The 8 Minutes that Matter Most

Some recent coaching conversations sparked my interest in looking deeper into designing effective lessons.  We all have separate tools we use, various ways to prepare, an almost innate systematic approach, etc. when it comes to lesson planning.  So in my 'web' travels I stumbled upon an article written by Brian Sztabnik, an ELA teacher from New York.  His take on what matters most really sparked some connections to what I've experienced when planning for standards based instruction, both past and present.  Below is an excerpt and link to the article.

"If we fail to engage students at the start, we may never get them back. If we don't know the end result, we risk moving haphazardly from one activity to the next. Every moment in a lesson plan should tell. The eight minutes that matter most are the beginning and endings. If a lesson does not start off strong by activating prior knowledge, creating anticipation, or establishing goals, student interest wanes, and you have to do some heavy lifting to get them back. If it fails to check for understanding, you will never know if the lesson's goal was attained."


The 8 Minutes that Matter Most -- 8 Ways to Make it Magical