13 Practical strategies for improving student literacy engagement in the classroom

You walk into the classroom in the middle of a literacy block. Can you tell who is engaged and who isn’t? What does it mean for a student to be “engaged?” In the past, we may have mistaken a student who was looking at the teacher, was listening quietly, or wasn’t distracted as a student who was truly engaged. But were they?

In this EdWeek Market Brief from 2024, 46% of teachers said student engagement has declined since 2019. So, how do we help them to tune back in?

In order for students to be internalizing what they hear and learn, they need to do more than just “listen.” Keep reading to learn more about what an “engaged student” truly means, looks, and sounds like in the classroom.

Defining student engagement

When we think of student engagement, we typically think of the “degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught.” (Glossary of Educational Reform, 2016) These attributes illustrate a level of active participation in learning, which is critical for developing mastery or expertise in any subject, including reading. This mastery, in turn, supports students’ academic success, which has a cumulative effect as they advance throughout their school experience.

Research on learning has shown the connections between “non-cognitive skills” such as motivation, interest, curiosity, perseverance, and positive learning results such as higher test scores, skill acquisition, and overall academic performance.

Learning engagement also has positive effects in a student’s overall personal growth.

Engaged students typically:

• Focus attention on a learning task
• Mentally invest in their own learning
• Have positive personal interactions with teachers and peers
• Pursue areas of interest and passion
• Enjoy the learning process

Most teachers will attest that student engagement is a goal of their instruction, and strive to find ways to fully involve students in active learning. With today’s students’ worlds filled with constant distractions and diversions, this can be a challenge! Read on to find ways to proactively engage students and help them move into a positive feedback loop.

Passive vs. active learning

When you walk into a classroom where students are actively engaged, you may see students responding frequently during instruction, listening or reading with rapt attention, discussing their reading, learning in cooperative groups, applying their learning in practical ways, or engaging in real-life problem-solving.

Conversely, some classroom activities are more passive in nature, such as listening to lectures or watching videos or slideshow presentations. While these modes of information sharing are not inherently harmful, it is important to consider how, even within these more passive activities, student engagement can be enhanced.

The role of connection and relevance

Research has shown a strong link between student-teacher “connectedness” and better student outcomes—including mental health, grades, and school attendance. Connection is a very important part of teaching of all ages. A teenager’s ability to “see through” attempts at inauthentic connection is especially potent—they know whether or not you care about them as a person.

Below, we outline different ways you can both foster a connection with students and make the learning more relevant to their developing lives.

Relationship building

Good teaching is not just about instructional technique; good teaching begins with the relationships we form with our students. Knowing students’ personalities, backgrounds, cultures, capabilities and limitations, interests, and passions supports the creation of a safe and supportive classroom. “Both neuroscience and practical experience validate that when students feel safe and supported, their ability to learn and thrive is greatly improved.” (Collaborative for Teaching and Learning, 2022).

Getting to know students takes time, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Using student interest surveys, class meetings, or simply having time for one-on-one conversations nurtures relationship building. Greeting students at the door each morning, making eye contact, co-creating classroom rules, having regular check-ins with students, and fully listening to students all contribute to students’ sense of belonging and safety in the classroom.

Connecting curriculum to life

When we know our students and their worlds outside of school, it can foster our ability to connect the curriculum to life. In addition, in a world filled with a constant stream of information, there are myriad ways to connect in-class learning to what is going on in the world. The ability to make learning relevant to life enhances student engagement. Here are some examples:

• Tap into students’ interests to explain the value of learning to read. Interested in cooking? You need to read recipes and be able to read and understand instructions.
• Write for real reasons. Writing a persuasive essay on why recess should be longer is relevant to your students.
• Use current events or historical events as real-world examples of topics you are teaching.
• Bring in guest speakers to the classroom to share their experiences; being a deeply capable reader is important in so many professions—from reading and following complex instructions to writing and reading speeches and presentations.
• Take a class field trip, outside of the classroom or virtually.
• Have students prepare and present their hobbies and interests to their classmates; this builds organizational, speaking, visual skills, and more.

Culturally responsive teaching

Engaging students in daily learning relies on helping them to feel known. When you have students of many backgrounds, you can help them to understand what they already know and bring to their learning in order to anchor new concepts to existing knowledge.

Literacy leader and educational consultant, Mitchell Brookins, PHD, is dedicated to leading with cultural responsiveness. Brookins believes that “knowledge begets knowledge”—this fundamental neurological principle forms the cornerstone of culturally relevant pedagogy. Our brains seek patterns, make connections, and build upon existing knowledge, mirroring how culturally responsive teachers leverage students’ funds of knowledge as assets rather than deficits. Brookins also says that “a student’s cultural knowledge, history, and background experiences serve as currency during classroom instruction, connecting new information to established neural pathways.”

His approach is about ensuring equitable outcomes across diverse populations. Historically, literacy has served as a channel to liberation, particularly in communities where it was once prohibited. Brookin’s call to action is this:

By interrogating our curricular resources, instructional practices, assessment tools, staffing models, and overall student experience through a culturally responsive lens, we can advance literacy attainment for all learners while honoring their full identities.

13 Strategies to boost classroom engagement

Here are 13 ways to help foster the type of curiosity necessary for students to remain engaged and have agency in their own learning.

1. Clear guidelines

Student engagement begins with each lesson opening: start with clear learning objectives, purpose for learning and expectations. These clear guidelines help a student engage because they know what to expect.

2. Active learning

Make use of active learning strategies. Ask questions frequently. Have students respond to your prompts chorally or in groups. Utilize ”turn-and-talk,” “jot and share,” “think-pair-share,” “stand up and find a partner,” and other short, frequent opportunities to reflect and respond.

