DISCUSSION QUESTION #11: Choose ONE (or more, if you like) of
the HOOKS from below. How have used this HOOK or how do you plan to use a
HOOK in the future to engage your students?
Be specific by giving examples.
(If you haven’t used any of these hooks, try one out and share with us.)
The Interior
Design Hook
The Board
Message Hook
The Costume
Hook
The Props
Hook
The Involved
Audience Hook
The Mystery
Bag Hook
I think I use this hook often, the Props Hook. I used it just the other day in my reading lesson. The book we were reading was an expository, "Investigating Your Backyard". The book taught information about scientists that study different life forms; insects, rocks, weather, space etc. I started out bringing in insects to grab their attention and then the students began bringing in insects. When we got to the other life forms they began bringing in things like rocks, books about space, and some brought in pictures they had at home of weather scenes, so they were sharing and really getting into the lesson and book. By the end of the week we had an amazing collection of items and then I used good ole youtube to show things even more up close and personal.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good idea. Kids get excited to collect things about what they are learning about. Great idea to hook their interest!
DeleteInterior Design Hook: I've already mentioned that last year I did a little team teaching with the 8th English teacher when the students read "Night" by Eli Wiesel. We did a little brainstorming during the Teach Like a Pirate conference in Dodge City last month about using the Interior Design Hook and assigning each student a role using the short bios from the Holocaust museum. Her room would be turned into a cattle car by sectioning off most of the room. Students could not have their coats or backpacks and would be required to stand for the entire class period (no one leaving). She plans to present this lesson in January, so it would be perfect to open the windows. She could also take on the role of the gestapo.
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to make it seem real to students! I'd love to hear how the lesson goes (in January)!
DeleteThis sounds like a really neat idea. I bet it will leave a very lasting impression with students.
DeleteThat's a really cool idea. They can really see what it was like for the role they researched!
DeleteI really like that idea, I hope students get the impact intended from both the book and creating the cattle car.
DeleteAwesome idea, as said above what a way to make it real.
DeleteKaren-
DeleteThat sounds AWESOME!!! I hope everything turns out like she's wanting it to, and that her students walk away from it with a better understanding of that entire event.
With Technology today, I think the Props hook becomes an easy one. I can’t count the number of times I’ve read a book with students, and they come to something they haven’t seen before. We grab the Chromebook or the i-pad and find a picture of it. Sometimes I come with a picture loaded to show them, knowing it’s something I want to talk about. When I can, I try to bring in the real thing, but many times, an image does the trick.
ReplyDeleteOne example, while talking about the French Revolution, we looked up the castle at Versailles, France. We explored the rooms and saw the gold-plated wonders. Students were amazed at the extravagance that was paid for by the taxes of the working class. It helped them understand the reason behind the revolution.
technology is awesome for our kiddos, helps them visualize the concept and build their vocabulary
DeleteKids love technology! It seems to catch the kids attention right away and helps provide them a visual.
DeleteI use the ipad and my phone a lot to find pictures about things the students don't know. It's easy and fast! They can see a picture immediately and not have to wait for the next time we are together.
DeleteMy students like using ipads alot. I have an app called Simple Minds, it is a graphic organizer, mainly bubble map type organizer. My 8th graders are using it for the book they are reading The Black Stallion. They made a character chart about Alec and a surivival chart about Alec and the Black on the island. It is same as if they were just writing it in their journals but more fun because they can use techonlogy. I also have SeeSaw which is an online portfolio, Class Dojo, and other graphic organziers type apps. Any time I can incooporate technology I really have the kids attention!
DeleteTechnology is great! I have toured museums with students and also some college campuses let you do an online tour-awesome!
DeleteIt is like a virtual tour at your finger tips and you dont have to spend the money to get there. However, hopefully that can be a goal for kids when they get older to be inspired to go and see the real thing. Another small piece of motivation to become sucessful in thier adult lives.
DeleteA kindergarten teacher I have worked with for a few years has a camping unit in the spring. Over the weekend, she brings in a tent and sets it up. The students are intrigued and excited first thing on Monday. It introduces the unit for science and then they also get time to be in the tent reading a book throughout the week.
