Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Week 7 - "Hooks"

Explain what you would do for “H- Hook” activities for your unit. How would you tap in to the multiple intelligences and/or triarchic intelligences of your students. Give feedback in the form of PQP – Praise/Question/Polish (Polish means to "give suggestions") – to two colleagues.

45 comments:

  1. I would relate the learning targets to current events, experiments, and/or discuss issues that relate to the standards, even if the students get off topic somewhat, so long as the students are engaged, interested in the topic, and are learning. For example, for my UbD on cellular respiration I would explain how photosynthesis by plants creates stronger energy bonds and how it is more beneficial for students to eat primary consumers as opposed to secondary consumers. I would then relate how eating the primary consumers help the body obtain the energy it needs to function properly and how more energy is consumed during exercise. I would also include in the lesson why muscles become fatigued during aerobic activity and why people who don’t routinely exercise feel the burn when they finally do decide to exercise. I would then probably bring in some real life examples of individuals within their age range that have either genetic disorders relating to cellular respiration and/or that have serious health issues because they don’t eat healthy and exercise routinely. These outside examples would also show ways in which to improve these conditions or show extreme examples that have caused death and/or more complicated issues because of not properly maintaining ones metabolism. I would also challenge students to improve their overall health and to keep a journal tracking their progress for extra credit. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. "H-Hook" activities would include exercises or learning procedures that are interesting, engaging, fun, relevant to students' everyday lives, visually stimulating, use technology or a combination of two or more of the above. What is one thing the majority of people really want and rarely have enough of? MONEY. Money is an attention grabber. I found a genetics exercise called, "Who Gets the Money?" from the inheritence of a couple who has died and is estranged from their son. 5 guys show up claiming to be the rightful heir. They solve the mystery through a process of elimination using Punnett squares with a monohybrid cross, incomplete dominance and co-dominance, and sex-linked inheritance. The practical individuals will enjoy this because they will be applying what they have learned and solving logical problems that could happen in the real world. Would it be impractical to hope a rich relative pops up and leaves them a large inheritance? lol Analytical students would enjoy this because they are sorting and classifying information, analyzing characters, making inferences and deriving conclusions. Creative thinkers would like this because they get to use their imagination and are thinking in pictures and images. All students would have to think in all three ways to do this exercise. Also, I could have different groups of students invent their own mystery scenario (which could be inheritance of a disease or birth defects, murder mystery with blood types, etc.) which would involve more creative thinking by having to come up with ideas for new approaches. In solving each group's mystery scenario, they would again use analytical and practical skills.

    ReplyDelete
  3. PS: Multiple intelligences would be "tapped" as well. For instance there will be a story preceding the exercise that verbal/linguistic people will appreciate. Interpersonal people will be able to work in teams with others and discuss the issues and process (which verbal students will enjoy as well). Visual people may enjoy this to a degree seeing the Punnett squares and the process of elimination as they advance toward the solution. An intrapersonal individual could enjoy working on the problem on their own.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Christina,

    You gave a lot of great examples of how you can engage students in wanting to learn about important processes. What kinds of thinkers would relate to an individual topic? For example, your ideas on photosynthesis, primary and secondary consumers would probably easily "hook" the naturalist types. What other types of multiple intelligences or thinkers could you hook in this lesson (visual/linguistic, visual/spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, analytical, practical, creative, etc.)? How? I love how you related this to muscles which would definitely hook the body/kinesthetic types!

    You realize, of course, that this is the Praise/Question/Polish response portion of the blog. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Christina,

