The problem in this post, which I jokingly refer to as Not to Change the Subject, involves the omission of an important statement. Although this omission may seem like nothing more than an abrupt change of subject, it actually represents a missed opportunity to connect what students already know (i.e. prior knowledge) to the … Continue reading Lesson Intro Dos and Don’ts (Part Three) →

  In "Lesson Intro Dos and Don'ts (Part One)," I addressed false starts, which are caused by skipping the intro and diving right into the lesson. In this post (Part Two), I address two other intro problems, which I refer to as IDK (i.e. I don't know) and JK (i.e. just kidding). Both of these … Continue reading Lesson Intro Dos and Don’ts (Part Two) →

As a child, I competed in countless swim meets. In every race, there was one swimmer who dove into the water before the gun was fired. After a tongue lashing from the coach and jeers from teammates, the swimmer flung himself onto the side of the pool and climbed onto the diving block, only to … Continue reading Lesson Intro Dos and Don’ts (Part One) →

In my 20+ years as an educator, I have planned and implemented well over 1,000 lesson intros, taught more than 200 prospective secondary teachers how to plan and implement lesson intros of their own, and formally evaluated intros included in hundreds--literally hundreds--of middle and high school lessons. In short, I have a long and storied … Continue reading Lesson Intros: An Indispensable Formula →

In a recent post, I shared the formula that I use to develop effective lesson intros. Here, I share an intro that I drafted during my grad school years, when I was asked to adjunct a three-credit-hour course for prospective teachers of English, Social Studies, and Art. Given the variety of content areas, I decided … Continue reading Intro Exemplar #1: Persuasive Techniques in Advertising →