Creative Opening and Powerful Ending

Motivation and synthesis are two familiar terms among us, teachers. However, not many of us realize the true value of having an effective motivation and synthesis to every lesson.

The opening and ending are considered positions of power in any presentation, be it a lesson or business presentation. By this, we mean, we can maximize the opening and the ending to make our lessons truly meaningful and memorable to our students.

The opening is governed by a rule in Psychology known as the Rule of Primacy, which states "first things heard and first things seen are considered very important; thus well-remembered by any audience."

It is, therefore, a must that we start our lesson with a very good motivational activity, a very good opening. Below are some guidelines that you should consider when thinking of a lesson opening.

• Open creatively. Use Games, Anecdotes or Stories, Quotations, Rhetorical Questions, Demonstrations, Video or Audio Clips, Pictures or Sketches, Songs, Poems, etc. to introduce the topic or the lesson. This should involve everyone in the class to become truly effective.
• Transition from the creative opening to the lesson smoothly. The students should be able to see the connection of the game, picture, or the video to the topic of the day. This will make the students better appreciate the motivational activity and see it as truly relevant.
• Include part of the opening the objectives for the day's lesson. This way, students would know what needs to be accomplished for the day and how they would contribute to achieving these objectives.

The closure, known as synthesis, is also governed by a rule in Psychology, known as the Rule of Recency. This states that "Last things heard, last things seen are best remembered." Often we get victimized by the syndrome known as LSS or Last Song Syndrome. We keep on singing the entire day the last song we heard before alighting from our car early that day. This, indeed, a proof to such a rule.

This should also hold true for our lesson. Therefore, you also have to maximize it. Observe the following guidelines.

• Inform your students that you are about to end the lesson. Literally tell them, "Let me end the day's lesson..." or "As a way to conclude today's discussion..." This would wake our students up and have them pay more attention. If ever, their attention is with something else, you are able to get it back on track.
• Include a summary, a list or an enumeration of the most important parts of the lesson. This will make the students see what they have learned, recall certain items they missed and have a greater sense of fulfillment knowing they have accomplished a lot. Also, for those who didn't listen during the discussion, at least you can have them bring with them when they get out of the room the most significant parts of the day's activity.
• Leave the students with an idea to remember or something to look forward to. You may want to give them an enrichment activity to be done at home and/or a preview of tomorrow's lesson to get them excited to be in your next class. This will formally synthesize and conclude the day for them.

As teachers, we need to find ways and means to make our lessons truly fun, exciting and full of learning for our student's better understanding, retention and appreciation. So, don't forget to plan for that truly creative opening and powerful ending in your next lesson.