    My suggestion would be to make a poster. I would begin with the sun having rays of energy going into plants feeding the process of photosynthesis. This energy is fixed in bonds as chemical energy where you could show the formula for photosynthesis that may be a hook for logical/mathematical and analytical types. You could then have a picture of animals (primary consumers) eating the plants (primary producers) and then pics of animals (secondary consumers) eating the primary consumers. I would also show the tertiary consumers (such as hawks). A lot of kids love animals. Maybe this can all be drawn in a big outer circle. Then in the center you could put the energy pyramid showing the approximate percent of energy transfer from each level. You could get creative with the students when you discuss how 90% or more of energy is lost between each trophic level. For example, primary consumers that eat plants will have pooped most of the plants out because they can't digest a lot of it, and much is lost with respiration or as heat, especially with warm blooded animals. These could be easily drawn and arrows could point from the animals to the trophic level of the energy pyramid. I think diagrams/pics for this are great since conceptual or abstract thinking does not peak until the early twenties (according to some current research). I think you could engage several thinking types with this diagram and process of energy transfer. It's an amazing ecology topic!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would start this unit off by showing students part of this video of methane bubbles being set on fire:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YegdEOSQotE
    I would run it first with no volume and ask them to predict what was happening & why (using a think, pair, share setup). Then we'd watch the video again, this time with sound. Giving them a strongly-visual display will hook students into the unit, which largely focuses on the impacts of Climate Change on the Arctic. This type of activity should appeal to multiple types of learners as practical types can immediately see some real-world reasons for understanding this topic, creative individuals can construct further questions they have related to Arctic ecology, and analytical students can postulate ways of testing the methane's origins.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tammy- I like the hook activity you suggested, it sounds like a fun puzzle to sort through!
    My question for you is this: Punnet squares and the types of crosses you brought up definitely require some background knowledge in the subject area, when would you implement that kind of activity? It seems to me that it would fit well in the middle of the unit after the students have some familiarity, but are still trying to figure out why they're learning the topic

    ReplyDelete
  8. Christina,
    Please check with me in class tomorrow. I have an activity that I think would be good for this. I'll bring it along.
    Jacque

    ReplyDelete
  9. Christina- I like the idea of using current events or experiments to get the students hooked in the materials. For something like photosynthesis or respiration, neither of which typically make the headlines (directly) these days, what types of experiments would you look to? I bet you could really get some students going if you set seedlings on kids desks and asked them to figure out what it takes for a plant to live. Muh ha ha ha!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Rob,

    Yes, I could present it after background knowledge is given in the middle of a unit. The neat thing about this mystery solving is that it can be set up in different stages, solving (or more precisely) eliminating one variable at a time. So, we could work through the elimination of one type of inheritance at a time using the Punnett square. They can then look forward to the next step of elimination within the next day or two after having gone into more detail of the next type(s) of inheritance that may play a role.

    Alternatively, this could also take place as a full project at the end of the section after having had some practice with each type of inheritance. It's versatile!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Rob,

    The video was neat. I was surprised at the amount of flames that came off of the bubbles in water. This will definitely attract students' attention. Would you include the carbon cycle as part of the lesson before presenting the video? For example, would you show methane as CH4 as opposed to just saying the word "methane" while explaining that the carbon came from the carbon in the trees and plants that were being decomposed by organisms in the water? My suggestion would be for the students to first have a good understanding that carbon is the backbone to everything that is living so they can understand and appreciate its importance in their own bodies as well as the environment around them. I would also include pictures of eye-catching or heart-tugging animals (e.g., Atlantic puffins) that could potentially be in danger of extinction due to the imbalance of the carbon cycle and global warming (the difference in water temperature messes with the synchronicity of its fish food source, thus decreased feeding and mating fecundity of the beautiful puffins).

    ReplyDelete
  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Re: Tammy
    I would certainly hope too Tammy that a rich uncle comes and drops a large sum of money for me for this exercise (smiles). But on a serious note, I do believe that Money is an attention grabber as you said and the students will use the analytical skills from this exercise for a long time in the real world.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Personally, I will always incorporate visuals, humor, jokes and cool stuff to engage/hook my students to the concepts been taught to them. I had some difficulty coming up with some ‘Hook factors’ to engage my students for my unit (atoms/potential energy).Because my unit needs the students to refresh their memory on the basic concept of atoms and the change in potential energy when particles attract each other or when they repel each other; I would use the concept of apples to hook my students. The concept of apple is solely used to describe the concepts of atoms and potential energy.

    I would ask the students to start cutting the apples in front of them until they could not cut them down any more. I would tell them that the tiny part that could not be cut into any smaller pieces is what is called atom.

    Then to describe the concept of potential energy/kinetic energy, I would then ask them to place the second apple in front of them on the edge of their desk and then push it off the table; I would then explain to them that the rolled off apple has kinetic energy. The next step of the exercise would be to ask the students to pick up the apple from the floor and put it back on their desk; this step will explain to them that they used their own energy to pick up the apple and as the apple rose higher than the floor, there was an added energy to it. Therefore, as the apple rests of the desk, it has potential energy. The higher the apple, the further it could fall; therefore the apple has a higher potential energy.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Christina: Excellent! And somehow you beat Steve, Tammy and Rob to the first punch, so I bet you feel great. This is an awesome idea, and with biology, you don't have too look far outside yourself (literally) to find real-life examples.

