Throughout Content Literacy, we discussed the need for Hooks and Closures. These are two integral parts of the lesson planning process which help students by creating continuity between lessons, objectives, and standards, and which also help instructors by informing them of where students are struggling with material. Listed below are examples of various types of Hooks and Closures to be used in lesson planning. 

Hooks: A hook is the introduction to a lesson/topic. A good hook gets students interested in the lesson and warmed up to the topic which is going to be explored later in the instruction time. Hooks can also be known as provocations, which invite student inquiry, curiosity, and critical thinking/question asking. They are excellent starters to science lessons because that is often how science is explored–through someone asking a question and investigating to learn the answer.

Examples of Hooks….

• Demonstrations
• Youtube videos
• Ted Talks
• Short Stories
• Word plays
• Opinionaires
• Surveys
• Pictures
• Maps
• Artifacts
• Current Events- Newspaper Headlines
• Fun Facts
• Quick writes

Closures: A closure is an important part of the conclusion of a lesson. It brings the important points into focus and alerts students as to what they should take from the lesson. It also serves to inform the instructor as to what they need to highlight or review in another lesson if students are struggling with material. Closures provide good opportunities for reflection and growth. Closures are also sometimes referred to as formative assessments. These are informal assessments which are low pressure situations for students but show the instructor just how much information students are learning and understanding.

Examples of Closures…

• Thumbs up/Thumbs down
• Exit Slips
• Wordles
• Most Valuable Point of the lesson (MVP)
• Riddles
• Quotes
• Homework assignments
• Think/Pair/Share

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