You Need Fun for Your Classroom Management Strategies

The fifth and certainly most under-appreciated Basic Need that all humans have is the need for Fun. A lot of people mistake our desire for fun as a want, but according to Choice Theory it is a Basic Need that we all have. It is also essential to all of our classroom management strategies for teaching English to any age. And, the good news is, fun is more than just playing video games and watching TV. It’s a lot more interesting than that. In this post we’ll look at what fun is, what kinds of misbehavior kids get up to when they don’t have it, and what we as teachers can do to provide it. 

Understanding the Basic Need for Fun

Fun is a critical, basic need that all humans have. It helps keep our brains engaged at times when they need to be. It also allows them to rest and relax to reduce stress in others.

The Basic Need for Fun includes pleasure, play, humor, relaxation, and relevant learning.  Without fun we wouldn’t learn or work nearly as well. We would also eventually crash if we didn’t have this valuable release valve for all of our stress.  

There are lots of ways to meet our students’ needs for fun. Children love playing make-believe and using their imaginations. They love watching, hearing, and telling stories. At a certain age, around 4 or 5 years old, children start to find telling funny stories and jokes incredibly entertaining.

They also enjoy playing, or experimenting, with the natural world – “If I do this…what will happen?”

Of course, children also enjoy structured games with each other and in digital forms.

Finally, they also have fun while learning about things that interest them. That includes things like cool animals, sports heroes, and strange phenomena, or skills like cooking, playing a sport, or crafting. 

Fun for Learning

Having fun is critical for learning, especially for young children. When children play they become deeply focused in what they are doing. Fun provides their brains with constant rewards to continue experimenting and trying their best. This helps babies explore their worlds and it helps toddlers learn about and understand the people in their lives. It also helps your students to focus on improving their English. It is the most elemental form of intrinsic motivation for children. 

Fun is also important for adults in their work and learning, though for us it’s often called “flow.” This is when you get so absorbed in a task, project, book, or something else that you forget about your surroundings.

If you’ve ever looked up from doing something and wondered where all the time went then you’ve experienced flow. It’s famously felt by gamers, gamblers, coders and designers, but everyone can get into flow when they’re doing something they find deeply engaging. It can feel very rewarding and even energizing while you do it.

Unfortunately, we don’t always feel flow or fun. A lot of times we do things because we have to. Those experiences are very draining, but as adults we’ve developed self-control and greater goals to help us push through. Kids, on the other hand, don’t have that – especially the younger ones. If something isn’t fun then it won’t grab their attention or efforts for long. 

Also, there’s no such thing as something that is universally fun. Something that might be fun for one person might not be for another. This is something we need to pay attention to in classrooms full of children.

Fun for Bonding

Having fun will also help you bond with your students. It creates good memories and positive reinforcement for your relationships with them.

And, when you have great relationships with your students then everything becomes easier. They’re more willing to listen to your instructions and behave well to maintain the relationship.

Don’t underestimate the power of having fun in class. It’s a very useful element for our classroom management strategies in English as a Foreign Language and beyond. 

Fun for Classroom Management Strategies

When children are having fun they will work to the best of their abilities and follow any needed rules to keep it going. They also want to get along well with whoever helps them have fun. That’s why fun is critical for our classroom management strategies.

If you can make your lessons and activities fun for students then they will happily follow your instructions, rules and expectations. Having fun is more than enough of a reward for children. 

There are some key concepts we need to keep in mind to make fun effective for classroom management. Here are a few.

Goldilocks Fun

Like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we need our fun in the classroom to be just right.

Games and activities can’t be too exciting and over-the-top. When kids get over-stimulated they stop learning and get out of control. You don’t want to make the mistake of having a class of screaming children running around and only focused on who can be the fastest. That isn’t a class filled with students learning. 

On the other hand, if students are bored then they won’t be learning for long either. You’ll lose their interest and attention quickly. After that, you won’t be able to force them to learn nearly as well as if they were having fun.

So, the key is to use methods for presentation, games, and activities that are fun and engaging for kids but don’t over-excite them.  

Just Enough Challenge

For many forms of fun we also need enough challenge for something to be engaging.

