The hook......

Lets face it.  We are a distracted people.  I will do (or think about) 10 other things while typing this.  Our students are no different.  Or yikes WORSE!!  This is simply the world in which we live.  We can ignore this in our classrooms or we can embrace it and figure out how to truly engage our students.  I remember watching Saving Private Ryan.  I thought of nothing else during that movie.  I can safely say in that packed theater, that those around me,were focusing on the movie and its plot.  It hooked you in from the first sense.  Our classes MUST be the same.

Luckily, in my district we have wonderful technology that helps hook kids.  Visuals, videos, and music  all engross them in the content and get their brains working. Last year, I had great success in hooking students in using "Question of the Day."  These question were teasers to the content being taught.  They were crazy, random facts that the kids felt safe trying to answer because it was not about getting the answer right--it was about thinking about the question.  And student thinking is the key to engagement in our classrooms.

I challenge you to find a way to hook in your kids.  You will be amazed at how must more fulfilling your classes will be and how the students response.  So go add "hook" to your to do list.  You know the one you were making in your head while reading this ;)

Until next week....