lesson closure

I have read that having good closure to your lesson is important for students's learning? Does anyone have any good ideas for lesson closure? I teach social studies, but any ideas would be great? Thanks

[BigDaddyTeacher]

Hi - I think it really depends on what the subject matter is that you are covering in the lesson. Can you give us some ideas on your lesson subjects?

I honestly give my kids a 4 question quiz everyday at the end. At first, they complain. Later, they realize that this really is the best prep they could have had for their test at the end of the unit.

I do the quiz in a fair way. I always drop their lowest grade for each unit.

I have to say it helps the students and myself a great deal!

I sometimes give out a "door pass." It is a one to two question pass that students need to complete in the last 3-4 minutes before class ends. this helps me to see what people are getting from the class and whether they are meeting class objectives.

Go around the room asking students to tell one thing that they learned today. Since each student can only give one thing, this gives more students a chance to respond and may jog the memory of students that do not usually respond.

Actually, I think the good thing about a "good closure" is that it doesn't matter what your lesson was....With that said here are some ideas:
* 3-2-1: Give each student an index card. Have them write 3 things they found interesting about today's class, 2 things they learned and one thing they still have a question about.

* Class summary: Have each student write one paragraph about what the class was about.

* Timeline: (I teach English and use this with stories, but I image you could use it with History) Ask the students to plot out the events that you talked aobut in class (I focus on the events in a plot graph - introduction, conflict, rising action, etc., but you could do it by either date, or inciting action, next event, etc.)

* Fishbowl: You may have heard of this and even used it in class, but it's also a great way to wrap up class time. Every student writes down a question about the lesson that they have. They then form 2 circles an outside one and an inside one with each circle facing the other. Students then ask their question of the person in front of them. After a few minutes switch it up "everyone on the inside circle rotate left 3 people" , and again. To finish the activity have the students go back to their seats and write a summary of what they learned about their question and hand it in.

All these activities do a couple of things:
1. They allow the studnet to actively think about what happened in class helping them to be reflective learners, and
2. It allows you to assess what they got and what they didn't get and what you need to review before moving on.

Just to let you know there are tons of ideas out there - go on to the web and surf.

I hope these were helpful! Good luck - have fun!

I often used 3 whats: What did we learn today? So what? (How is this important? relevant? useful?) Now what? (Follow up? How does this relate to our unit outcomes?)

I often ask the kids to "pair-share"... tell the person next to you 2 (3,4,5 etc) things you have learned today. I also use this as a reminder when we start a new lesson on an ongoing topic as well. Sometimes we go round the room asking what we learnt - this is something everyone can do and it self-differentiates.
Personally, I think this kind of closure is really important as it helps the kids focus on the main objective of the lesson - and if you hear a lot of wierd answers, you know the teaching has gone awry somewhere !!

I have an overhead projector sheet with generic questions on it like:

1. One thing I learned today was ...

2. Something from today's lesson that I want to find out more about is ...

3. Something I found difficult to understand today was ...

4. I really enjoyed today's lesson because ...

5. I found today's lesson difficult because ...

and some more. Students select any two to write about before they leave the classroom.
This could work for any subject.

I like your 3-2-1 idea. I have never used closure, but my current principal demands one. For my next evaluation, I plan to do a lesson on projectile motion and think your simple index card idea is great and something that my students will do.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Actually, I think the good thing about a "good closure" is that it doesn't matter what your lesson was....With that said here are some ideas:
* 3-2-1: Give each student an index card. Have them write 3 things they found interesting about today's class, 2 things they learned and one thing they still have a question about.

* Class summary: Have each student write one paragraph about what the class was about.

* Timeline: (I teach English and use this with stories, but I image you could use it with History) Ask the students to plot out the events that you talked aobut in class (I focus on the events in a plot graph - introduction, conflict, rising action, etc., but you could do it by either date, or inciting action, next event, etc.)

* Fishbowl: You may have heard of this and even used it in class, but it's also a great way to wrap up class time. Every student writes down a question about the lesson that they have. They then form 2 circles an outside one and an inside one with each circle facing the other. Students then ask their question of the person in front of them. After a few minutes switch it up "everyone on the inside circle rotate left 3 people" , and again. To finish the activity have the students go back to their seats and write a summary of what they learned about their question and hand it in.

All these activities do a couple of things:
1. They allow the studnet to actively think about what happened in class helping them to be reflective learners, and
2. It allows you to assess what they got and what they didn't get and what you need to review before moving on.

Just to let you know there are tons of ideas out there - go on to the web and surf.

I hope these were helpful! Good luck - have fun!