;ssl=1 2448w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/flashlight.png?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/flashlight.png?resize=768%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/flashlight.png?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/flashlight.png?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:left\">Some students might need extra time to figure out an answer, so providing them with a flashlight and quiet corner to go work on their assignment might be more beneficial than having them sit though a whole group lesson that&#8217;s moving at a much higher speed.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right\" style=\"grid-template-columns:auto 39%\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"4032\" height=\"3024\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/buzzers.jpg?fit=640%2C480\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-837\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/buzzers.jpg?w=4032&amp;ssl=1 4032w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/buzzers.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/buzzers.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/buzzers.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/buzzers.jpg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/buzzers.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:right\">Buzzers, on the other hand, are &nbsp;a way to speed up things and get students motivated to think and respond fast. Everybody loves buzzers, even your slowest thinkers! You just need to pair them with students that work at a similar pace so they can have a chance to be successful and hit the buzzer first from time to time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"text-align:right\">I purchased my buzzers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00B2FNHB6\/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"here (opens in a new tab)\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I like to bring a little magic to my room every now and then. I feel like my students need an extra boost especially when the lessons are boring, but it is really hard (and tiring!) to create special lessons every day. However, if you look for opportunities to create memorable moments within an everyday [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-engagement"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Creating Opportunities for Engagement -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/08\/creating-opportunities-for-engagement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Creating Opportunities for Engagement -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I like to bring a little magic to my room every now and then. I feel like my students need an extra boost especially when the lessons are boring, but it is really hard (and tiring!) to create special lessons every day. However, if you look for opportunities to create memorable moments within an everyday [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/08\/creating-opportunities-for-engagement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dianatsylvander\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dianatsylvander\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-05-09T04:05:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-05-24T15:11:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/k12visualexpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/magical-moments.jpeg?fit=2250%2C1500&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Diana T. Sylvander\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Diana T. Sylvander\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/k12visualexpress.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/08\\\/creating-opportunities-for-engagement\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/k12visualexpress.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/05\\\/08\\\/creating-opportunities-for-engagement\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Diana T. 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Sylvander\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/k12visualexpress.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cropped-Transparent-Logo-1.png?fit=2936%2C700&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/k12visualexpress.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cropped-Transparent-Logo-1.png?fit=2936%2C700&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/k12visualexpress.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cropped-Transparent-Logo-1.png?fit=2936%2C700&ssl=1\",\"width\":2936,\"height\":700,\"caption\":\"Diana T. Sylvander\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/k12visualexpress.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cropped-Transparent-Logo-1.png?fit=2936%2C700&ssl=1\"},\"description\":\"Diana T. Sylvander, M.A., is an internationally certified Special Education teacher, and a certified Baby Signs\u00ae instructor. Diana received her undergraduate degree in Special Education from Babesh-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 2001. She has a Masters Degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the same university since 2017. Her teaching journey began in 1997, at Transylvania College, a private school in Eastern Europe. She climbed the professional ladder from a paraprofessional position, to becoming certified as a Kindergarten teacher, a Speech Pathologist, and a principal. In the United States, she taught both in public and private schools, as a regular and special education teacher, in South Carolina, Ohio, Louisiana, and Colorado. She also taught Baby Signs \u00ae and \u201cedutainment\u201d classes for children 0-5 years old at \u201cLil\u2019Me\u201d Clubhouse, her own \u201cMommy and Me\u201d business, for several years while her military family was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, Washington, DC, and Dayton, OH. Diana further dedicated her career to serving the military community as an employee of the Department of Defense Schools in Germany, where she activated as an elementary special education teacher for two years.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/k12visualexpress.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/dianatsylvander\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/k12visualexpress\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/dianas7121\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/k12visualexpress.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/dianatodita\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Creating Opportunities for Engagement -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/k12visualexpress.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/08\/creating-opportunities-for-engagement\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Creating Opportunities for Engagement -","og_description":"I like to bring a little magic to my room every now and then. 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She has a Masters Degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the same university since 2017. Her teaching journey began in 1997, at Transylvania College, a private school in Eastern Europe. She climbed the professional ladder from a paraprofessional position, to becoming certified as a Kindergarten teacher, a Speech Pathologist, and a principal. In the United States, she taught both in public and private schools, as a regular and special education teacher, in South Carolina, Ohio, Louisiana, and Colorado. She also taught Baby Signs \u00ae and \u201cedutainment\u201d classes for children 0-5 years old at \u201cLil\u2019Me\u201d Clubhouse, her own \u201cMommy and Me\u201d business, for several years while her military family was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, Washington, DC, and Dayton, OH. 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