What are some creative lecturing ideas for teachers?

I'm assuming you're teaching middle/high school since I don't know of many college classes that meet every day, or many elementary school classes that are lecture style. I'm also assuming you teach something like History or English that doesn't lend itself to lab experiments...

Based on the age group, here are some ideas:

Lecture Bingo - make a bingo board with questions kids need to answer during your lecture. At the end of class, kids can get a small reward (a piece of candy, a sticker, etc.) for a complete board. Or the first kid to finish gets a prize...or 5 complete boards = a prize.

Incorporate more Q and A into your lectures to keep kids on their toes.

Split up topics, let the class do research, and then have them present info for the class.

Incorporate some activities or projects. For example, kids can write skits or make a brochure or something like that.

Provide opportunities for kids to debate a certain topic.

Kids will have more fun if they have opportunities to work with partners or in groups.

I took an interesting class on the Vietnam War in college. As we entered the lecture hall, the professor was playing music from the 60s. On the screen were topics to be discussed, outlines, discussion questions, related literature, etc. After we settled in and copied the material, the instructor followed a format: 1. Introduction of topic/background info

2. Introduction of speaker

It was a weekly class. So, he had time to get speakers. In a daily class, you might want to use an article, a taped interview, an artifact, etc.

3. Question/Answer period

Students could ask "out there" questions, but you were expected to address outline issues, discussion questions, or questions that connected the lecture with the out of class reading assignments.

4. Traditional lecture

This period tied up areas the instructor thought weren't touched on in enough detail. Also, it gave us some background info before we went home to read the next assignments.

Reading assignments: We were given a text book, a list of biographies/journals to choose from, and old newspaper articles.

If you are teaching in middle or high school, you can still use alternative sources besides the textbook. I use the newspaper and a few reliable internet sites for my science class a few times out of the month.

Split material and have small groups study the sections and "teach" it to the rest of the class. They provide the notes or an outlined summary of the material they present to the class.

Teach the kids to debate, if applicable.

Students work on a "Rap" of important vocabulary terms and/or definitions, dates and names, main points of the lecture, etc. The repetition will help retention.

Assign roles for the material to be covered and have students create a skit covering the main points of the lesson.

Games, Games, Games! Any age, any class, Kids love games! Jeopardy, Deal or No Deal, Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader...

Are you teaching 3rd grade or college or high school math? More detail needed to help you.