ReplyDeleteI used the mystery bag for my student who likes superheros. I had to pick at random and hope they were characters he knew and liked. I brought the little bags in and we opened them together and got to see what hero I bought (thankfully both were ones he knew and loved). He was intrigued. After we had them opened, I used them for learning spatial concepts. He also go to play with them at the end of our time which allowed me to reinforce the spatial concepts we were working on.
What a great way to prepare the students for the unit! I think of ways to present the lesson, but many times I don't think about the room or the atmosphere as part of the preparation. I'll bet this is something the students remember for a very long time!
DeleteThat sounds like it was a lot of fun for your student. I am sure that he got way more out of the lessons because you tied something he was interested in to it.
DeleteWhen I did my student teaching, so long ago in Texas, I did a split between kindergarten and junior high. I remember in kindergarten they were studying the rainforest. The librarian had transformed the entire library into a rainforest, it was so cool!
DeleteI think almost anything we do that ties learning to something concrete helps students. I like the idea of bringing in a tent.
DeleteWhen we change things in our rooms or what we wear students become excited wanting to know why
DeleteWhat a great way to get students excited about coming to school to learn! It sets the stage and the students come ready to learn. The atmoshere in our classroom can be a powerful tool!
DeleteMy math class will be learning about equivalent liquid measures soon. I plan to bring in several sizes of canning jars and fill the half pints with water. I will have my students pour the water into pint jars, then quarts, half gallons, and finally into gallon jar. I am hoping that this will help them to see the correlation between each of the measures.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea !! The students will "see" the lesson while experiencing it hands on.
DeleteStudents always love the hands on approach, and will remember it.
DeleteWhat a great idea! I love hands-on activities in math. You could follow it up by making a "gallon man" or a gallon graphic organizer. I will try to attach links - not sure it if will work!
Deletehttps://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTnLw2BVPTpQT6m2P6eTpsIENmj1Rq522xgO2s6cz7IYU44GkGK0A
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQJdz_zux9Jr02UVRi7GkfPfQ4Am1iZK9QjbiayMFEiSkmenZGI
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DeleteThe links didn't work like I thought they would! You can copy and paste them - there are two different ones. Sorry!
DeleteSuper idea, that can get the young kids in elementy school to be better problem solvers. Treat it like a riddle, they have to solve it in order for them to solve a bigger mystery, like some of those games on their video games. Only it is the real thing.
DeleteWhat a great way for students to understand the different measurements! Students learn quicker and remembert longer when using a hands on approach. The students love to touch and experience a new concept.
DeleteI have used the mystery bag hook before for teaching vocabulary. I have a vocabulary box of objects/words/sound we are learning. The student grabs into the box and needs to name the object, describe it, tell what it is used for, or use it in a sentence. The students love the idea of figuring out what the mystery object is. If the student can tell me what it is they get to keep the object out of the box. If they don't know it they put it back in the box and it is the next person's turn.
ReplyDeleteA mystery bag would certainly intrigue me! I love this idea, I will have to try it sometime.
DeleteThat is a cool idea. It seems like most people like mysteries.
DeleteI have used the props hook to help students actually see something, and usually is a picture online, museum tour or college visit, somewhere far away. I have also had items in the bag for kids to feel and write about, all age love to do this, some have quite the imagination.
ReplyDeleteI agree about using props to tap into a student's creative side - they don't always like it at first, but it is so interesting to hear how they see things. Pictures are great for writing prompts and critical thinking skills. And it's just a fun way in general to get things going!
DeleteKim-
DeleteI think it's so great you're able to provide your students with an opportunity to visit a faraway place through the museum tours. For some of them, it might be the only chance they ever have of experiencing something like that.
