With struggling students, I just tried to make it fun. When you are struggling in school, for one reason or another, there is usually something in your life (stress at home or a genetic/physical/mental learning disorder) that can make it harder to enjoy some aspects of school. Hopefully, having fun gave them an intrinsic motivation or curiousity that might help them in the long run. Sometimes you don't know if you helped. Hopefully, I left them with something that helped. Do you remember the M.A.S.H. episode where the psychiatrist referenced "planting a seed inside" (he covered his heart I think) that might later bloom later. That is what teachers hope they have done.