Additional information
| Weight | 1650 g |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 284 × 218 × 45 mm |
| ISBN | 9780987215918 |
| Format | |
| Page extent | 472 |
| Publication Year | 2018 |
| Subject | Education |
Hooking Students into Learning – in all curriculum areas
$149.99
Patricia Hipwell
Best selling author of the How to write what you want to say series, Patricia Hipwell, has completed her magnum opus which will benefit all teachers from Year 4 – Year 12.
This book has been written to provide teachers with ways of ‘hooking’ students into learning at the start of each and every lesson. It contains almost 300 ways of doing this. The book is designed to be used by teachers in all curriculum areas from Year 4 upwards. It contains a plethora of ideas that can be adapted to any curriculum area. In the book, the term relevant or subject-specific content is used a great deal. This is because skills are always best developed in the context of use with content that is relevant to current areas of study. There is little point, for example, in asking students to do an activity that develops their sentence-writing skills using information on Ancient Greece when they are currently studying the Black Death. The symbiotic relationship between content and skills means that teachers often have to develop their own resources, because this enables them to focus on the skills using relevant and current content.
Variously referred to as anticipatory sets, warm‑ups, lesson starters or ‘hooks’, the activities in this book are excellent ways to ‘switch students on’ to their learning. In this book the activities will be referred to as lesson starters. Their purposes include:
● moving key facts and figures from short-term to long-term memory
● activating prior knowledge about a topic (where prior knowledge exists)
● awakening interest in the topic of the lesson
● checking for understanding
● improving a variety of skills
● developing learning strategies
● improving vocabulary
● developing collaborative learning strategies.
Most of these activities are designed to take between five and ten minutes at the start of the lesson. Students may take longer until they become familiar with them, especially if the activities are different from current learning activities. Many of the activities will work best if students work in pairs or small groups. Some activities can generate noise and therefore be unsettling, so teachers will need to be mindful of this when choosing a particular activity. They may prefer to do the activity at the end rather than the start of a lesson. In this case, the purpose of the activity is to consolidate the learning of the lesson.
The focus of many of the activities is to increase the amount of reading and writing we require students to do. Also, students need to develop their vocabulary in all areas of the curriculum and many of the activities have been developed with this in mind.
Val Klenowski Adjunct Professor Queensland University of Technology –
How to ‘hook’ students into learning is a key question every teacher asks when planning lessons. Patricia Hipwell’s new book, Hooking students into learning … in all curriculum areas, provides a valuable, comprehensive set of resources for teachers of all curriculum areas from Primary Year 4 through to secondary education. The activities address topics such as: reading skills (before, during and after), vocabulary expansion, writing incorporating activities related to paragraphs, sentences, grammar and punctuation. Also included are activities to develop skills in listening, researching, editing, proof reading and assessment. This is an indispensable teaching resource that will provide significant means by which teachers can enhance their teaching, and the learning opportunities for all of their students.
Key learning principles underpin the design and structure of the book. To illustrate, the learning and teaching activities, which are skills-oriented, are designed to not only ‘hook’ or engage students from the outset of the lesson but can also be used to conclude a lesson. It is recommended that teachers develop the learning skills in the context of their use. In this way teachers will have the flexibility to align their teaching so that learning is relevant, consistent with the curriculum area, and skill development and use, are enriched.
The activities fulfill a range of purposes from establishing and developing learning strategies for continual use, building on prior knowledge, motivating student interest, checking for student understanding, improving skill acquisition, vocabulary and learning strategies, and developing collaboration. The activities are designed for pair or group work for a period of five to ten minutes with the intention to increase the amount of reading and writing that students complete in any one lesson.
From the outset, Patricia has thoughtfully considered how teachers might use this set of resources, by compiling them into a ring-bound folder allowing easy access for practical every day use and photocopying, sections are colour-coded with many illustrative examples. Additionally, there is a helpful glossary and resources section to conclude the book.
I recommend this book to all teachers inclusive of those who who are just starting their teaching career to those who are more experienced. These resources will provide all teachers with increased pedagogic knowledge of how to engage and sustain student interest in learning, and increase students’ skill development for continued learning beyond schooling. These skills are becoming increasingly important for students, as they are vital for achieving success in this complex and ever-changing world requiring proficiencies of agility, resilience and discernment.
