Creating an attention grabber is my favorite part of a lesson. It's the teachers opportunity to spark student interest and trigger excitement for what we they are about to learn.
Currently, I am teaching my students about Greek Latin Roots. To spark their attention, I introduced the longest English word. Wow they couldn't believe how long the word was! They couldn't help but count the letters. They chuckled when they had to stop counting and start over again because they lost count. This long 45 letter word definitely grabbed their attention.
Then we tried to pronounce it. I gave each student a chance at it. This was fun! Take a stab at it, can you pronounce the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconoisis ? Pretty tricky huh! It took me a few tries.
Next we took the time to break the word into its different Greek root words.
pneumono=lung/breathe
ultra=beyond/exceeding
micro=small
scopic=watch/see
silico-flint/quartz
volcano=fire
coni=dust
osis=disease/condition
From here we could put a meaning to the word. The actual meaning is referred to as an actual disease of the lungs more commonly known as pneumoconiosis or silicosis.
As I reflect back on my lesson, I believe my attention grabber is what helped keep my students focused and interested in the lesson involving root words. The key is to keep it short, to the point, but fun and engaging. Please share any ideas you may have for attention grabbers. I would love to hear your ideas.
No comments:
Post a Comment