22 Powerful Closure Activities
Closure refers to an activity that brings a lesson to a close while still leaving a lasting memory, which is a phenomenon known as the “recency effect.” Administrative criticism of lessons that do not have a conclusion is likely to stem from the improper use of Madeline Hunter’s lesson plan model (PDF) as a de facto checklist of eight mandatory teaching practices—anticipatory set, objective and purpose, input, modeling, checking for understanding, guided practice/independent practice/closure—instead of a formal checklist. Hunter herself expressed her displeasure with this criticism in 1985. (PDF).
There are numerous advantages to closing a class, but please do not consider it a professional requirement in every lesson.
The closure is used by teachers to accomplish the following:
Check for knowledge and use this information to inform subsequent instruction.
Identify and emphasize important information, tie up loose ends, and correct misinterpretations.
The closure is beneficial to students in the following situations:
Summarizing, evaluating, and demonstrating their comprehension of significant topics are all skills that students should have.
The process of gathering and internalizing important information
The establishment of connections between instructional ideas and a conceptual framework and/or previously learned knowledge
Transferring ideas to new circumstances is a difficult task.
Closing a lesson is similar to squeezing your biceps at the top of a dumbbell curl to provide an extra oomph to the performance.
CREATIVE CLOSURE ACTIVITIES
1. Snowstorm: Students jot down what they learned on a sheet of scratch paper and crumple it up. When given the go-ahead, they launch their paper snowballs into the air. After that, each student selects a response from a neighboring pile and reads it aloud.
Second, ask students to stand up, raise their hands, and give a high-five to a peer who has become their short-term hustle buddy. When there are no more hands to raise, pose a subject for them to consider. Inquire for responses. Then, as a signal for pupils to raise their hands and high-five a different partner for the following question, play “Do the Hustle” in the background. (Image courtesy of Gretchen Bridgers)
3. Parent Hotline: Ask pupils a thought-provoking question regarding the lesson without engaging in more debate. Answers should be sent to their guardians through email so that the subject can be discussed over dinner.
Children write a two-dollar (or more) summary of the lesson as part of their final project. Each word has a monetary value of ten cents. Request that students use particular words in their statements as an additional kind of scaffolding. (Information courtesy of Ann Lewis and Aleta Thompson).
5. Paper Slide: On sheets of paper, small groups sketch and write their observations about what they have learned. Next, representatives from each team line up and, one at a time, slide their work in front of a video camera while rapidly describing what they have learned. This means that the camera will continue to record until each representative has finished his or her summary.
6. DJ Summary: Students put down what they’ve learned in the shape of a favorite song they’ve been listening to. If they sing, give them extra praise.
7. Gallery Walk: On chart paper, small groups of kids write and illustrate what they’ve learned about many topics. Following the completion of the completed works and their attachment to the classroom walls, additional students put sticky notes on the posters to elaborate on the ideas, ask questions, or express appreciation.
8. The order of events It allows students to quickly create timelines to represent the sequence of events in a story or historical events with the help of Timetoast.
Provide a quick quiz using tools such as Socrative, GoSoapBox, or Google Forms to gauge student understanding. Alternatively, have pupils jot down three quiz questions that will be asked at the start of the next class session.
Create a book cover with your children using a sketchbook. The title refers to the topic of the class. The author takes on the role of the pupil. In a brief celebrity endorsement or blurb, the benefits of the course should be summarised and articulated.
11.1 Question Stems: Ask students to create questions about the lesson on index cards, based on question stems based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Questions. Instruct pupils to switch cards and respond to the question they have received.
12. What’s the big deal? Students should respond to the following prompt: What are the key points from the lesson that will be critical to remember three years down the road? Why?
13. Dramatize It: Have students act out a real-life situation in which they can use a skill.
14. Beat the Clock: Ask a question before time runs out. Allow pupils ten seconds to consult with their classmates before calling on a random student to answer the question. Repeat.
To teach a first-grade student, have students orally express concepts, procedures, or skills in a language that are simple enough for a child in the first grade to understand.
16. Review It: Instruct children to raise their hands if they have any answers to your queries. Classmates can indicate whether they agree (with a thumbs up) or disapprove (with a thumbs down) with the response.
17. CliffsNotes Jr.: Have students prepare a cheat sheet of facts that they may use to study for a quiz on the day’s subject matter. (From Ann Sipe’s “40 Ways to Leave a Lesson,” a PDF document.)
Kids create letters to their peers telling what they learned from them during class discussions. 18. Students I Learned the Most From: Students write notes to their peers describing what they learned from them during class discussions.
Elevator Pitch: Have students summarise the primary idea in under 60 seconds to another student who is pretending to be a well-known individual who works in the field in which they are studying. After summarising, students should consider why the topic would be significant to a well-known person.
20. Simile Me: Ask students to complete the following sentence: “The [idea, skill, or word] is similar to because .” 21. Simile Me:
21. Exit Ticket Folder: Have students fill out a blank card or “ticket” with their name, what they learned, and any unanswered questions before leaving the classroom. Immediately before students leave class, instruct them to place their exit tickets in a folder or bin labeled “Got It,” “More Practice, Please,” or “I Need Some Help!” based on how well they comprehended the previous day’s subject. (Image courtesy of Erika Savage)
22. Activity for Students Outside the Classroom: After writing down the learning outcome, ask students to grab a card, circle one of the following alternatives, and return the card to you before they leave the classroom:
Stop (I’m completely lost at this point.)
Get out of here (I’m ready to move on.)
Proceed with caution (I’d appreciate it if you could clarify for me.)
For this practice, you can download the PDF cards.
These 22 tactics can be modified or combined in a very effective manner. Furthermore, they provide an excellent opportunity for correction, clarification, and celebration.