Literacy

Professional Development

May 30, 2017

3 Favorite Lesson Hooks

Hooking students at the beginning of a lesson can be a make or break moment.   It’s the time that you truly create buy in for the topic you are teaching. I would do my best every day to make the hook of my lesson engaging and to truly capture the attention of every child. Here are three favorite lesson hooks for you to try in your own classroom that do not cost you a penny!

Hooks for lessons are important! Be creative with them and check out these 3 simple, free, lesson hooks!

Sing a Song

Yes, do it! Who cares if you aren’t the next American Idol.  Your students will think you are, especially if you are singing an awesome song about something they are going to learn about! I loved singing songs during our shared reading time and then singing them again during science time as the hook. If you don’t love to sing, there are plenty of wonderful songs on YouTube, TeacherTube, and even on TpT that you can use!

Tell a Personal Story

My students LOVED this! I would tell some crazy story, often exaggerated, or SHHHHH! even a made up story! It worked like a charm. I think they worked because they stuck! Here is a little piece of evidence. Hooks for lessons are important! Be creative with them and check out these 3 simple, free, lesson hooks!A sweet student wrote me this note after I told a story about my brother’s arm getting bit by a goose when we were little. This was years ago and I can’t remember the lesson topic–it quite possibly was a writing mini-lesson, but this true story from my childhood sure did hook my students!

Catchy Images

Students, especially the little learners that I taught, loved pictures. Even now in the digital age that they live in with google at their fingertips basically, kids often say, “Can you show me a picture?” or “What does that look like?” Hook your students by showing them an image! You can show them three to four images that have one thing in common-the lesson topic. For example, if you are about to explore insects, show them three to four pictures of insect parts.  Another thing you can do it show them a screen shot of an email or text message conversation you have had with someone that will spark their interest in the topic.Don’t worry, you can easily set up a fake text message system with this website!

What are your favorite lesson hooks? I’d love to hear them!

Hooks for lessons are important! Be creative with them and check out these 3 simple, free, lesson hooks!

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Happy Teaching,

Amanda

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Hi, I'm Amanda

I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your students love and that are easy to implement for teachers.  Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, you’ll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!

Topics

Literacy
Math
Science
Writing
Digital
Soc St

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