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Indicator 18 – Emphasize Important Points

Delivering Instruction

Presenting Instruction

Indicator 18 - Emphasize Important Points UETS 4a., 4d.

Effective teachers draw students’ attention to important parts of a lesson. Student achievement increases when teachers repeatedly emphasize what is essential.

IDEAS/SUGGESTIONS:

  1. Use "advance organizers" to let students know what they will be learning before the actual instruction begins.
    • "Today we are going to discuss penalties that might be called during a hockey game. We will discuss the difference between minor and major penalties. At the end of the period you will be asked to distinguish major from minor penalties from viewing the twenty slides I will show on the screen."
    • "In this part of the lesson we are going identify the three main parts of a paragraph, and illustrate our understanding by writing a complete paragraph on our own topic."
  1. During your classroom presentations:
    • Say "this is important," "listen carefully," "get this," or "learn this"
    • Underline important points on the board or screen
    • Highlight important points by drawing or posting information
    • Draw attention to key points by repeating them throughout the lesson
  1. After instruction, briefly review, in a few short sentences, the main points of the lesson.
    • "Today we learned the three parts of a paragraph which are the topic sentence, detail sentences, and the tie-up sentence."
    • Ask "end-of-the-lesson" review questions, which briefly allow you to check that all the main points have been learned.
  1. Effective teachers spend time developing thorough lesson plans that help to identify and highlight the important points of the lesson. Write lesson plans which the following considerations in mind:
    • State the goals of the lesson
    • Focus on completing one point before you move to the next
    • Progress in small steps, allowing you to check for understanding as you proceed from point to point
    • Provide step-by-step directions
    • Model outcomes by demonstrating how to follow the directions.
    • Organize material so that one point is mastered before the next is presented.
    • Avoid digressions from lesson objective.

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