How to Help Struggling Students: 6 Classroom Activities That Work

🇹🇿 Soma kwa Kiswahili

Every class has them. The pupils at the back who rarely raise a hand. The exercise books that come back covered in red ink. The children who hear "slow", "lazy" or even "dumb" so often that they start to believe it.

Here is the good news: most struggling students are not "dumb" at all. They are behind, bored, frightened of being laughed at, or have simply never been shown a way in. And the things that help them most cost almost nothing.

Below are six classroom activities that work in real schools, including classes of 60 to 80 pupils with one blackboard and a box of chalk. Parents can use every one of them at home too.

1. Swap competition for cooperation

Many classrooms run like a race: positions read aloud, the top ten praised, the bottom ten shamed. The fast runners enjoy it. Everyone else learns that school is a race they will always lose.

Instead, turn your class into a team. Set one class goal, such as "everyone scores at least 50% in Maths by the end of term", and track it on a chart on the wall. Give results privately and praise improvement in public. Ask "Who can help a neighbour?" more often than "Who knows the answer?" Research on collaborative learning consistently links it to better results.

2. Pull, don't push

Pushing means feeding information: the teacher talks, pupils copy. Pulling means asking questions that draw out what pupils already know, then building on it.

A child who has never heard the word "evaporation" has still watched clothes dry on the line. A child who struggles with percentages has still bargained at the market. Start every new topic with a question about everyday life, for example "Sugar was 3,000 shillings a kilo last week and 2,700 this week. Is that a big discount?", and climb from there. Wait five seconds before taking an answer. Struggling pupils need that time.

3. Turn lessons into games

Gamification means borrowing what makes games exciting (missions, teams, points and a little suspense) and adding it to ordinary lessons. Teaching the Himalayas? Announce: "Today we are planning an expedition to climb Mount Everest!" Teams decide what to pack, how long to allow for the thin air and which months are safest. In Tanzania, the same lesson works beautifully with Kilimanjaro.

Other no-cost games: a pretend market day for money and percentages, "hot seat" where a pupil plays a character from history, and bench quiz shows for revision. Always end with: "What did we learn from this game?"

4. Test as you teach, and praise every attempt

Don't wait for the end-of-term exam to discover who is lost. Use quick checks every few minutes: thumbs up or down, answers on slates or scrap paper held up together, finger votes for A/B/C/D, and an exit ticket at the end of the lesson. Trying to recall something strengthens memory; researchers call it retrieval practice.

Just as important: praise the attempt, not only the right answer. When a shy pupil answers "7 × 8 = 54" and the class laughs, stop them: "Baraka just did the bravest thing in this room. He tried, and he's close. What's 7 × 7?" When mistakes are safe, struggling students keep putting their hands up.

Instead of…	Try…
"Wrong. Sit down."	"Thank you for trying! You're close. Who can build on that?"
"Why can't you get this?"	"You don't have it yet. Let's try another way."
"You're so clever."	"You worked hard and checked your steps. That's why you got it."

5. Learn together in pairs and groups

One teacher cannot listen to 70 pupils at once, but 35 pairs can all talk at the same time. The simplest method is Think, Pair, Share: think alone for a minute, discuss with a partner for two, then a few pairs share with the class. A shy pupil who would never speak to 70 people will often speak to one friend.

For group tasks, keep groups to three to five pupils and give everyone a role: leader, reader, writer, timekeeper, reporter and encourager. Roles stop the strongest pupil from doing all the work, and peer tutoring helps both the helper and the helped.

6. Build the Ben Carson reading habit

As a boy in Detroit, Ben Carson was near the bottom of his class. His mother, Sonya, who had very little schooling herself, made a rule: less television, two library books every week, and a written report on each. Within about two years he had climbed towards the top of the class. He went on to become a world-famous neurosurgeon who, in 1987, led the team that separated twins joined at the head.

You can copy this in any class or home: set a small weekly reading target, let children choose what they read, ask for a one-page report, and check in every week. That weekly conversation is what keeps the habit alive. You don't need to be a strong reader yourself to do it, just as Sonya Carson proved.

What parents can do at home

• Say often: "You can learn this. It takes practice." Use the word yet.
• Ask "pulling" questions at supper: "Teach me one new word you learned today."
• Praise effort and improvement, not only marks. Going from 32% to 45% is real progress.
• Never compare your child with siblings or neighbours' children.
• Check eyesight and hearing if your child struggles to see the board or follow instructions.
• Agree on 20 minutes of reading every evening, with the TV and phone off.

If you're also teaching your children about money, our guide to teaching kids about money uses the same "small steps, every week" approach.

Frequently asked questions

How can I help a struggling student in a large class?

Use pair work (Think, Pair, Share), start lessons with everyday questions, check understanding with whole-class methods like slates or finger votes, and set a class goal so pupils help each other instead of competing.

Is a struggling student a slow learner?

Not necessarily. Gaps from earlier years, fear, boredom, home problems, language and unnoticed sight or hearing problems are far more common causes, and each can be addressed.

What is the Ben Carson reading method?

Two library books a week, a short written report on each, and a weekly check-in by a parent or teacher. It's simple, cheap and powerful.

How should I respond to a wrong answer?

Thank the pupil for trying, point out what was right, then guide them or the class to the correct answer.

Keep reading

• How to teach kids about money, step by step
• Stress management techniques that actually work
• Self-connection: the quiet secret of success

This article shares practical teaching ideas and is not a substitute for professional assessment. If you think a child may have a learning, sight, hearing or health difficulty, please speak to a qualified professional.

🇹🇿 Soma kwa Kiswahili