If a game or activity is too easy then it’s boring or “for babies.” 

On the other hand, if something is too difficult then we often get discouraged – especially children. They’re quick to say “I can’t do it,” when they feel overwhelmed.

Big tasks also need to be broken up into small, comprehensible, mini-challenges that can be overcome with a little help if needed. 

The key is to get to know what your students can handle and aim just a little bit above that.

Get Everyone Involved

Another key aspect of fun for children is that they prefer to be active rather than passive.

Kids like watching movies, but they have to be fast-paced and short to keep them engaged through the whole film. Even then, a lot of kids struggle to stay seated or quiet. They want to ask questions, move around, or play along with their toys.

In most things, kids want to do rather than watch. They learn a lot better by directly experiencing or doing something. Instead of watching someone play football they want to be in the game. Instead of watching mom or dad cook, they want to help mix the ingredients. And instead of watching their classmate make a puppet, they want to hold the scissors and use the glue. 

It’s really hard for children to sit and watch someone else get in on the action. Time seems to crawl for them while they wait for their turn. 

This is really important for our classroom management strategies. We can’t arrange our lessons with only one or two students participating at a time for long. That just becomes unbearable for kids and leads to all sorts of misbehavior.

We need to arrange our lessons so everyone is involved and active as much as possible.

Having Fun Doesn’t Need To Be Competition

Finally, a lot of adults forget what having fun as a kid is like. We get focused on competitive games with a winner and loser. That kind of competition is dramatic and engaging for us; it’s really fun to participate in and to watch.

However, kids don’t need competition to have fun. They’re just has happy to play co-cooperatively in imagination-land where everyone wins in the end. This is especially true for kids who are seven and younger.

In fact, trying to force teams, points, winners and losers on these kids can be distracting and discouraging for them. They just want to play for the fun of it. 

We have lots of games and activities to choose from that are fun but not competitive.

Related Post: Imagination Opens New Worlds for EFL VYLs

How Students Misbehave Without Fun

If your students aren’t having enough fun in class you will start to notice their misbehavior quickly. It’s a primary source of frustration for students and then for teachers as well.

Once you see the connection between misbehavior and the need for fun you will see why it’s critical for your classroom management strategies. 

Here are some common types of misbehavior you will see if your lessons aren’t fun for your students.

Not Paying Attention

When you work with preschool and primary school students you have to attract their attention with fun and engaging lessons and activities. Young children don’t have the discipline to follow along with something boring for longer than one or a few minutes.

Once you lose their enthusiasm and interest their attention will drift to anything that might meet their needs for fun. This is also more than a temporary distraction, which is common among children. This is a sustained lack of interest that continues for several minutes or even longer.

In these cases, you might see your students daydreaming. They might also try secretly (or not so secretly) playing with a toy by themselves or even with a neighbor. Lots of children will fiddle with school supplies at their desk as well (sometimes this is more a need for movement than fun). Others will doodle to entertain their minds. Some students (in my experience girls) will also have a whispered conversation with a friend. 

Waving Arms & Calling Out “Me, Me, MEEEEE!”

Another way that children who are desperate to have fun try to solve their boredom is by pushing you to pick them for a game or activity.

They lean out from their chairs and wave their arms to catch your attention. They even call out “Teacher pick me! Me, me, meeeeeee!” They try any tactic they can think of. They want you to take them off the sidelines and put them in the game.

This is really common, especially in large classes, where the teacher arranges games or activities that only involve one or two students at a time.

The rest of the students have nothing to do but watch and wait for their turn. Oftentimes, in these moments, it takes 30 seconds, 45 seconds, even a minute per round.

That doesn’t feel like very much for a busy teacher, but for the students it can feel like a lifetime. They’re watching their classmates have fun but they are stuck doing nothing. They’re desperate to get their turn. They become even more desperate and frustrated if they realize there’s a good chance they won’t get to play at all. 

Getting Up From Their Chairs

This is something else that often happens when teachers use games or activities that include just one or two students. If the materials are too small or the angle is bad then many watching students can’t even see what is happening. They know something is going on and someone is having fun, but they can’t even follow along.

