NC New Teacher Support Program

OPENERS & CLOSERS

IDEAS TO BEGIN AND END WELLUNC Charlotte New Teacher Support Coaches

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Openers• “a short introductory moment that captures what’s interesting

and engaging about the material and puts it out front” (Lemov, 2010-Teach Like A Champion).

• Warm-up, bell ringer, starter, opener, hook, welcome work, do now

• Meant to inspire and excite and prepare students to willingly

learn NOT water down material

• Length of time doesn’t impact effectiveness

• According to Lemov (2010), they are not necessary for every lesson

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Characteristics of Openers

• Short

• Yields to the instruction

• Energetic and Optimistic

• Consistent-everyday in a consistent patter

• Productive

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Anticipation Guides• An anticipation guide is a list of statements (not

questions) that are related to the topic. 

• Anticipation guides activate students' prior knowledge and set a purpose for the upcoming lesson.

• They teach students to make predictions, anticipate the text/topic, and verify their predictions.

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Anticipation

Guide Examples

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Opener : Story Creation

• When beginning a new concept or unit, have a collection of vocabulary words on the board.

• Students should create a story or start of a story

using a suggested number of words in a limited amount of time. They should be as creative as they’d like!

• Have volunteers share their stories.

• Now students are already invested in the words when you begin!

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Story Creation Example

Directions: Create an original story, using at least 5 of the following words.

Inca Gold Silver Conquer

Rainforests Pizarro Horses Brazil

Peru 30,000 Soldiers Atahualpa

Spain Mountains Andes

Explorers Travel Terrain Ocean

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Opener: What’s going on in the Picture??

• Put a picture on the board of a historic event, scene from a novel, or some visual representation of the lesson that you are going to teach

• Have students write about what they think is happening in the picture. Give them a time limit and let them be as creative as they want.

• This is a great way to get students interested in what’s to come (they want to see if they were correct or not) and it also lets you see who might have prior knowledge based on their responses.

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NC New Teacher Support Program

What’s going on in the picture? Example

Directions: Look at the picture below. Write a description of what you think is happening. What year is it? Who is the person in the picture? Where is this and why is he standing there?

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Closers• A way to end your lesson

• “establishes a productive expectation about daily completed work (Lemov, 2010).

• Cool downs, bell waiters, exit tickets

• Helps to measure how well your students learned, not how well you taught

• Characteristics:o Quick-One to three questionso Designed to yield datao Reflective and make good Starters for the next day!

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Closer: 3-2-1 Slips• 3 things I learned in class:

1.2.3.

• 2 questions I still have:1.2.

• 1 comment about class today:1.

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Closer: Reflection Journal

• Teachers know that reflection is important so we should also teach our students to do the same.

• Have students keep an in class notebook that they can pick up at the beginning of class, or have a student pass them out.

• At the end of class give students five minutes to reflect on what they learned that day. Feel free to give guiding questions to help them.

• Students can put their journals back in a designated spot on their way out

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Closer: Inside-Outside Circle Talk

• Involves the entire class moving around the room sharing information.

• Students form 2 circles: inside and outside circles.

• Students pair up with someone across from them.

• They ask each other questions from the lesson. Each student asks and answers one question.

• The teacher says rotate and the outside circle moves so new partners are formed.

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NC New Teacher Support Program

Your Thoughts/Ideas?• What are your favorite ways to open and close a

class?• What difficulties do you have?

• Resources: http://bttoolbox.pbworks.com/w/page/58123415/Teacher%20Toolbox

• Questions, comments, or concerns?

• We thank you for your participation! 11/17/12