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Short video clips to engage students

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the first five minutes

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If you have ever lived with another person and come home to find them in a bad mood, how long did it take you to figure it out? Hours? Minutes? Seconds? Most people say "seconds," and some can tell before they even enter the same room. That's how children feel when they enter your classroom. They can tell within a minute or so whether they will like it or not. Research says within the first five minutes, but I think it's faster.

Once that attitude is formed, it takes a lot to change it. So teachers are best served by following the example of television shows that often make the first five minutes the best of the show so the audience won't change the channel. Great writers write so you will turn the page and not put the book down. Here are three of my favorite ways of beginning lessons to make them grand. Most of you already do some of these sometime, but I suggest that you do more of them more often.

1. Do Something You Love Every Day

Find either something you love to teach or some way you love teaching it if the topic doesn't excite you. Do this every day. Think twice about looking forward to doing it: once when you leave the house and once when you enter the classroom. If you teach more than one subject, then do the same for each one. Energy is contagious. The students will read your positive energy as: "Today is going to be a good class." It's the opposite feeling from walking into your home and finding the one you live with in a bad mood. That should be reason enough to do it.

2. Use Teasers

I learned about teasers by watching the news on television. After every segment the announcer says, "Coming up . . . " with the hope that viewers will be interested enough in finding out what's coming up that they won't change the channel. "Coming up, a world figure has just died. Stay tuned for details." Some younger readers might not recall the best teaser I ever heard, but those who heard it will never forget: "Coming up, the Vice President shoots someone, right after a word from our sponsors." The Dick Cheney hunting incident occurred on February 11, 2006. This was followed by the announcement that Dick Cheney had an accident while hunting quail, but I misunderstood and thought he shot Dan Quayle. "Why did he try to shoot an ex-vice president?" I wondered. It really grabbed my attention.

Teasers work the same way in the classroom. Start with a provocative statement about the upcoming lesson. Sometimes they can be used to end the previous lesson. "Tomorrow we will learn an amazing thing that happens when you touch the belly of certain African frogs -- see you tomorrow."

Which of the following math and English class beginnings would motivate you more?

Today we are going to learn about functions. Take out your math books and turn to page 87.

Today we are going to see how functions are used in making computer games.

Or:

Today we are going to start a unit on Shakespeare. Please take out Twelfth Night, and we'll begin reading.

Today we're going to see why some people think Shakespeare is sexier than Madonna. Let's start reading.

Teasers have two requirements to work effectively. First, there must be a tease that is related to the subject. A boring or irrelevant teaser is useless. Secondly, your teasers must deliver. After two or three that don't live up to their billing, students are no longer motivated by teasers. If you say you're going to connect mathematical functions to computer games, then be sure to deliver. Great teasers take a while to develop, but I have found that once I started using them, they became a normal part of my teaching style, and now I can think of them on the spot without pre-planning.

3. Use Compelling Questions

Have you ever forgotten the name of a song, a book title or even someone's name and spent the whole day trying to remember it? It was under your skin, so to speak, and the need to remember was compelling to the extreme. The same is true when you begin a class with a question that creates a compelling need for students to know the answer. This strategy is based on the principle that questions should come before answers. Typically, teachers give information and then ask questions about it. Hearing the question first, especially a great one, radically increases the need to learn the information just to find the answer. Great questions have these things in common:

1. They are related to the subject you're teaching.

2. They amplify the students' natural sense of wonder.

3. They challenge the students' belief of the way things are.

Here is a sampling of compelling questions that teachers from various content areas have shared with me:

Middle school math: What does Martin Luther King have in common with Algebra? Answer: they both are concerned with equality.

First grade science (studying particles): What is the smallest thing you ever held in your hand?

Upper elementary history (studying the Pilgrims): Is there anything your parents could ever do to you that would make you run away from home?

Elementary art: If humans had to be a color other than any color they already are, what color would you choose? Why? Draw some people of this color.

High school English: If Hamlet were a television sitcom, what would be a better name for it?

High school social studies: If Napoleon spread nationalism, how did nationalism bring him down?