    Especially with cellular respiration/metabolism, I think it is important to bring it to the attention of students how the actual food that we eat is turned into energy. So often we think of it as only a cycle that turns glucose-->ATP, but metabolism is so much more than that. I like that you've thrown in the trophic levels and exercise in there as well.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I would introduce my unit on Mendelian genetics and biotechnology with a drama activity. I adapted this activity from one given here:

    http://www.nature.ca/genome/05/051/0511/0511_11_e.cfm

    I will give the class the following scenario:

    A young couple are sitting at a table together, talking. The man surprises the woman by giving her a promise ring.

    They have pictures of their families. When she sees her boyfriend's balding brothers, the woman informs him that their relationship is over because unfortunately she cannot stand the idea of him going bald some day.

    I give two the initial dialogue to two student volunteers and have them act this out at the start of the class. Following the skit, I will share with the learners that a gene for baldness has been identified and this gene is passed from the maternal side (sex-linked). I will also lead the class to develop a list of causes for baldness other than genetics (hormones, illness, stress, some kinds of medication, etc.). Next I will split the class into groups of 4 and direct them to use what we discussed about heritability to write the next lines of dialogue where our suitor responds to his beloved's rejection. Learners will be encouraged to consider whether or not the man is likely to become bald, what conditions would cause that, the morality of preferences based on inherited traits, and the difference in preferences. After 10 minutes of work time, each group will act out their dialogues. The groups observing the actors will be asked to identify ways that the actors' dialogue included what we learned.

    ReplyDelete
  17. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Tammy,

    Yes I realize this is the Praise/Question/Polish response! :-D I like your example in how to engage the students with the visual… I would probably leave the diagram blank and allow the students to fill in the necessary steps and arrows as I facilitate their responses or guide them in the right direction.

    In addition I love your Hook example… money is grand! Could you explain further on how you would use Punnett squares to determine who the rightful heir is? What about potentially using gel electrophoresis to engage the students so that they have real life experience in DNA testing and could determine the actual heir to the inheritance? I know that they have kits like this for mock crime scenes but it could easily be changed/tweaked to meet your class needs.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Rob,

    I know what you mean, photosynthesis/ respiration are a thing of the past but still current! ;-) I’m not sure about the experiments to use but definitely need to look into some options. I like Tammy’s idea in how to further engage the students with a visual. I also like your suggestion to place seedlings in front of them and to ask them what the seeds need to grow. Perhaps we could do different experiments with seedlings and changing variables to see how the seedlings grow best.

    I really liked your hook strategy. I went to the video and watched it without the sound first, then with the sound. I could see where the kids would make all kinds of assumptions and ask questions on the video without the sound to become engaged. And kids like fire! How would you relate global climate change to these methane pockets? The great thing is that you could probably show these examples up in the UP once winter comes! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Vlad,

    Thanks and I must admit I am feeling really good about being the first to post!!! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  21. Christina,

    Gel electrophoresis is a very good idea. I just don't know if the schools would have the equipment necessary for the experiment (materials to add for PCR/DNA amplification, the spinner machine that heats and cools for PCR, electric gels to be able to run them faster, etc.). That would be fun and a real world (personal) hands-on example though.

    ReplyDelete
  22. For “H-Hook” activities, I would use some technology to get the students engaged in the unit being taught. I’d let the students choose between technology activities or hands on learning activities to give the opportunity to see how they learn best. For the technology, I would like to somehow have the students incorporate animoto and/or tag galaxy for their part of their target learning. This would relate to their daily live, current issues, neighborhood, and communities. Being doing that, I would hope that the students want to learn more about the unit, achieve mastery and challenge their learning progress. I would encourage them to solve problems and issues on their own with teacher guidance until they reach the standards then gradually release them to go about it by themselves.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Rob,
    Cool video. I think that will really get the students interested or even at least curios as to what is going on and how can it be replicated.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anne,
    You did good with that activity. I think the students will like it because first, it gets them out of the classroom and it relates to life outside of the textbook. This also give them a great example of how they could use those math equations. The students are able to solve for real situations and problems, which will definitely engage them. I like it. Good job.

