Students take pride in their academic achievements and want to share them with educators, family, and even their peers. When a student is adequately motivated, he or she naturally tends to achieve high academic results. This is, in part, because they put more effort into achieving those goals. When a student makes the decision to strive for excellence, they learn to focus not only their time and efforts, but they also learn to prioritize their “wants” to achieve their goals. Learning this skill can be especially helpful for 4th-8th grade students who will quickly enter more academically competitive middle and high schools and will need to develop the ability to prioritize their academic, family, and social lives. Additionally, motivated students will often make an effort to truly understand the information they learn, rather than learning enough to “get through” it. They learn to process information effectively and transform their efforts into meaningful learning experiences (Pugh & Bergin, 2006). Examples of what a lack of motivation might look like. Many creative teachers have found numerous ways to motivate their students. However, some teachers still lack the ability to identify what the lack of motivation actually is among their students. Identifying a lack of motivation among students and the reasons behind it can help a teacher reverse the motivational trend in their classroom. Look at some of these common signs that tend to appear in 4th through 8th grades. • Negative comments regarding the usefulness of the information presented. “Does it matter in the real world?” “Why do I need to know?” and “How does this affect me?” These are common comments to pay attention to