5 Ways to Make a Scripted Curriculum More Engaging

Do we really have to read the story again this year? Do we all have to be on the same lesson? Do I have to teach it that way?

If you’ve asked yourself these questions, you’re not alone. Many teachers feel constrained by rigid, scripted curricula that leave little room for creativity. Additionally, while standardized curricula are designed to ensure consistency and coverage of key concepts, boxed lesson plans can often feel limiting to educators striving to meet diverse student needs.

Fortunately, there are many opportunities for flexibility in curriculum that allow teachers to break free from the one-size-fits-all approach, making space for more teacher autonomy in lesson planning. One method is to be the negotiator, infusing your prepackaged programs with original concepts and approaches to create a sort-of hybrid approach. 

5 Ways to Add a Personal Touch to Scripted Lessons

1. Boost focus with movement. A simple and effective way to get students energized and focused is integration of movement! Can you stomp your feet when counting, flap your arms like wings when spelling, or jump out your syllables? Incorporation of gross motor movements provides an energy release while stimulating brain development.

2. Make it musical. Invite rhythm and rhyme into your classroom through mnemonic devices (think, I before E, except after C, or when sounding like A, like in neighbor and weigh), chanting, and clapping. YouTube is home to songs on every teaching topic you can imagine, from short vowels to the scientific method. Music can also provide a landscape for concentration, creativity, and focus. YouTube Music even has great classical playlists specifically curated for studying. Invite students to suggest songs or create classroom chants using familiar tunes that resonate with them.

Letting students help pick or create music for the classroom gives them a real sense of ownership—it pulls them in and gets them more invested in learning. Plus, making music together helps with memory, builds language skills, and gives kids a fun way to express themselves and work as a team. 

3. Tap into student interests. Connections to real life and experiences increase student engagement. Students come to school with a wide variety of interests and talents; finding ways to integrate them can capture the students’ enthusiasm. For example, using students’ names and high-interest materials within reading passages and word problems is a simple hack to grab their attention.

Do your students love Pokémon? Game cards can double as math manipulatives. Are they fans of your city’s football team? Player bios make for great reading material. Who are their favorite YouTube personalities? Maybe those names make their way into your math word problems. Getting to know who your students are and what they like is a simple and effective means to create buy-in to your lessons and activities.

4. Power up learning with tech. Harness your students’ love of their screens by integrating free online resources to transform lessons into multimedia learning opportunities. For example, Padlet and Loom are platforms that allow students to submit video responses to prompts, and teachers can create fun review games with Kahoot and Quizizz. Students can also author e-books with programs like StoryJumper and even through Google Slides. 

5. From Trashketball to choice boards, get creative with assessment. There are many ways to invite students to show what they know. First, consider the outcome or objective you’re working toward: Do your students need to write out the answer, or can they draw, respond verbally, or use speech-to-text? If your students are required to work with the content and questions in a workbook, you can cut out the individual questions and play a round of Trashketball (once it’s answered correctly, students ball up their question and shoot it into the trash can).

Or you can display the question and ask students to respond on whiteboards, use sticky notes, or use sign language for multiple choice responses. You can also integrate choice boards into assessments, which are an effective way to promote differentiation by offering a variety of response options. Giving students the opportunity to choose their preferred response method from time to time can foster a sense of ownership for students.

You know what’s best for students, and I’d like to conclude by noting that you are an expert. It is well documented that the most reliable impact on student achievement is an effective teacher—not any particular lesson plan, no matter how nicely prepackaged it is. So, keep bringing the best parts of you into your practice to reflect your personal beliefs about what teaching should look like for the group of students you have in front of you right now. By embracing flexibility where possible, teachers can transform even the most rigid curricula into engaging, student-centered learning experiences.