Pick a Fight or Run Away?

The first five minutes of any lesson is crucial. A student's brain is more likely to remember something from the first 5 minutes of class or the last five minutes, than anything done in between. Sure students will remember things from throughout the class. What I'm saying is that the first few minutes is when the brain is the most alert and ready to learn. Unfortunately, this time is often lost taking roll call, checking homework or doing mindless bell work. You want to challenge and engage students minds right out the gate. Using pictures can be powerful. This picture caused much discussion and questioning when it was presented at the start of class.

Some students, "I'd run away." Others said, "I'd tell somebody." And then of course the macho boys, "I'd a get a group of friends to help me and we'd beat him up till we got it back." With each answer someone else would respond with sharp criticism, "What kind of friend are you?" Or, "Do you really want to die?" Or, "Chicken!" Two great things have happened. Students have become very vested in my topic and have a memorable experience to go back to later on when the topic is referenced. They are also developing a true understanding of my topic and not just writing down a list of notes.

Of course with each answer the students look over at me with pleading eyes looking for validation? Did I choose the right thing? They want me to tip them off. They want me to tell their friend that they are crazy for thinking they can beat this guy up or that they are a horrible friend for running away. In reality I'm not concerned with their plan. I'm excited with all of their plans because they are truly getting to the heart of our lesson without me saying a single thing. After the intense debate has died down a bit, I start in. First I recap their responses. Then I inform them, "You may be very upset with your friends for the choice they are making, but you should know that every one of you has chosen correctly." What? How is this possible? Well, my topic is German & Japanese aggression that started WWII. Some people tried to stand up to these invasions. Others said I'm no match for Hitler's army. Still others began to form alliances to try to stand up to the invaders. Others began pleading with some of the more powerful countries to get involved and stop Germany/Japan.

Why is this strategy so beneficial? It gives students an anchor point or a schema from which to build information. Social studies has a staggering amount of vocabulary, names and dates. Now any time a student is struggling on an activity or question regarding the start of WWII, all I have to do is refer back to this picture/activity and their brain will be able to go back quickly to a memorable experience and begin to piece together what was discussed.

This warm up is not incredibly time consuming and really supports the main point of the lesson. This strategy can be used with most any content lesson. You just need to think about the following things:

• What is the main point of my lesson?
• How can I make this point memorable or controversial with a picture or scenario?

You do want to be careful, because this starter will be memorable. Make sure that you are focusing on a key concept and not some obscure or insignificant detail. Make those first few minutes count!