    ReplyDelete
  25. It was hard for me to think of good, truly interesting hooks for my unit, which is on the Pythagorean Theorem. I think that instead of showing the students a real life example (which are always a bit boring for this), I could actually have them do a real life example. There are a lot of ways to do this, but I would have the students build some sort of structure, like a wall, a deck, or some other sort of building with classroom materials. I would emphasize the importance of exact measurements to structure quality and integrity, but I would give them no tools to draw right angles with. Doing this would force the students to use measurements to form accurate right angles and would actually show them how using the Pythagorean Theorem in real life is useful and important.

    Creative students would appreciate being able to build something unique with their own hands. I think the practical students would pick up on how to apply this theory to the real world. It seems to me like the analytical students would do well with figuring out how to make real life right angles when all you have is a tape measure. Because I have used the Pythagorean Theorem in exactly this situation in real life, I think I could certainly grab the students' with this.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Rob, I enjoyed confirming my belief that all that scientists really like to do is blow stuff up. But really, what a perfect way to draw the students into your unit. I often find that when I watch videos like that, I almost get tunnel vision towards the topic. The video seemed to say that the methane that could be released from the arctic would be way worse than everything else that could contribute to greenhouse gas emission. While this may be true, do you think it could cause students to not focus on anything besides the effects of methane from the arctic? I know I would have that tendency. My suggestion would be that you make sure you tie this back in to the bigger picture of needing to also focus on other environmental impacts that could cause the release of methane in the arctic.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Steve, I was a little suspicious of your drama when I first started reading about it. I usually despise class skits because they seem so forced and often ineffective. However, this one was very interesting and potentially hilarious. I would definitely do this skit! My biggest question is does he get the girl?!? I need to review my genetics!

    ReplyDelete
  28. For this post, I will regurgitate a lesson I proposed while applying for the program. It was for a lesson on the cell cycle, primarily, mitosis. I would have the students split into groups, and give them each cards with the name, structure (diagram) and function of organelles. Some groups would be an organelle system (endomplasmic reticulum, Golgi) some individual organelles (mitochondria, ribosomes, etc.). They would each have some time to discuss these structures/functions within their groups and be told that they would have to work together to act out a 'dance' to the cell cycle with the other groups. One person would be assigned the role of the nucleus/nucleolus and they would help groups to coordinate their actions during the division. After some feedback to each group, I would press paly and let them do their dance.

    This would be used as a hook either at the start of the unit, or somewhere in the middle (after they have already learned cell structure) and would get each student engaged in 'their' role in the grand scheme of things which would help link them to the unit for further discussion when we go more in-depth into the unit.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Christina, since I know you've been waiting for it, here comes the question and polish part. Do you envision any problems with bringing in a student their age that suffers from a genetic disorder (ethically, and finding a someone to 'model' the disorder)? Also, the same goes for the unhealthy/those who don't exercise. I'm not sure it would be a great idea to make live models of these people (even with consent). Perhaps leave this out and discuss these issues with important figures of the past (Churchhill's weight problem, Napoleon's overactive mitochondria--not sure if either are true?)..but use characters they might already identify with to connect these issues with real life.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anne, what you mean "you [biology] people"? You math people never give yourself credit (staring at your shoes, and such). That's a great unit. There's some ways to tweak it. Modeling (not in the Klum sense) is great for you math people, but some of us biology people might think it's boring (if only manipulating numbers).

    I'm speaking from no experience here, but do you think there is an app for that? Maybe dig deeper and see if there is a modeling program that wouldn't just give you an equation, but at the same time, draw up a bridge for you at each step and test it with an imaginary tractor trailer on it. (Ps. we do have it easier, but you should still try).

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hooks, well that is an interesting thought...LOL. My unit is on atomic structure, so I could do things like show students 12 grams of Carbon and explain how many atoms are in it....I have a couple of really good shows about the element level...and experiements that were done (the shows are from the Science Channel, so pretty well done!!). I have thought about having learners become the sub-atomic particles, and show how they behave (I.E electrons repel each other, protons and electrons are attracted to each other) of course this depends on the maturity level of the learners, and is they completely get the topic, or if they are too mature they might not get anything out of it( (other than a break from sitting, or what not). I would also perhaps try and do the graphic organizers, and the magneticboard to see what their questions are during the unit.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Yay Rob...love things that blow up, I have a great demo that shows this, and is fairly safe. take a plastic bottle, put 2 nails in the sides, almost touching (make sure they do not not), pour about 10 mL of ethanol in the bottom of the bottle and then place a cork in the bottle. Let it sit about 5 to 10 min (build up of vapor pressure) and then use a Tesla Coil, touching one of the nails with it. There will be a spark across the nails, inside the bottle, and the cork will blow up. Kids always love this!!!
    I love all the hooks here...

