Lesson starters are as important as textbooks and other learning resources

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Teachers who start their lessons with interesting related starters are more likely to have successful lesson. They give learners a blast of learning experience.

  1. Children come to school with low energy, family issues, etc. They need starters to warm them up.
  2. Children went out for break. They come back to class with unfinished business. Half of their mind is still outside. They need starters to bring their full attention to class.
  3. Children have been sited for long hours learning. They are tired and sleepy. They need starters to energize them and shake the sleep off.
  4. The class is noisy and distracted. Instead of shouting “keep quiet” start their favorite song or rhyme.
  5. They are having a hard time understanding a concept. Interject with a starter and see the magic.
  6. You are switching from one subject to another, you need a starter.

These starters comes in different formats; Videos show(documentaries, tutorials etc), listening to audio(different sounds including music), pictures description, solving puzzles, reciting rhymes and poems, playing games, singing songs etc.

Sometimes we do forget to employ them in our lessons, other times too we deliberately ignore them with the idea to save time. It is actually not time wasting.

  • It improves their memory.
  • It improves their vocabulary.
  • It improves their problem solving skills.
  • It gets them ready for the lesson.
  • It is a good class management tool.
  • It makes the class lively.
  • It unlocks the Lesson,
  • It builds a strong bong between Teachers and students.
  • It encourages participation.
  • It helps revise the previous Lesson etc.

Some are topic or subject specific. Others can be modified to fit other subjects and topics. Some take more time (that should be taken into consideration). It is good to or know a lot as a teacher. It’s is more effective when you vary them. Engaging learners in the same activity over and over again becomes boring. Remember the games, songs and rhymes you were taught back in your school days. Consult other teachers. Go on the net. There are thousands brilliant starter ideas you can find.

They are good tools to start a lesson, they are good tools to keep learning going and good plenary tools.

Be an innovative teacher, be an interesting teacher.

Writer: Hon Jerry Akporhor- Lead Educator  

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