The Hook is a teaching strategy that requires the teacher to begin the unit/lesson with a compelling element that will catch the attention of his/her students. The hook is not supposed to be a time consuming element; rather, the hook should be short. The purpose of the hook is to get students ready for the material ahead.
There are six categories that can be used to classify a hook, and they are:
1. Story - This hook requires the teacher to tell the students a story that will immediately introduce their students to the new unit/lesson.
2. Analogy - Analogy is a hook that introduces students to new material by way of the teacher giving them [the students] and example that the students can relate to their own life/real life.
3. Prop - Using a prop as the hook means that the teacher will present his/her students with an item/object that is relative to the lesson.
4. Media - If a teacher chooses to use media as the hook for the new material then they will be presenting an image, video, song, etc. to their class. (However, teachers should be wary of using this hook because it can often become a distraction rather than a learning tool.)
5. Status - Teachers use status as a hook when they "talk up" some aspect of the material. For example, the teacher may say, "Today we are going to be learning about the most infamous gangster in U.S. history." This is an example of status.
6. Challenge - Challenge is a hook in which the teacher presents his/her students with new information by giving them a cognitively arduous task that requires their students to think critically.
A good hook always features these three attributes:
1. A good hook is short. It is imperative to remember that the hook should only last a few minutes, and it should never take the place of the lesson.
2. A good hook yields. The hook should always ultimately lead to actual lesson that needs to be taught and learned.
3. A good hook is energetic and optimistic. Never focus your teaching on the hardest parts of the material, rather focus on what is fun and what is good about the material.
There are six categories that can be used to classify a hook, and they are:
1. Story - This hook requires the teacher to tell the students a story that will immediately introduce their students to the new unit/lesson.
2. Analogy - Analogy is a hook that introduces students to new material by way of the teacher giving them [the students] and example that the students can relate to their own life/real life.
3. Prop - Using a prop as the hook means that the teacher will present his/her students with an item/object that is relative to the lesson.
4. Media - If a teacher chooses to use media as the hook for the new material then they will be presenting an image, video, song, etc. to their class. (However, teachers should be wary of using this hook because it can often become a distraction rather than a learning tool.)
5. Status - Teachers use status as a hook when they "talk up" some aspect of the material. For example, the teacher may say, "Today we are going to be learning about the most infamous gangster in U.S. history." This is an example of status.
6. Challenge - Challenge is a hook in which the teacher presents his/her students with new information by giving them a cognitively arduous task that requires their students to think critically.
A good hook always features these three attributes:
1. A good hook is short. It is imperative to remember that the hook should only last a few minutes, and it should never take the place of the lesson.
2. A good hook yields. The hook should always ultimately lead to actual lesson that needs to be taught and learned.
3. A good hook is energetic and optimistic. Never focus your teaching on the hardest parts of the material, rather focus on what is fun and what is good about the material.
The Hook is a good teaching strategy because first and foremost it [the hook] is a major example of scaffolding. Scaffolding is a term that was coined by Russian developmentalist, Lev Vygotsky. In terms of education, scaffolding is when the teacher gives his/her students a series of supports that are necessary to make the next step in learning; Scaffolding is also known as assisted learning. As mentioned in the strategy's description above, the hook is meant to introduce the material to students and then lead directly into main lesson/unit. This is an example of scaffolding as the teacher is first providing a basic portion of the lesson (the introduction) and then from there, building to the next step.
The Hook is also a good classroom strategy because its main purpose is to catch students' attention by engaging them. As a teacher, engagement is a great way to manage your classroom. The strategy will also be very beneficial to students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). When adapting instruction for students with SLD it is important to present information both clearly and concisely. Presenting a lesson/material/unit by way of any one of the six categories above, being careful to make the hook short, yielding, and energetic/optimistic, a teachers introduction will be explicit and well-organized. The Hook has the potential to be relevant to the students life (i.e. analogy), which is a helpful teaching strategy when dealing with students who struggle with an emotional disability.
The Hook is also a good classroom strategy because its main purpose is to catch students' attention by engaging them. As a teacher, engagement is a great way to manage your classroom. The strategy will also be very beneficial to students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD). When adapting instruction for students with SLD it is important to present information both clearly and concisely. Presenting a lesson/material/unit by way of any one of the six categories above, being careful to make the hook short, yielding, and energetic/optimistic, a teachers introduction will be explicit and well-organized. The Hook has the potential to be relevant to the students life (i.e. analogy), which is a helpful teaching strategy when dealing with students who struggle with an emotional disability.
An example of The Hook
Imagine that you are beginning a lesson on poetry in you high school English Class. To introduce the unit/lesson to your students you may want to give your students a short poem and ask them to take few minutes to write their interpretation of the poem.
*pass out a copy of the poem to everyone or display in on a SmartBoard, white board, etc.*
As an example, I have provided this haiku from www.haiku-poetry.org:
My life, -
How much more of it remains?
The night is brief.
- Shiki
Teacher: I want everyone to take a minute to read this haiku, and then take a few additional minutes to write down what you think the poem means. (This is an example of a challenge hook.)
*After giving your students a few minutes*
Teacher: Student 1, will you please read me your interpretation.
Student 1: The poem is questioning the length of life, and saying that life is too short.
Teacher: Does everyone see how Shiki, the author of the poem, puts all of that meaning into one three short lines? The structure and meaning of a poem is very important because both elements effect the way readers interpret it.
*Then, continue on with the lesson on poetry. From this point you can move on to discuss stanzas, rhythm, iambic pentameter, etc. You've introduced the unit with a short, but challenging, hook and you have successfully made a quick transition into the actual lesson.*
*pass out a copy of the poem to everyone or display in on a SmartBoard, white board, etc.*
As an example, I have provided this haiku from www.haiku-poetry.org:
My life, -
How much more of it remains?
The night is brief.
- Shiki
Teacher: I want everyone to take a minute to read this haiku, and then take a few additional minutes to write down what you think the poem means. (This is an example of a challenge hook.)
*After giving your students a few minutes*
Teacher: Student 1, will you please read me your interpretation.
Student 1: The poem is questioning the length of life, and saying that life is too short.
Teacher: Does everyone see how Shiki, the author of the poem, puts all of that meaning into one three short lines? The structure and meaning of a poem is very important because both elements effect the way readers interpret it.
*Then, continue on with the lesson on poetry. From this point you can move on to discuss stanzas, rhythm, iambic pentameter, etc. You've introduced the unit with a short, but challenging, hook and you have successfully made a quick transition into the actual lesson.*
An extra example of a hook can be viewed below. This video is an example of a video hook that was created for a lesson on The Great Gatsby. This example, along with a full, technology friendly, lesson plan on the novel can be found at this website: http://2300project2ledfordjk.weebly.com/
*Note: The website named above was created by me, also.
*Note: The website named above was created by me, also.