I have used several of the hooks, but I used the props hook recently and somewhat unintentionally. The reading unit we were working on was about pets. My students had never seen a hermit crab or knew what one was. Well, of course, I happen to have a hermit crab at home! So the next day, I brought the hermit crab to school. I got him out and let him walk on the table so they could see how he moved. I showed them how to properly handle the crab and let them take turns holding him. We had a long discussion about what I had to do to take care of him and why. I was also able to tell them a little bit about the crab - why and how it changes shells, how it molts, why it has two different sized claws, etc. What starting out as just showing them what a hermit crab looked like turned into a really good lesson that went along well with the story they were going to read about a hermit crab that day.
ReplyDeleteI am sure they loved seeing the hermit crabs. I love this idea of bringing in live animals that kids can learn about. It's also important that they learn how to properly hold and care for pets.
DeleteI use the props hook in my class. I really have never even thought of transforming my classroom or dressing in costume. With sped kids I use visuals alot!! Mainly by showing pictures, videos, etc... In the past I have had some students bring items from their home that have something to do with what we are studying to show the class. I need to remember to look more for physical props to bring in, I don't often think of doing that! When we read "How to Eat Fried Worms" I will bring in gummy worms, but not real ones, I do have a limit!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea to use props as visual representations of the material that is being taught. It helps the kids to make those connections to the text.
DeleteBack when our 4th grade classes did the novel "How to Eat Fried Worms", the 4th grade teachers would slice hot dogs lengthwise to make "worms" and fry them. Most of the kids would eat them, but some were really grossed out. I always thought that was fun!
DeleteOh my, I am always rearranging my room. I think I have changed the layout a half a dozen times since school started. I am just trying to figure out what works best for the students. I have added partitions, I have moved tables, desks, added tables, removed tables. It will constantly be changing to fit the needs of the students that I service.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that I enjoy about my room is the flexibility. The desks that I have are each on wheels so the students can easily move them around and make better arrangements for themselves. Changing the room to fit the needs of the students can sometimes mean the difference between a student's success and failure.
DeleteI think being in special education it allows us to be able to do these types of things. I would say that in the process of benefiting your students that it also helps you out also.
DeleteI want to rearrange my room more! I always get overwhelmed with so much stuff! I think i could rearrange it to make it more beneficial for the area and learning groups I just don't know how yet!
DeleteI am a fan of the "Involved Audience" hook. I use it a lot in all of my classes, but I have been trying to do more in my math class. I will put the steps on the whiteboard and then, after a few examples, ask a student to walk us through the steps. Or, I will ask someone to tell me what I need to do next. I think that this is a great way to get the students involved and check their understanding.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure that I have purposely used any of these hooks. I can see that the involved audience hook would be one that I would be able to incorporate into my classes. One way I would be able to do this is by using call and response, this would allow me to see were my students are at this point in the discussion. I would want to first get them ready by asking questions that are easy for them to answer. That way they hopefully would be comfortable to answer other questions. I feel that this would allow for my students to not zone out just in case they may be next.
ReplyDeleteI love the mystery bag hook. In Kindergarten we have students take turns taking home the guessing bag as part of show and tell. When we start working on rhyming and letters sounds they will take the bag home and with their parents find to objects/toys in their house that rhyme or that start with that letter of the week. They then have to write 3 clues and practice reading them at home. The next day they will get up during show and tell time and read their clues and try and get their peers to guess what it is. Whenever we start a new concept he classroom teacher will do one of her own to model what the guessing bag is going to look like and work. The kids can’t wait for it to be their turn to take the bags home.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea!! How fun for your kindergarteners!! :)
DeleteI like the Mystery bag hook for the simple reason that you can come up with an object or concept on short notice and easily find a way to tie it into your instruction for the day. That does the same with the board message hook, it can be done on short notice as well. It would be very easy to bring up a picture on the overhead if you were unable to find a the object that you were wanting, and get the same reaction that you were wanting the kids to have, their curiosity would take over. The main thing for most of these hooks is that you would have to have easy access to some of the items that you need as well as affordability. Like he said about the red tablecloth's that he hung up on his walls, those are easy to obtain and buy cheaply at the dollar stores.