    ReplyDelete
  33. Toby,
    I so like the apple demo, it would so work with my unit. Having to have learners understand the concept of a particle so small that it can't be seen with the naked eye is always an issue in chemistry. Also having them conceptualize what an atom looks like is slightly difficult. Even after you explain that the atom doesn't look like pudding, or have an electron at a fixed place always, most minds still think of it in that matter....it is hard for people to conceptualize that the electron can be anywhere, that there is only a probability that you will find it in a specific place. I would hope that most students already had an idea of probabilities...might make it easier

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hook activities are aimed at engaging, interesting and helping the students become excited about the subject at hand. It is also important in your unit to do activities that make every person with different intelligences feel comfortable. For instance, I would try to incorporate activities that help students that learn by images, hearing and kinesthetic learners. The goal would be to incorporate other learning divisions such as the analytic, practical, and creative, and verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, musical/rhythmic, naturalist and interpersonal, and intrapersonal.
    My unit is on the rock cycle and relating it to climate and tectonic activity. One interactive activity that I would my students do is complete a project that gives a representation of the rock cycle. The standard model is a circle on a piece of paper with the three different type of rocks and arrows going between them (http://www.personal.psu.edu/cll161/insys%20441/main.html). I would have the students make a model for the rock cycle however they wanted to. They could make a representation of it through a video, through a drawing, through a rap, etc. There would be a standard rubric that all projects would be based on but the overarching goal would be for the students to accurately represent the rock cycle.
    Another activity could be to have a mystery game where they are given clues about a certain type of rock and they have to identify whether the rock is a sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic rock. I think this activity would be important because the students will have to really think about the clues to get the correct answers.
    I could also try to find videos on the rock cycle that would break up lectures. Perhaps, I could find educational videos on igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks, and sedimentary rocks. I think that videos, a mystery game would work really well as a hooking activity.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Christina: What type of activity would you do to show why muscles become fatigued? I think it is a great idea to do this but I wanted to know how this would work in application. Perhaps you could find some data through a weight loss program or through an educational resource to help you do this activity. Also, you could have the students fill out a survey about how often they exercise and then have them run a short distance outside and track how their muscles felt. I am going outside the box here because multiple people mentioned that Godfrey Lee High School was doing the Running Rebels and they had a project based activity on exercise. I think your ideas were great and would like to see them in practice.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Tammy: I really like how you addressed each type of learner. I think it is imperative to have activities that all types of learners will be able to relate to. I also think that it is important to have “hook” activities that challenge each type of learner. For instance, I think it would be good for a practical individual to have to do an analytical activity. The reason for this is not to make the student miserable but to help them understand other learning styles and be able to do them if their future jobs requires them to do so.
    I think that you should polish the idea of the mystery scenario so that you know exactly what you are doing. I think that the birth defects might work really well. For genetics you want to relate it to your students so that they are interested and one way is to concentrate on human defects rather than the Mendelian pea plants.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Steve F. - Whether he gets the girl or not depends on how the students frame their response! For example, the students might have him explain that his brothers lost their hair because of a non-genetic factor, or that the they are step-brothers from a different mother, etc.