Chris Thompson Book Review Editor South Australian English Teachers’ Association –
Highly Recommended
While the title indicates that this resource is relevant across all curriculum areas, English teachers and literacy leaders across primary and secondary contexts will find the contents invaluable. In the introduction, the author explains that while the strategies provide entry points, warm-ups, ‘hooks’ for engaging students from Year 4 upwards in learning at the beginnings of lessons, some activities can also be used at the ends of lessons to consolidate intended learning. The activities are short, non-sequential, approximately 5-10 minutes’ duration, and teachers can choose from almost 300 strategies which may be used in any order. The author also stresses that skills development relies on relevant subject-specific content currently being covered in context of use. Purposes of the strategies may cover:
• moving key information from short-term to long-term memory
• activating prior knowledge about a topic
• creating interest in the lesson topic
• checking for understanding
• improving a range of skills
• developing learning strategies
• improving vocabulary, especially in curriculum areas
• developing collaborative learning strategies.
Many of the activities support students to increase the amounts of reading and writing which they must do as they progress through the years of schooling. A suggested, pedagogically sound process is outlined for how to use any strategy drawn from the book.
The contents are logically organised into clearly labelled, colour-coded sections and sub-sections. Main categories include:
• Reading (divided into before, during, after and extras)
• Vocabulary development (largest section)
• Spelling
• Writing
• Paragraphs
• Sentences
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Listening
• Research, summarising and note-making
• Editing and proofreading
• Assessment
• Glossary and resources.
Each section has a brief rationale /introduction e.g. the first section ‘Reading’ mentions that not every text is read in the same way. In fact, there are four ways of reading a text or screen, which require different skills – skimming, scanning, close reading and continuous reading. For each strategy, there is a rationale which briefly describes evidence-based pedagogy, followed by a list of numbered of steps addressed to the teacher, which is in turn followed by a set of steps to be followed by the students. An illustrative example in words or diagram is provided in many cases.
This is an invaluable, comprehensive, wonderful literacy resource which represents excellent value for money for a site or a faculty area within a site. English teachers will be addressing elements of the Language and Literacy strands of the Australian Curriculum and the Literacy General Capability when they use any of these strategies purposefully.
Note that the author has previously published the very successful How to write what you want to say series, which many schools provide/use as whole class texts.
Chris Thompson South Australian English Teachers Association –
While the title indicates that this resource is relevant across all curriculum areas, English teachers and literacy leaders across primary and secondary contexts will find the contents invaluable. In the introduction, the author explains that while the strategies provide entry points, warm-ups, ‘hooks’ for engaging students from Year 4 upwards in learning at the beginnings of lessons, some activities can also be used at the ends of lessons to consolidate intended learning. The activities are short, non-sequential, approximately 5-10 minutes’ duration, and teachers can choose from almost 300 strategies which may be used in any order. The author also stresses that skills development relies on relevant subject-specific content currently being covered in context of use. Purposes of the strategies may cover:
• moving key information from short-term to long-term memory
• activating prior knowledge about a topic
• creating interest in the lesson topic
• checking for understanding
• improving a range of skills
• developing learning strategies
• improving vocabulary, especially in curriculum areas
• developing collaborative learning strategies.
Many of the activities support students to increase the amounts of reading and writing which they must do as they progress through the years of schooling. A suggested, pedagogically sound process is outlined for how to use any strategy drawn from the book.
The contents are logically organised into clearly labelled, colour-coded sections and sub-sections. Main categories include:
• Reading (divided into before, during, after and extras)
• Vocabulary development (largest section)
• Spelling
• Writing
• Paragraphs
• Sentences
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Listening
• Research, summarising and note-making
• Editing and proofreading
• Assessment
• Glossary and resources.
Each section has a brief rationale /introduction e.g. the first section ‘Reading’ mentions that not every text is read in the same way. In fact, there are four ways of reading a text or screen, which require different skills – skimming, scanning, close reading and continuous reading. For each strategy, there is a rationale which briefly describes evidence-based pedagogy, followed by a list of numbered of steps addressed to the teacher, which is in turn followed by a set of steps to be followed by the students. An illustrative example in words or diagram is provided in many cases.
This is an invaluable, comprehensive, wonderful literacy resource which represents excellent value for money for a site or a faculty area within a site. English teachers will be addressing elements of the Language and Literacy strands of the Australian Curriculum and the Literacy General Capability when they use any of these strategies purposefully.
Note that the author has previously published the very successful How to write what you want to say series, which many schools provide/use as whole class texts.