OPENERS & CLOSERS

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OPENERS &
CLOSERS
ANTICIPATION
GUIDE
IDEAS TO BEGIN AND END WELL
Teacher Toolbox – September 4, 2012
Compiled and Implemented by Adam Myers, Beth
Salyers, Carrie Rocha, Megon Mancini & Sequoya Mungo
NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012
 Openers
• “a short introductory moment that captures what’s
interesting and engaging about the material and puts it
out front” (Lemov, 2010-Teach Like A Champion).

• Warm-up, bell ringer, starter, opener, hook, welcome

work, do now

• Meant to inspire and excite and prepare students to

willingly learn NOT water down material

• Length of time doesn’t impact effectiveness

• According to Lemov (2010), they are not necessary for

every lesson
NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012
Characteristics of Openers
• Short

• Yields to the instruction

• Energetic and Optimistic

• Consistent-everyday in a consistent patter

• Productive

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Anticipation Guides
• An anticipation guide is a list of statements (not
questions) that are related to the topic.

• Anticipation guides activate students' prior

knowledge and set a purpose for the upcoming
lesson.

• They teach students to make predictions, anticipate

the text/topic, and verify their predictions.

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

Anticipation
Guide
Examples

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Opener : Story Creation
• When beginning a new concept or unit, have a
collection of vocabulary words on the board.

• Students should create a story or start of a story

using a suggested number of words in a limited
amount of time. They should be as creative as
they’d like!

• Have volunteers share their stories.

• Now students are already invested in the words

when you begin!

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Story Creation Example
Directions: Create an original story, using at least 5 of the
following words.

Inca Gold Silver Conquer

Rainforests Pizarro Horses Brazil

Peru 30,000 Soldiers Atahualpa

Spain Mountains Andes

Explorers Travel Terrain Ocean

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Opener: What’s going on
in the Picture??
• Put a picture on the board of a historic event,
scene from a novel, or some visual representation of
the lesson that you are going to teach

• Have students write about what they think is

happening in the picture. Give them a time limit
and let them be as creative as they want.

• This is a great way to get students interested in

what’s to come (they want to see if they were
correct or not) and it also lets you see who might
have prior knowledge based on their responses.

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 What’s going on in the
picture? Example
Directions: Look at the picture below. Write a
description of what you think is happening. What
year is it? Who is the person in the picture? Where
is this and why is he standing there?

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Closers
• A way to end your lesson

• “establishes a productive expectation about daily

completed work (Lemov, 2010).

• Cool downs, bell waiters, exit tickets

• Helps to measure how well your students learned, not

how well you taught

• Characteristics:
o Quick-One to three questions
o Designed to yield data
o Reflective and make good Starters for the next day!

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Closer: 3-2-1 Slips
• 3 things I learned in class:
1.
2.
3.

• 2 questions I still have:

1.
2.

• 1 comment about class today:

1.

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Closer: Reflection Journal
• Teachers know that reflection is important so we should
also teach our students to do the same.

• Have students keep an in class notebook that they can

pick up at the beginning of class, or have a student pass
them out.

• At the end of class give students five minutes to reflect

on what they learned that day. Feel free to give guiding
questions to help them.

• Students can put their journals back in a designated spot

on their way out

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Closer: Inside-Outside
Circle Talk
• Involves the entire class moving around
the room sharing information.

• Students form 2 circles: inside and outside

circles.

• Students pair up with someone across

from them.

• They ask each other questions from the

lesson. Each student asks and answers
one question.

• The teacher says rotate and the outside

circle moves so new partners are formed.

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012

 Your Closer
• Please take a few minutes to revisit your opener
and complete the right hand column.

• What other openers and closers are YOU familiar

with-share with the group?

• Questions, comments, or concerns?

• We thank you for your participation!

NC New Teacher Support Program 9/4/2012