Beginnings - The HOOK!

Brian Sztabnik is a highly recognized AP English Teacher. Here’s his quote about the first and last eight minutes of class:

That is the crux of lesson planning right there—endings and beginnings. If we fail to engage students at the start, we may never get them back. If we don’t know the end result, we risk moving haphazardly from one activity to the next. Every moment in a lesson plan should tell.

The eight minutes that matter most are the beginning and endings. If a lesson does not start off strong by activating prior knowledge, creating anticipation, or establishing goals, student interest wanes, and you have to do some heavy lifting to get them back. If it fails to check for understanding, you will never know if the lesson’s goal was attained.**

                  

How do you engage or HOOK students in the first few minutes of class? One of my favorite ways was to use videos ... visual stimuli attract students' attention. Several years ago, I compiled a list of favorite Youtube videos that worked for my Algebra 2 curriculum.  You can access the file here.

You'll notice certain sources are repeated!  Check out these sources for videos that fit your curriculum:

TED
Ted Ed
Numberphile
Vi Hart

Do you have a video that inspires students in math class?  If so, share the title/link in the comments!

And if you are looking for even more ideas ... check out these resources for hook strategies!

• Talkin’ Chalk. (2018, September 9). Learning Hooks | Engage Students in the Classroom. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYiacSSLP9o&feature=youtu.be  
• Teach Starter. (2021, August 17). 9 Lesson Hook Strategies to Launch Learning. https://www.teachstarter.com/us/blog/lesson-hook-strategies-to-launch-learning/?queryID=ad3019fcf6bd045218cd34cf920cc3e6&objectID=1855798 
• Gonzalez, J. (2020, June 13). Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set. Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/anticipatory-set/ 
• Elliott, J. (2021, June 30). What is the Engagement Phase of the 5E Instructional Model. What I Have Learned. https://www.whatihavelearnedteaching.com/engagement-phase-5e-instructional-model/
Diede, M. D., & Risby, K. R. (2021, September 2). Captain of a hook: 10 engaging lesson introduction ideas. Ditch That Textbook. https://ditchthattextbook.com/lesson-hooks/

**(Sztabnik, B. (2015, May 1). The 8 Minutes That Matter Most. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-minutes-that-matter-most-brian-sztabnik)  

  

Curtains and more!

It's been a long day!  I'll start with the end ... my faithful volunteer and best friend met me at school after a day of meetings ... he put up my curtains for me!

[caption id="attachment_1134" align="alignleft" width="300"] classroom window[/caption]

This pic is not all that great ... but the result is awesome!  The classroom environment is coming together!

My first day of new teacher orientation was good!  I felt a little self-conscious at times about my age and experience.  The rooms were filled with teachers (about 350 of them) many of whom could have been my sons and daughters.

Not every session was engaging but I did learn good information about this new district.  We discussed effective practices contrasting them with unacceptable ones.  We reviewed the seven principles in Robyn Jackson's book, Never Work Harder Than Your Students and Other Principles of Great Teaching.  IT specialists helped us get online, get our email set up, and showed us some great resources!  I saw several short clips of inspiring videos ... my favorite was about the Panyee Soccer Club.

I'm grateful today for new beginnings ... and even as I type those words, I am reminded of a favorite Scripture ... "Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

I am enjoying this new adventure before me!