ReplyDeleteI have not used a mystery bag exactly, but I have used a brief case that I keep my magic tricks in.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try the costume props hook. I think next year one of my students will work at the nursing home in the laundry department. I'm going to bring in scrubs for him to wear and see if helps him make meaning from the lessons we will be doing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea Jerrie! I hope it works for you and for your student!
DeleteI like the idea of having the student wear the uniform. I have dressed up before to give them an example but having the students participate just takes it to another level. Good idea!
DeleteI like to use the props hook, especially while reading novels. The other day, our book talked about a fruit cake. Neither of the students reading the book had any idea what that was. So...I got on google and found different pictures of fruit cake so that they could see what it looked like. I would like to find one at the store so that they could taste it too. I think that when you bring in or can find props to go with what you are reading it makes the lesson or the book more meaningful.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea. I love bringing in props since so many of our students are visual learners. Being about to see it in front of them can make such a difference.
DeleteI do this a lot too. It is so nice to have pictures just a click away. Certain things come up in reading all the time that the students have never seen or heard of before so we look up a picture or quick video for them to better grasp what were talking about.
DeleteThis is a great hook for a novel study, especially if it's from another time period.
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ReplyDeleteMany of my students have a limited background and schema. I regularly use props to give my students a visual and tactile experience. The other day we read a book about a child who took pictures of her cat with a disposable camera. My students have never seen one and didn't know what it was. I brought one in and they now have a deeper understanding of the text that we read and the vocabulary used in the text.
ReplyDeleteI have not purposely used any of these hooks. I am not sure I have many opportunities to do these kinds of activities with students. The only time I have students in my office is if I am counseling them or if I am assessing them. I suppose I could do a props hook if I was going to role play appropriate social interactions with a student. I have pictures of my children, my husband, my dog, my brother, my nephews, and my parents in my office. I am not from this area and having those pictures makes me feel connected to my family resulting in me not being as home sick. Anyways, I had a student in my office the other day. He commented how all those pictures make my office seem like a friendly and safe environment. The pictures of my husband and kids made him miss his dad. We were able to engage in a conversation about his relationship with his dad. Now every time I see that student in the hallway he asks me when he can come to my office. He was exhibiting some behavior in his general education classroom. We developed a behavior support plan for him. In that plan, we decided that he would come to my office every Friday for 10 minutes to check in and visit with me. I look forward to seeing this student every Friday. I must say it really is the little things that can make a difference.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the pictures of your family provided the perfect "hook" for this student.
DeleteI have used the mystery bag hook before. When my students where learning how to ask and write questions.. how to ask and write GOOD questions. I brought in a box with treats.. they had to keep asking certain questions until they could figure out what it was. This was a lot of fun and they had to ask a ton of questions properly.. they also learned to be more specific with their questions.
ReplyDeleteI love the interior design hook idea, I would love to try this and share this idea with others! My mom teaches high school English, I can't wait to give her this book!
I don't do too many hooks because most of my students are only for support. but our English teacher at Halloween used the costume hook and the interior design hook by making her room spooky and dressing up like a witch and read scary stories to her class
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great way to get students interested in a lesson.
DeleteI have used the Prop Hook for retelling a story. I use clip art for the characters of a book. I glue the pictures to a wooden stick and the students use these props to retell a story.
ReplyDeleteI have also used paper bag puppets when introducing a new letter and sound.
In the future I would like to try using the message board hook.
I like to get students involved and personally feel that they will remember lessons better if they can think back to an activity that we did. I like both the involved audience hook and he prop hook.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think I’ve extensively used any of these (the Props Hook and Involved Audience Hook for some presentations), but have been on the other side of the Interior Design Hook in grade school. The 2 instances I remember most are when our 1st grade teacher turned our classroom into the ocean and an old west boardwalk. Looking back, these were ELABORATE setups. As a 1st grade student experiencing this for the first time, but especially now after working in the school system, I realize the tremendous amount of work that went into this. She would leave everything up for a week and somehow tied all of our lessons into the particular theme. Clearly, the hook worked, as I vividly remember and am talking about it over 20 years later, haha!
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