How do you motivate your students to become active learners in your classroom? Or: How do you encourage class participation?

I was in this field for a quite while. When I come to the class I myself ask them to make noises as they like. I will make them active by singing a song or cracking a joke. First5 or7 minutes I will allow them to be themselves. So the rest of the time they also allowed me to do what i came for.

I deeply love my students and always try my best to move them towards perfection. I keep small incentives and sometimes small prize for the best performers which create extreme enthusiasm in most of the students for active participation. Normally students feel jealous about it and they try to improve.