Oftentimes, the fast pace of our day – whether teaching children or adults – makes us feel like we are trying to beat the clock. Because of this, sometimes when we start to teach a lesson, we dive right in to the middle of it to “get to business” to best use the limited amount of time we have to instruct, which results in us forgetting the importance of, what I call, “Opening and Closing Ceremonies.”
When starting an instructional lesson, it is important to view it as a conversation:
- Gain a person’s attention
- Start the conversation by introducing the topic
- Take turns on the topic
- Periodically review the topic you are talking about
- End the conversation
Why is this important?
As instructors, we need to make sure that we are “connecting the dots” to assure that our students understand “WHAT” the task, project, or activity is and “WHY” they are doing it.
Here is a real-life example . . . If you are teaching a book in language arts in a vocabulary lesson, an opening ceremonies to your vocabulary project could be:
“Time to learn about the book, Gruffalo. There are many characters in this book. Today, we are going to do a project and make one of the characters.”
Then, review the materials in the project as part of the opening ceremonies to the lesson:
“One character in the book is a fox. Here are all the part of the fox to put together…”
Throughout the activity, refer back to the lesson topic or to what the students are doing:
“We are making a character in the book, Gruffalo. It is a fox. Let’s find it in the book.”
This team made character puppet sticks to correspond with the book to increase participation of the learners and to also improve understanding.
When the project is complete, put it on the Learn About board with the other 
characters and state a closing ceremonies comment:
“We are done creating our fox character in our book, Gruffalo. Let’s count all of the characters we have made!”
Then, move onto the next part of your lesson or learners can transition to their next class or activity.
By giving students structure and routine in a lesson, it helps them succeed.
Opening and Closing Ceremonies are an effective lesson strategy when teaching any subject or topic: math, science, social studies, life skills, social communication, and on and on. Regardless of your topic or type of lesson, this strategy works very well to increase engagement and anchor your learners of any age or ability.
Best wishes in your efforts to make a difference,
Phyl