Product DescriptionAll educators know how challenging it is to keep their students focused. Sometimes you have to go outside the lesson plan in order to keep the program moving. This book supplies dozens of ideas to help teachers plan a creative opening for a lesson, energizing their students in the middle of an ongoing lesson, or energize a big finish to a lesson. Pick out the relevant game, exercise or idea from this highly energized book of ideas and watch the fireworks go off.All the ideas contained in this book have come together over from the collective minds of over ten years of teaching experience using ideas that have worked with thousands of students in hundreds of schools. Some come from the author s own creative mind, others have been contributed by teachers from all over, and still others are tried and tested motivational plans that have shown guaranteed results. The key that fits all of these is that they entertain while at the same time they engage young people in order to prove, as Socrates the Greek philosopher once stated, Life and learning should be a festival of the mind.ReviewaThe most memorable moments in education always happen outside the curriculum. Dave Keelings book is all about creating memorable moments, about teacher and class finding something to enjoy together, about shaking off both the shackles and the cobwebs of classroom activity. It could change completely the way a teacher teaches. There are so many ideas here that are guaranteed to improve the classroom atmosphere. I think absolutely every teacher will find something new and improving in this book.aJohnny BallBite sized chunks of innovative ideas guaranteed to give you and your lessons a new lease of life. Some of the ideas are true genius. It's packed full of motivational titbits to get your students' mental faculties racing, but the gift is that the kid's just think they're playing games, when the reality is they're learning to work cooperatively, thinking creatively and generally having fun. I've road tested a couple of these nuggets and whether you use them at the start, middle or end there's an energy generated leading to increased pupil engagement. Fun and most importantly, these nuggets work!Pauline Tomlin, 'Deputy Curriculum Leader and coordinator KS3', Belle Vue Boys' School, BradfordDave Keeling describes himself as a astand-up educationalist' responsible for empowering and enabling young people to take control of their learning so that they may leave education already exploring and developing the skills required to cope with the 21st century and to be happy and successful within it. Keeling's motivation for producing this book was his own experience of school, which he compares to the Socratic ideal where life and learning is a afestival of the mind'. The result is this compact catalogue of practical activities that will engage even the most reluctant pupil or teacher. There are no chapters, only an index of 101 activities for different stages of a lesson, and themes like communication, concentration and creative thinking. For each activity there is an explanation of why and how it can be used. Keeling's humorous style makes everything easy to understand and he frequently offers the reader an insight into his own teaching experiences over the years. Not every activity in the book is new. Indeed, some are based on party games or TV game shows. What makes the book endearing to all teachers, however, is its small size, concise length and punchy content, which can be used at a minute's notice. Rocket Up Your Class is a teaching and learning resource which has-made it into my toolkit Everyone should have a copy.Anna Reid, Learning & Teaching UpdateDavid Keeling's vibrant and witty book blows a breath of fresh air up the backside of any classroom. I have been using some of his games and exercises in my university classroom, and can see the students engage more with one another and the material we're covering. They eve