3. Gradual release model

Utilize an “I do, we do, you do” gradual release model of lessons to support student success. This allows students to grow in confidence with a new skill and for the teacher to eventually increase the amount of responsibility the student has for their learning and practicing as they feel more comfortable.

4. Incremental learning

Provide concise lessons with a focus on incremental steps of success to keep students motivated in their learning. When students feel small successes one after the other, they are more likely to want to continue even if something becomes more challenging.

5. “Hands-on” learning

Use manipulatives when appropriate; for example, many students benefit from utilizing colored chips to represent sound-spelling patterns.

6. Relationship building

Be intentional in creating positive teacher-student relationships. When children feel belonging and care from their teachers, there is a much higher likelihood of consistent engagement. Learn about your students and show that you care about their experiences in and out of the classroom.

7. Relevance matters

Make explanations with real-world connections. When students can see their lives and their world in what they are learning, they are more likely to be interested and curious.

8. Brain breaks to refocus

Give regular, short “brain breaks” such as a quick song or dance. This allows students to release energy, reduce cognitive load, and return to learning with renewed focus.

9. Collaboration

Foster collaborative learning and peer teaching. Research shows that children learn not only from their instructors, but also from one another when given the chance.

10. Media can enhance learning

While technology should never replace teacher-guided instruction, it is possible and often appropriate  to integrate technology and utilize diverse media to enhance learning.

11. Gamify learning when appropriate.

Gamifying instruction when appropriate may help to draw in those children that may otherwise struggle to stay with difficult material when they are challenged. When something feels like a game, it can be more motivating to participate. A great example of this is 95 Percent Group’s new product, Sortegories™. Sortegories is a teacher-driven, digital literacy practice tool designed for emergent readers in grades K-3, as well as older students who need reading intervention in key literacy skills. To enhance student engagement and motivation, Sortegories—a diagnostic and adaptive practice program—allows learners to choose a virtual animal to “feed” as a reward for correct answers.

12. Provide students with regular feedback.

When learning something for the first time, students need feedback in order to know whether or not they are on the right track. Timely feedback can mean students have access to “just-in-time” instruction they might need to get them moving in the right direction.

13. Celebrate accomplishments.

A win is a win! Everyone needs to feel they are making progress with something difficult in order to persevere. This goes for adults as well as children! When your students are making progress, even the tiniest amount of progress, celebrate them! Help them feel they are growing their skills every day and their confidence will follow.

Assessing and adapting engagement strategies

So how can you tell when your students are engaged in what they are learning? What are the behaviors or mannerisms you’ll see in the classroom? How will it look different?

Below are some things to look out for as you are working on these strategies to understand whether your students are moving towards engaged learning or not.

Engaged students behaviors:

• Actively participating in class discussions
• Students showing positive emotions to learning
• Students interacting with peers and teachers
• Time on task
• Joy and curiosity in learning

Ways to assess:

• Observe student behavior and interactions.
• Use surveys to gather student feedback.
• Provide opportunities for students to self-assess their engagement.
• Monitor student performance; are students’ achieving desired learning goals?

Overcoming common challenges

It’s difficult when you know that your students are having trouble engaging with or accessing the information or skills you are teaching. Sometimes the reason a student isn’t engaged is because the task is too difficult for them to do. Other times, they might be uninterested because they already know how to do what you are teaching. By digging a little deeper, you can identify exactly what’s happening and more effectively reach each student with what they need.

Here are some of the most common challenges and suggestions for how to move forward.

• Address the underlying cause of lack of engagement: Through assessments you may be able to identify a root cause for disengagement whether it’s that the task is too challenging or too easy.
• Modify instruction and provide additional support: If students display disengagement due to lack of understanding or lack of progress.
• Seek additional supports if lack of engagement is due to out-of-school factors such as instability, fatigue, or hunger.

Get started transforming your classroom today

Student engagement is not just about keeping students busy—it’s about creating meaningful connections to learning that inspire curiosity, foster independence, and build confidence. By implementing even just a few of the strategies outlined in this article, you can begin to see positive changes in your classroom environment and in student outcomes. Start small by focusing on relationship building and making connections between what your students are learning and their lives, then gradually incorporate more active learning strategies as you and your students become comfortable with new approaches. Remember that engagement is an ongoing process that requires regular assessment and adjustment, but the investment is well worth it. Your efforts to engage students today will build the foundation for their academic success and love of learning that will carry them forward throughout their school experience.

As you witness your students becoming more invested in their learning, you may find renewed energy and purpose in your teaching. The classroom will transform from a place where students simply receive information to a dynamic environment where curiosity thrives and meaningful learning happens naturally, preparing them for life beyond the classroom.

Sources

1. Collaborative for Teaching and Learning, 2022, Conditions for Success. In Foundations of Content Literacy (pp. 20–22).
2. Ferlazzo, Larry. 2025. “Technology ‘Doesn’t Replace Good Teaching’ (Opinion).” Education Week, February 13, 2025. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-technology-doesnt-replace-good-teaching/2019/11
3. Fittes, Emma Kate. 2024. “Student engagement in learning is low. A survey offers clues on how to bring them back.” Marketbrief, October 24, 2024. https://marketbrief.edweek.org/meeting-district-needs/student-engagement-in-learning-is-low-a-survey-offers-clues-on-how-to-bring-them-back/2024/10.
4. Glossary of Educational Reform, 2016 www.edglossary.org
5. “Relationships Matter: Building Strong Student-School Connections.” 2024. Education Week. April 19, 2024. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/relationships-matter-building-strong-student-school-connections.
6. “The Power of Peers.” 2023. ASCD. October 6, 2023. https://www.ascd.org/blogs/the-power-of-peers.