Teach Like a Pirate Chapters 8 & 9

Burgess gives us so many meaningful, doable, and fun ways to spice up our presentations, he truly guides us in this process. The hooks he shares are some that I am familiar with and some that I wouldn't have thought of. His questions helped me start thinking outside of my box and see that creating and embedding new hooks into my lessons is doable.

This past school year, I began to use "brain breaks." These breaks are often kinesthetic, games, acting out, etc. and just plain fun for me and the kids. My students enjoyed them and were energized and ready to learn.

Now, here is where the work begins. Now we know the power and importance of having an amazing presentation, but how do we keep consistent? I know that I can personally have a difficult time incorporating new things into my teaching life once school gets going. Thus, I have to make these new things accessible and easy to use. I decided to create index card size reference cards to put on a ring and keep near my planner when I am designing lessons. That way I can refer to them when I need some help creating hooks to enhance my lessons. I also left lined space where I can jot down any new hooks I come up with. These hooks are only for these two chapters, once I finish the book I will post cards with all hooks included.

Yo ho, Yo ho...a pirates life for me! (When else could I have sung this? :)