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Theproblem of engaging students’ attention is not new. In 1886, Charlotte Mason, anoted British educator, wrote about “informing ideas” to gain the learner’sattention and give a purpose for learning. She believed that the purpose of teaching was to prepare a feast ofideas, not the watered-down “twaddle” she found in some textbooks. Mason saw children as “thinking, feelingbeings, spirits to be kindled, not vessels to be filled,” and she began eachlesson with a motivator.
Ifyou are inspired, your students will be also. Make a commitment to yourself to begina lesson a day with an “informing idea.” Try these:
A costume - You canprobably find what you need in your closet to dress as a figure from history. Look up your persona in Wikipedia; there’susually a picture. If not, try the costume shop in your closest city. Introduceyour class to a person you want them to remember, speaking and acting like thatperson in history. Are you shy about donning a costume? Start with a hat.
A question - Bloom, Bloom,Bloom. Use Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives to develop questions thatrequire analysis, evaluation and synthesis of knowledge.
- What would be different if . . . the British had won the American Revolution?
- What are the decisions Peter Rabbit made after his mother warned him to stay away from Mr. McGregor’s garden? Which decision was the most important?
- How would you design a logo of yourself?
A visualization - The most dramatic introduction to a book I have everwitnessed was for middle school students preparing to read The Giver by Lois Lowry. The teacher placed colored construction paperaround the classroom walls. She directedthe students to write their personal feelings associated with each color on thepapers. The students discussed theirdifferent impressions with one another, becoming fully aware of thesignificance of color in their lives. Then she explained that they were going to read about a society in whichthere was no color. The students werestunned. Thus engaged, some of themfinished the book over the weekend. Thisfree idea came from www.teachersgazette.net by Nicola Kuhn, of Hagensbor, British Columbia.