Middle school English: Why don't "good" and "food" rhyme?

Questions like these begin your class with energy, excitement and most importantly, a desire to learn.

I can't wait to submit my next post -- because it will be based on one of my favorite topics, and one that will change the way you think about teaching. It's coming up next month.

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Your Lesson's First Five Minutes: Make Them Grand

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If you have ever lived with another person and come home to find them in a bad mood, how long did it take you to figure it out? Hours? Minutes? Seconds? Most people say "seconds," and some can tell before they even enter the same room.

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Look for activities under "Hook/Intro".

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Find ways to personalize the lesson. Help them see the personal connection to what they are learning.

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Written by Alison Smith
Posted Wednesday July 25, 2018

Every beginning of any endeavour is critical, whether that be a lesson or a personal goal. A solid lesson hook strategy has supreme power in engaging students, capturing their imagination and maximising learning.

A lesson hook is an introduction or opening into a lesson that grabs the students attention. A lesson hook is an opportunity to inject energy into a new learning journey and to create an eagerness to find out more. Think of a rocket launch analogy - in order to reach the moon, an effective and impressive takeoff is critical.

The reason that lesson hooks work so well is because they frame thinking, focus on the concept at hand and give learning objectives context. Lesson hooks make connections between existing knowledge and future learning. Have you ever asked your students to 'hook' the reader when they are creating texts? If that is a 'yes' then you will know how important it is to engage and connect with the audience from the outset. Stay with me for some 'lesson changing' ideas for lesson introductions.

It isn't necessary to use a hook for every lesson and they don't have to take up a big chunk of your instructional time. What's more, they come in many categories which makes them a flexible strategy that can be suited to any lesson type.

Here are 8 of my favourite lesson hook ideas for you to use in your classroom.

Feely Bags and Feely Boxes

One of my all time favorites (that went down exceptionally well during a lesson observation) is the 'feely' bag. This is ideal for lower primary and is a 'rocket launcher' for outstanding creative writing.

When you are introducing story settings, engage your students' senses by filling a small bag with objects, smells and even tastes from a particular location. Some settings are easier to capture in a sensory bag than others. The beach is a good place to start.

'Feely boxes' are based on the same concept as a 'feely bag' and are well suited to setting up a feely box station.

They are perfect for introducing textures, shapes and much more. Here's an example of how to do it in a language lesson when learning about adjectives:

set up a feely box station

select items with distinct textures (soft, fluffy, rough, cold, smooth, bumpy)

separate the different textured items and allocate them to different boxes

provide the students with a basic results table or proforma to record their findings (optional)

work in small groups to take it in turns to feel inside each box

ask the students to describe verbally or in writing what the items in each box felt like

ask the students to write a sentence for each adjective.

Conduct a Survey and Create a Graph

A great way to engage students is to put things into a real-life context and to make it personal. Surveying the class or the school community about age, birthplace and ancestry, is a perfect way to begin a numeracy lesson or a geography investigation into the diversity of people who live in your country.

The Museum Walk

Mimic a visit to a museum in your classroom. This lesson hook is a great way to get students to observe, gather facts and to consider questions that are a catalyst for lines of inquiry.

Here's how to do it:

display posters, data, maps, photographs, infographics, interesting props or anything that displays the information that you want the students to absorb

briefly introduce the activity and pose a focus question. For example, As you walk around the room, consider the question ' What does this information tell us about water use in our country?'

arrange the students at different starting points

encourage the student to partner up and talk to each other as they make observations

depending on the age group that you are working on - ask them to put sticky notes on the display with questions or comments

give the students a 5 minute warning and a 1 minute warning before you ask the students to end their observations.

bring the students back together for a whole class discussion.

A 'Museum Walk' is the perfect precursor to the visible thinking routine - I see, I Think, I Wonder. This routine encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations. It helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry.

What do you see?

What do you think about that?

What does it make you wonder?

Play a Game

Who doesn't love a good game? Check out our collection of classoom games to muster up enthusiasm and focus on the concept at hand.

