Hi Linda: Ice breakers can be effective. Other times, just a quick Q&A sumarrizin the past few minutes by calling on students and asking the class to evaluate the accuracy of the students answer. They'll begin to pay attention as who knows who will be picked on next. Other tme more aggressive means are needed, such as switching from lecture to lab, or writing to discussion, etc. This breaks the apathy of paying attention, and creates an more active learning environment. Regards, Barry