    Anne, I'm curious what moral issue you see in this. I'm afraid I'm totally missing it. Can I get a little more polish? :) I'll ask you about it before class in case you don't catch this response.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Elyssa, I think you are right on with your intent to target different learning styles. I think this will allow students to build their new learning from their own strengths and greatly encourage retention. I’m curious about the scope of the rock cycle projects though. Do you feel that this is a complex enough topic to allow much room for creativity? Of course adolescents can find a million creative ways to represent even a single rock, let alone a cycle, but I suspect that this might work better with a more elaborate cycle like water, nitrogen, CO2,.. something of that sort.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Tammy, I think your hook does a great job of targeting different intelligences while keeping focused on a specific target rather than different targets for different intelligences. Nicely done. “Visual people may enjoy this to a degree seeing the Punnett squares and the process of elimination as they advance toward the solution.” I knew I was a visual learner, but I'm pretty sure you read my mind on that one! I’m wondering how well your students would be able to create their own scenarios at the beginning of your genetics unit. Do you think they will have enough knowledge of the material to make meaningful application of genetic clues at this point? My thought is that this part might work better as a follow-up informal assessment later in the unit. It would tie back to the original hook nicely, and it would give you a great chance to see the sense they have made out of inheritance.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I feel like having options for the multiple intelligences in a math class is really important.  In terms of high school math, I feel that a good hook activity for triangles and trigonometry would be to take the class outside and have them discuss how to find the height of the building by measuring the length and angle of the shadow.  Activities that get math students out of their seat and experimenting makes the material much more interesting. Involving videos is also a good hook.  When talking about volume a video could be played showing a container getting filled with water in the real world (as seen in the TED talk by Dan Meyer "Math classrooms need a makeover").  Applications to the real world are far more intriguing to students, and it is very beneficial to allow them time to discuss, formulate the problem, and figure out what is necessary to know to solve it.  Also, games (experimenting with geometric tiles, trigonometry dominoes, etc.) are always more fun than book problems.  And, then there are always nerdy songs to turn to.  Anything from Matheatre could be fun and useful in a more advanced math classroom, and They Might Be Giants have some songs that would apply for a younger crowd as well as more "science-y" classes.  There are many involved activities that allow students to see math as a part of the real world, and I think that is the key to how to hook students and get them interested and thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Virginia,
    I like your ideas about how to get students involved in learning chemistry.  I think the shows from the science channel could be really interesting, but (not knowing what they are) do you think students could get bored watching something like that?  I remember loving watching long videos in high school because I didn't have to pay attention to the whole thing and could get other stuff done.  Maybe you had planned on this, but I think shorter videos clips are better for keeping students engaged, especially with science and math videos.  Maybe you could pull out a 10 minute section that is the most relevant.  In addition to more serious videos you could try to find some fun ones too (I will try to find some more sources for you), such as this one: 

    http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDUQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUy0m7jnyv6U&rct=j&q=they%20might%20be%20giants%20elements&ei=ZHhFTtqzK6bisQKD2LSeBg&usg=AFQjCNGJnyTY9W26R_yo37S95GBCUEji6Q&sig2=4jiPfbV5nd2X-CvSWUDpuw

    (let me know if the link doesn't work... It works on my iPad, so it should work on yours.)

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anne,
    Bridges are a great way to address quadratic equations, and definitely helps students relate the math to real life, especially the Tacoma Narrows bridge video. Do you think that instead of setting up parameters from the start it would be more effective to let the students decide what they need to know?  Just like we did in the inquiry project?  Maybe that was your intention, but I really feel like allowing the students to explore on their own and have less direction would be more beneficial and effective.  Also, I would recommend playing the video before the end of the lesson, maybe even at the beginning.  I feel that the Tacoma Narrows bridge video could be a great hook for the students and would really draw them in.  I've seen students watch that video with complete disbelief that really happened.  =)

    ReplyDelete
  43. My hook will be to say, "good morning/afternoon class", and say it with energy and mean it. Ya that should get students hooked. I could not find a hook for my chapter. Maybe some chapters will have to go without a hook?

    My general hook for every class is to be involved in the school outside of my classroom and the teams I coach. When I have some spare time, help with the cross meet, or track meet, watch a soccer or baseball game. Then the next day be interested in the game ask about the season and where it is going. If it is not sports it is probably something else, show that I have an interest in them so maybe they will have more of an interest in something I do.

    Another hook would be to have a video chat with some one how is successful in a field and have them explain what they do, how much fun they have at their job, maybe money if they feel comfortable, and finally how important math was to getting were they are today.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Christina

    I really like the idea of nutrition especially for serious athletes. I wish I would have had a class like that in high school. There are plenty of examples of nutrion in the world, celebrity magazines. There examples of health and unhealthy. Do you think he looks this way by eating crapmall day? Diet is alright but not to this extreme. Things like that.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Anne

    I like the idea of the bridge. Is there anyway that you can include a why? Why would you design a bridge like this?

    ReplyDelete