Activating Student Interest

Whether you call it an anticipatory set, a focus or a hook; make the most of the time at the beginning of your lesson for deeper learning throughout!

Many times teachers are tempted to skip the focus activity out of time pressures or misunderstanding of it's purpose or resort to a standard template that they use for every lesson.
"Yesterday we learned ___________ and today we will learn __________."
That sentence takes under a minute to say and we're off to the more important stuff! But wait! We know that our brains seek out novelty and ignore what they think they've already heard. That three to five minute portion of the lesson that focuses students on the topic might just be one of the most important sections.

If you want to "hook" students and "draw them in" to the lesson, we're going to have to use the focus time to our best advantage!

Would you like to "hook" your students every time? If you would, you're going to need the right equipment!

The Tackle-box – assortment of ideas or tools
Stay outfitted and prepared!

The Pole – effective technique
Use the correct equipment for the job.

The Bait – entice learners
Know your students.

The Cork – cues the teacher during lesson
Pay attention to your students’ understanding.

The Reel – keep students interested
Reel them in occasionally.

The Fish – meaning and connection to the world
This is the meat of the lesson.

The Net – keep lessons fresh
Don’t overuse one type of activity.

Catch and Release – give ownership of knowledge back to the students
Bring them aboard then help them make meaningful connections for better retention of knowledge.

The"fish story" – Encourage processing and reflection after the lesson. 

Give them knowledge to take away.