As I was choosing new song lyrics for my students to infer as an activity today, I was thinking about how important it is that I ” hook” my students into a lesson, and this requires constant change, as each semester I see new faces…

Coming from an education background, it is still ingrained in my lesson planning that idea of incorporating an exceptional anticipatory set, or “hook.”

I find this step so imperative in activating my student’s prior knowledge/ schema when introducing a new topic.  The change comes when I monitor and adjust the videos, activities, visual aids, and realia I implement each semester as I reflect upon each class. Here are some of my examples:

Video Clips: My RDG 081 students were reading a article on child-rearing styles, and after they read, I chose to have them watch a video clip that  added a different type of style than what the article listed. The feedback from the students was very positive, as the video did a nice job of presenting the attributes of each style.

Activities: For my RDG 091 students I use fortune cookies to introduce patterns of organization and transition words. I have them work in small groups of 4-5, and they have to create a paragraph using everyone’s fortune. This type of application makes them think and builds their collaboration skills.

I also use visual images. A perfect example is when I introduce propaganda…I have the students look at different types of advertisements with a partner, and label each advertisement with a sticky note. This is a perfect introduction, as it is relevant, and makes that connection for them as they then have to transfer this skill  to reading actual text…

As I plan my lessons….I think ……What can I do to create that spark of interest to engage their minds and curiosity in what they are learning about?

So bottom line is…..Yes, it’s all  about your hook!