While it's ideal to find a game that has a clear link to the theme or concept of your lesson, don't underestimate the power of playing a game that requires partnerships or collaboration to maximise learning throughout your lesson.

Here are some game ideas:

Use OneNote

Bring some digital technology into your catalogue of lesson hooks by using OneNote. You could grab the attention of your class by posing a question on a OneNote page, asking the student to create a concept map of prior knowledge or set up a digital version of I See, I Think I Wonder. I did a little bit of research for you about this digital beauty and here's some of what Amanda, a Microsoft Learning Consultant had to say...

"Whether you are already using it or have heard of it, OneNote is a tool that is extremely popular amongst teachers and students alike, due to it's variety of uses. OneNote can be a blank canvas for digital ideation where, when equipped with a stylus, students can easily create personalised multimodal mindmaps using the draw tools and even add images, audio recordings and videos." - Amanda Frampton - Microsoft Learning Consultant, Microsoft Education

Having attended one of Amanda's OneNote courses, I can vouch for the flexibility and usability of OneNote. Give it a go.

Kinesthetic Hooks

Physical movement is a great way to increase focus and maximise learning.

Here are some ways that you can use movement to get your party started:

get out the skipping ropes or speed hurdles for an outdoor mental maths warm-up game. For example, recall multiplication facts while skipping or jumping hurdles

try our Skip Counting by Two's or Fact Family Triangles to add some movement into Numeracy lessons.

get out the batons for a grammar relay. For example, ask the students to run and exchange the baton and a common noun

make a human sentence with mini whiteboards when introducing the components of a simple or compound sentence.

Use Musical Hooks

Music can be used in multiple ways to create an ear buzzing lesson hook. In Holly's blog Powerful Ways to Use Music in the Classroom, she shared some invaluable insight into the benefits of using music as part of your practice.

Holly also shared her personal story of using a maths song as a lesson hook to teach shapes and how this became a class favourite.

Here are some ways that you can use music to hook your students' attention:

create the right mood or atmosphere as a stimulus for creative writing

let the lyrics of a catchy song introduce the focus of your lesson,( this is well suited to Langauge and Numeracy lessons and as there are so many educational songs for kids on YouTube) Remember to be super vigilant with checking the adverts and the content

play a song as students enter the classroom and ask them to guess what concept or topic the song might be related to.

ask the class to write a song about a topic to express their existing knowledge about a topic or concept.

Plan an Excursion or an Incursion

Another one of my favourite ways to get the party started is to plan an excursion or an incursion. Tap into the knowledge base around you and seek out experts in your local community. By mixing up the classroom routine with a guest speaker, you are sure to inject some excitement and anticipation about your next project.

If you're looking for something to launch a Science Unit, Street Science is a great example of an organisation committed to bringing the buzz into your classroom.

Planning an excursion might seem like an overwhelming task, but the positive impact that a class outing can have far exceeds the work involved in making it happen. Whether it be an outing to a museum, recycling plant, local farm, home for the elderly or the local library, a trip out can be a rare life experience for some students. An excursion will certainly make memories, ignite passion and curiosity for future learning.

Make sure that you seek advice and approval from your school Principal and adhere to the health and safety requirements. I have completed a fair few risk assessments in my time and while I know that they can seem arduous, they are 100% critical and your insurance for a safe and sound adventure. Go for it!

I hope that these lesson hooks give you some inspiration to refresh and re-boot the way that you introduce your lessons. There are so many creative ways to engage your class and I would love, love, love to learn about how you do it!

Please share your wonderful ideas for lesson hooks in the comments section of this Blog or tag Teachstater in your photos on Instagram. You might think that your idea is simple and obvious, but it could make a huge difference for others.

Sharing is caring, right? Get hooking!

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10 Amazing Lesson Hooks [with Printable Resources]

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Written by Alison Smith Posted Wednesday July 25, 2018 Every beginning of any endeavour is critical, whether that be a lesson or a personal goal. A solid lesson hook strategy has supreme power in engaging students, capturing their imagination and maximising learning. A lesson hook is an introduction or opening into a lesson that grabs the students attention.