Keeping Students Engaged During Long Class Periods

By chunking class time using gradual release of responsibility, teachers can vary their teaching strategies to help students maintain focus.

By Maggie Espinola

Edutopia

April 24, 2025

“Keeping Students Engaged During Long Class Periods” by Maggie Espinola

Source: https://www.edutopia.org/article/keeping-students-engaged-long-clas...

In her April 2025 article for Edutopia, high school teacher Maggie Espinola shares practical, student-centered strategies to maximize learning during extended class periods—such as the 88-minute blocks in her school. Drawing on her experience and research, Espinola advocates for chunking instruction using the gradual release of responsibility model: I do, we do, you do. This structure, she explains, keeps students actively engaged and helps prevent attention fatigue.

1. “I Do” – Direct Instruction with Variation

Espinola begins her classes by launching an essential question or introducing content through creative methods such as TED Talks. For example, while teaching The Grace Year by Kim Liggett, she played a short TED-Ed video on the history of witch hunts, followed by thought-provoking questions that tied the video to themes in the novel.

Recognizing that passive listening doesn’t promote retention, Espinola varies her delivery methods. If one part of class involves listening, the next might include movement or visual thinking. She encourages students to take active reading notes through sketchnotes—combining symbols, quotes, and visuals to deepen understanding. These opening segments are dynamic and intentional, building curiosity while addressing different learning styles.

2. “We Do” – Group Work and Collaboration

The second chunk emphasizes collaboration. After direct instruction or vocabulary introduction, Espinola uses group-based games to reinforce learning. Students may review new terms using the interactive platform Blooket, followed by a vocabulary game inspired by Heads Up, where students hold cards to their forehead and guess terms based on clues from peers. This brings energy and community to vocabulary building.

To explore texts more deeply, students read in groups or together as a class, often using guiding questions or collaborative sketchnotes to capture literary themes. Espinola also incorporates choice boards, allowing students to make personal connections to literature through music, poetry, culture, or art. Students discuss these choices in small groups, creating authentic dialogue around their identities and the material. This helps quieter students find voice and fosters peer learning.

Citing research from Arielle Keller and others, Espinola notes that increasing social interactions enhances real-world learning. By giving students structured opportunities to teach, share, and relate the material to their own lives, she empowers them to become active participants in the classroom community.

3. “You Do” – Independent Application with Flexibility

The final chunk involves independent work. Students may generate their own vocabulary sentences, use AI to create visual representations of vocabulary terms, or complete open-ended literary responses. Espinola includes movement-based activities like gallery walks, where students silently write responses to prompts posted on large sheets around the room. This not only builds comprehension but also supports kinesthetic learners and encourages anonymity in sharing.

Movement is intentionally embedded throughout the block. Options like changing seats, using hallway space, or transitioning to the library provide a mental and physical reset. These privileges require trust, which in turn strengthens student-teacher relationships.

Espinola concludes that chunking instruction with variation and choice leads to increased engagement—even in long blocks. With thoughtful planning and flexibility, extended periods offer rich opportunities for deeper learning and connection.

Original Article

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Prepared with the assistance of AI software

OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com