In these cases you often see children leaning to the side, standing up from their chairs, or even getting up to walk over and watch – and possibly blocking other students’ views. It’s very frustrating for them – and that isn’t good for their behavior.

Taking Lots of Water or Bathroom Breaks

When class gets too boring sometimes children just need to step away and take a mental break. Even going to the toilet sounds more appealing than sitting in boredom. We’ve all done this at work or elsewhere as adults – and children do it, too. 

I’ve sat in several dull classes where it seemed like half of the students had drunk a liter of water each before the lesson. They were all taking turns escaping to the restroom. The teachers knew something was up but didn’t realize how dreary their lessons actually were. 

Refusing to Participate

Many times students refuse to participate in something because they’re afraid they don’t know how to do it well. That’s an issue with Power.

Other times, though, it’s because the activity or game is just too boring. It’s one more worksheet after another. Or a dull reading followed by closed questions. Or one-too-many long round-robin reading aloud sessions.

In these situations some students try for passive resistance; sullen silence. Sometimes they come right out and tell you, “Teacher, it’s boooooooring.”

Slumping in Chairs & Glazed Eyes

Sometimes, instead of trying to find relief from boredom by looking for fun, children just give up. They become lethargic. They slump over in their chairs and get a glazed expression. The light of hope for fun has gone out in their eyes.

At this point their faces might be pointed at you, but they’re not learning anything on the lesson topic.

How to Bring Back the Fun

When you see the above misbehaviors, especially if they’re from multiple students, the key is not to blame the kids for a lack of discipline. Rather, the key to effective classroom management strategies is always to look to yourself and your lessons first. You need to recognize that your students are sending you a flashing red signal. You’re doing something that isn’t meeting one of their basic needs.

And, without fun, your students won’t be able to behave well or learn well. Here are some techniques and concepts you can use to bring back the fun.

Be Playful and Smile

The first thing that will help make your classes feel fun is to bring a fun, playful attitude to class.

You don’t have to be a clown (definitely not recommended), but it never hurts to smile and be a little silly and energetic. Try putting on a smile before you go into class, even if you’re not having a great day. Your students are likely to respond positively and then you might leave class with a genuine smile. I know that happened many times for me.

Be playful with your students. Turn your flashcard presentations into little games. Use chants and sing-songs to direct students and get them to practice English. Try using a puppet.

Practice making quick, funny drawings that you can use on the board. Find out what pop-culture things your students enjoy (such as Minions, Marvel, etc.) and adapt activities around them in class. Bring in quick puzzles, riddles, or age-appropriate jokes.

Even your behavior management systems can be fun and kid-friendly.

There are many ways you can be fun and playful in class. Just find the ways that fit with your personality and teaching style.  

When you bring a fun energy and attitude to class your students will mirror it right back at you. Everything, including your classroom management strategies, gets easier when everyone is have fun.

Use Variety

Variety keeps thing fresh. Children love repeating familiar games, songs, stories, and activities – but only so often and so many times. If you play the same game every lesson it will eventually get dull. 

As well, not every student finds the same things fun or interesting. You can appeal to all of your learners at least most of the time when you change up activities throughout the lesson.

Also, remember that children’s attention spans are fairly short. A good formula to keep in mind is your students’ age times 2 or 3 minutes. So, for an 8 year old student that’s 16 to 24 minutes. 

However, that limit is in their first language and if their basic needs have already been met. Their attention spans are much shorter if they’re tired, hungry, or bored.  On top of that, using a second language adds a lot of mental burdens to further reduce that upper limit.

The more advanced your students are in their English abilities, the closer they can reach their 1st language limit.  Low-level students might only last up to around half that time before they need a break or a change-up. 

Focus on Student-Centered, Involving Activities

Make sure to include plenty of games and activities that involve all of your students at once. This can be in class-wide games like Bingo, Flashcard Safari, or Stand-up Sit-down. Or you can have students play or work in pairs or small groups. This can be with pair coloring dictations, small group guessing games, surveys, or running dictations. There are also lots of options for projects, role-plays, and information gaps. The key is that everyone in class has something to do.

