Classroom Tip #1: Raising Stakes

When I wrote my post, Raising Stakes on Learning English?, I realized that I stumbled upon a valuable concept and goal for students in the classroom.Thus, I'm modifying it a bit here when I talk about teaching young students.

Stakes, motivators and incentive goals.
From the standpoint of a student-- if you don't think you're going to need to use what you're learning, then why learn it? 

But if you need it because you will...
-- perform it in front of the entire class.
-- need to use it for an important activity (i.e. to compete in a game, have a test, etc).

Then these are motivators which will make you concentrate harder to focus on your learning. Why?
Your learning the lesson is necessary to your survival in something important. These are called stakes.

Whether it's adults or children, it's up to you to occasionally create stakes in your lesson activities. Adults are sometimes said to be easier because their sense of stake is created internally. Children however, haven't learned that ability yet and motivating stakes are often external. This is why in Korea, many English lessons in the public schools are taught through games and incentive points. The one thing Korean students are is highly competitive.

What are some other ways you can create stakes in your classroom lessons?