Our brains love and seek out experiences that are new and different. Learning and retention are enhanced when content is presented in a unique way or is something not encountered before. It’s why we love a good plot twist, magic tricks, and surprise parties (well, some don’t love those!).
Novelty is when you experience something different or new ~ something not stored in memory. Surprise is when you experience something unexpected ~ something different from what you thought was ahead. A twist is the same thing, but usually is saved for the end of the experience and results in a paradigm shift!
Here are some tips that will help you inject novelty and surprise into your lesson planning with some examples of lessons and units I’ve previously shared. We’ll consider CONTENT, PROCESS, and PRODUCT.
NOVELTY in CONTENT: How do you find content that is new and intriguing to students?
Tip #1 ~ Bookmark and frequently visit websites that produce news and trends in science, technology, and art such as Science News for Students, where I recently found this article to share with students on Pi Day. Check out museum and current event sites such as the Smithsonian Teen Tribune and Student News Daily. This is how biomimicry came to the attention of my planning team (read more here), and we ended up developing lessons for our second graders around this topic. You might also like to subscribe to The Kid Should See This which features “smart videos for curious minds!”
Tip #2 ~ Research topics in Wikipedia! When I am in the beginning stages of planning, I almost always find new and unusual connections there. For example, in researching a forensic science unit, I found interesting connections to art, meteorology, astronomy, entomology, and wildlife science– all topics of interest to my students. Many times, the subtopics also related to individual students’ Genius Hour projects- a bonus! Wikipedia articles also usually provide a historical framework and expert terminology such as dactylography (fingerprint analysis) and anthropometry (measuring the human body).
Another recent example is one I shared in this article about constrained writing. I did not realize how many different types there are, or even that it was “a thing!”
Tip #3 ~Choose two unrelated terms and do a Google search to see what pops up. This is a trick my students have also used to find Genius Hour project ideas. For example, if your first graders are interested in both animals and space, search the two terms to come up with some connections that the kids will not encounter in their regular school studies. They might be interested in (1) animals that have traveled into space, (2) a creature that can survive in outer space (and live without water for ten years!), or (3) constellations named for animals.
Tip #4 ~ Bring in the future. Futuristic studies are highly engaging and intriguing to students. Relevant to their lives and full of unanswered questions, the topics prompts some interesting content and discussion (read more here).
NOVELTY IN PROCESS: How do you engage students in novel ways?
Tip #1 ~ Keep them on their toes! Every once in a while, change things up, do something unexpected, or add a twist to the end of a lesson. Here are examples I’ve previously shared:
Surprise Endings: Lesson with a Twist – the paradigm shift at the end of this lesson had such an impact on me in college, I modified it to use with my upper elementary gifted and secondary students. At first it appears as a rather drab reading about a strange tribe, but there’s a great twist at the end.
O Captain, My Captain – this famous poem is an extended metaphor, and it’s so much more fun to lead students into the “aha” of discovering the metaphor than to just explain it. Even more fun, share the scene from Dead Poet’s Society in which the students stand up for their professor and reenact the scene with your students. I confess, I never asked for permission to do this so I also never was reprimanded for it!
Drawing Conclusions / Jumping to Conclusions – this is just a fun way to reinforce context clues and “trick” students at the same time. You first direct students NOT to talk and tell them to raise a hand when they think they know what’s happening. At one point in the story, they are absolutely positive that they’ve figured it out, and then the next slide blows their confidence. I’ve had as much fun presenting this to 8th graders as with my gifted 3rd graders. My students also tried writing their own!
Tip #2 ~ Incorporate a simulation, scavenger hunt, or mystery ~ I’ve shared a lot about this. You can just search “mystery” or “hunt” in the search bar on this site, and you’ll see many ideas. HERE is one example, and here are some ideas for scavenger hunts. A good source of simulations is Interact Simulations. It doesn’t hurt to take students outside either as I did when we were trying to figure out how the ancient philosopher Thales measured the height of a pyramid! (see OUTDOOR ACTIVITY in this post).
Tip #3 ~ Introduce lessons using magic tricks or puzzles! Click on those links or search the site to learn more!
Tip #4 ~ Change up the delivery of content. If there is some reading involved, set up a question trail or “Read Around the Room” activity with students reading off the walls, doors, tables, and in the hallways. Consider time-tested engagement strategies: invite or Skype with an expert in the field, share excerpts of videos and movies, or host a Q and A with high school or college students. Incorporate some fresh game ideas. Terri Eichholz recently shared this article full of ideas taken from TV game and talk shows such as Jimmy Fallon’s Word Sneak and Mad Lib Theater (don’t miss the Mad-Lib generator)!
NOVELTY IN PRODUCT
What is it that your students are producing for other teachers? For the sake of novelty, help students learn new or unusual ways to show their learning. There are many lists of “ways to show your learning” so I’ll just add some additional thoughts.
Tip #1 ~ Have students document the process to be shared as part of the product. John Spencer discusses it here. It reinforces the idea that the creating, the making, the researching, the learning… everything done during the process is interesting and valuable to learners. It’s what inspired this project, “The Journey of a Question.”
Tip #2 ~ Have students teach. When students create something educational to share with others or experience in some way, they learn way more than just content (see also “Kids With Class: Student-Created Videos for Extended Learning“). It’s the idea behind this kind of project and videos like the one below.
These are just a few thoughts on how to keep things fresh and exciting in your classroom. Please do add your comments below!