Teaching to Learn, Learning to Teach

FIG. 3.2 (Continued)

C. Modified Lesson Pyramid

No two classes are alike. Life always manages to intervene in the classroom. If you have

an early morning class or one just after lunch or gym, students are going to wander in

late. If you wait for them to arrive, more of them will just come late, so you have to start

teaching at the bell. So latecomers know what the class is doing, I change the “picture.”

Instead of starting the lesson at the beginning, I start in the “middle” with an extended in-

troductory activity using supportive information. When enough students arrive, I swing into

the primary activities, establishing the context of the lesson and introducing the major

points. Once again we proceed to secondary activities, and at the “2-minute warning,”

move to the final activity.

96 CHAPTER 3