When you’re planning your lessons, always keep an eye on the participation rates throughout each stage. If you have too much time spent with most students watching and waiting for their turns with little or nothing to do then you will have problems with misbehavior. Low participation rates won’t help any of your classroom management strategies.

Related Post: Increasing ESL Participation Rates

Adapt for Fun

Sadly, many teachers are stuck with dull materials. I spent years teaching children with textbooks filled with non-fiction essays on many topics they had no interest in. It sucked. However, there are always ways you can adapt materials to make them more engaging. 

Get students moving with a running dictation. Instead of doing a reading out loud, cut up copies and have students do a jig-saw reading. Engage their listening and scanning skills with Listen and Point. Put the comprehension questions on a grass skirt. Have each student write their own question and do a mix-and-mingle. 

If you think a book or unit is boring then your students will, too. And when you go into class armed only with boring materials then you will get to deal with a class of bored students. 

Find Fun Topics & Materials

If your curriculum and lesson time is fairly open, you can also introduce engaging topics and materials for your students.

There are some things that are timeless. For example, children of all ages love learning about interesting wild animals and dinosaurs. I know teachers who created a version of Top Trumps with interesting animals for their students. It worked so well during the lesson that the students requested to play it again in their free-time and later lessons.

You can also find out what is currently popular. What movies, TV shows, games or other pop cultural items do kids in your class like? With a little creativity and prep-work you can build whole lessons around your students’ interests. An easy one is can/can’t comparatives with Marvel superheroes. Another teacher I know used Paw Patrol characters to practice he/she, colors, and jobs with his preschool students. They loved it. 

Finally, kids generally like to talk and share about themselves. I’ve had a lot of success with small group surveys, information gaps, and mingles to get students communicating about themselves and their preferences. A super simple example is having each student draw or write down two, three, or more of their favorite foods. Then they mingle with classmates to find someone with one similar favorite food and write their names down. Whoever collects names for all their foods first is the “winner.”  

Ride the Roller Coaster

Another key concept to keep in mind is to pace the fun and movement to balance your students’ energy levels across the lesson.

Lots of stirring (high-energy, high-movement, or very fun) activities back to back will overstimulate your students and lead to chaos.

Lots of settling (low-energy, low-movement, not very fun) activities will bore your students and lose their attention.

The key is to pay attention during your lesson planning to provide for a good mix throughout the lesson. That will help your students stay engaged and it will help your classroom management strategies succeed.

Related article: Ride the Roller-Coaster for Better EFL Classroom Management

Limit Teacher Talk Time (TTT) & Presentations

Finally, just listening to the teacher or anyone else is very passive. Kids like to be active.

Always be wary of lecturing students, giving long presentations or long sets of instructions (TTT). You’re likely to overwhelm their listening abilities, attention spans, and tolerance for boredom.

If you’ve never sat in the back and observed a lesson, you’d be surprised by how quickly students start losing focus. Count their attention spans for listening to you talk in tens of seconds not minutes. 

In addition, make sure to give students something to do while they listen. That will help them stay and feel active. Ask them quick closed questions (yes/no or one word answers). Give them TPR actions to do while you speak; “Everyone, show me your pencil.” or “Students, point to the calendar.”  

If they have to listen to a presentation then give them a task to keep focused, and extra points if it’s a little silly.

Don’t say “Listen for any mistakes they make.” That’s really negative and it’s too difficult for most students.

Instead, try tasks like counting how many times the presenter says a specific word or phrase. Or listen to answer one or two key questions. The key is to keep students active with a goal instead of drifting into passive, boring, listening.

The Five Basic Needs and Misbehavior

The need for Fun is the fifth of the Five Basic Needs that every student and person needs to be healthy and happy. The others are Survival, Love & Belonging, Power, and Freedom. Students will misbehave in different ways depending on what Basic Need is missing, so check out the other posts as well. They’re all essential for any classroom management strategies you’re trying to use.

What experiences do you have with how the need for fun affected your students’ learning or behavior? Share in the comments below. Don’t forget to like, share, and follow us on Facebook!

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