I'm not sure it was the best anticipatory set of all time, but today during literacy I was introducing a new book as our mentor text (it's an informational text about making and selling chocolate). I had heard from the other fourth grade teachers that this was not a very exciting book, but it was the one recommended by our curriculum and it was too late to find another one to use instead. So, in order to get the kids excited about this and the lesson which was about activating background knowledge, I put up a bunch of images of chocolate. I was amazed by how excited the mere image of candy made these kids. I had them so engaged and interested in the book and we had a great discussion of all the things we already know about chocolate.
I'm not sure I will be able to maintain this level of engagement for the whole book--after the first few pages it's clear why the other teachers recommended skipping this one--but simply showing the images got kids excited for today and now I have time to look for a better book!
I'm curious about the book you were reading (The Chocolate Touch?). The potential to link visuals of chocolate with some aspect of the book has me wondering . . .
ReplyDeleteHow would you define the purpose of anticipatory sets in the instructional cycle? I'm asking Nicole and Julie this same question. I'd appreciate it if if you posted a brief response to this question on the blog. Thanks, Meggie.
I think the primary purpose of an anticipatory set is to engage the learners and get them hooked into the lesson. It gives students a reason for what they are about to learn, and I think really good anticipatory sets get students to generate questions that the lesson will hopefully help them answer.
ReplyDelete