Looking for a fun way to keep students engaged in learning over school break? Try IXL Leaderboards!
IXL Leaderboards allow teachers and administrators to set up friendly competitions within their classroom or school. Leaderboards can be customized according to learning goals and what will best motivate students!
Teachers or admins can select what the competition will record (such as total questions answered, skills mastered, or time spent on IXL), which subjects and grade levels will count, as well as the contest duration. Administrators can even create Leaderboards where classes compete as teams!
Creating a Leaderboard over a school break is a great way to encourage student learning in a fun and meaningful way. Students will enjoy competing against their peers and watching their numbers increase in real-time. Plus, teachers will return to instant insights about what students worked on while they were away.
Here’s how to get started in three simple steps:
1. Create your leaderboard
Sign in to your teacher account and hover over the “My IXL” tab and navigate to “Learboards” under the “Engagement Tools” section. Or for administrators, navigate to “Leaderboards” under the “Learning” tab. Customize your Leaderboard by selecting which classes will participate, what the competition will be based on, which skills will count, as well as the start and end times.
To help build excitement, it may be helpful to begin the Leaderboard a few days in advance of the school break, and kick off the competition while school is still in session.
Finally, be sure to name the Leaderboard something fun and timely, like “Thanksgiving Leaderboard!” or “Spring Break!”
2. Build excitement
Introduce the Leaderboard to your students and explain which IXL skills and achievements will count towards the contest. Then, while your students are working on IXL, show them the new Leaderboard in action!
Watching the Leaderboard in real time will motivate students to keep up their progress over the break. While they’re away, they can always see the current standings for themselves or their team under the Awards tab (and you can keep an eye on it, too)!
Finally, you can choose to set a reward for the top student(s) or class(es) in the Leaderboard after the competition is over. Some fun ideas include additional recess time, lunch with the teacher, or bragging rights on the class IXL bulletin board. Select a reward that will be motivating for your students, and encourage them to try their hardest!
3. Celebrate success
When you get back from break, you can take some time to recognize students or classes who demonstrated outstanding achievement. The Leaderboard winners are sure to love whichever reward you’ve selected!
Best of all, when you return, it’s easy to see exactly what students were up to over the break. Beyond the Leaderboard itself, IXL Analytics has a wealth of actionable insights that you can use to guide your instruction. The Students Quickview report is a great place to start, and from there, you can click in to see what individual students have been working on.
Want more ideas? Check out these resources for more strategies to keep students engaged over school breaks or during snow days! And for more tips and tricks, follow IXL on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn!