With the virtual school year winding down, teachers are trying to figure out how to keep their students engaged. One Kentucky teacher, Shad Lacefield, may just have cracked the code.

The fourth-grade teacher at Garden Springs Elementary in Lexington dresses up as different characters, from Batman to a mad scientist, during his online lessons .

"I want [students] to feel like I'm doing something special for them, and I think that any time you make a kid feel special, they're more inclined to be involved, be invested," Lacefield said.

Lacefield said that by dressing up, he's trying to make his students smile at a time when it may be hard to do so for some.

"I want the kids to feel like we care, to be able to feel like that was tough, but our teachers helped us get through that tough time," Shadfield said.

He said he plans to keep dressing up as various characters until the end of the school year. As for next week's characters, he said he is choosing a theme. The specifics, though, are top secret.

This story was originally published by Kristen Edwards on WLEX in Lexington, Kentucky.