How to Write Anticipatory Sets in an Effective Lesson Plan (2024)

To write an effective lesson plan, you must define the anticipatory set. This is the second step of an effectivelesson plan, and you should include it after the objective and before the direct instruction. In the anticipatory set section, you outline what you will say and/or present to your students before the direct instruction of the lesson begins.

The anticipatory set provides a great way for you to make sure you're prepared to introduce the material and can do so in a way that your students will relate to easily.For example, in a lesson about the rainforest, you could ask the students to raise their hands and name plants and animals that inhabit the rainforest and then write them on the board.

Purpose of Anticipatory Set

The purpose of the anticipatory set is to provide continuity from previous lessons, if applicable. In the anticipatory set, the teacher alludes to familiar concepts and vocabulary as a reminder and refresher for students. In addition, the teacher tells students briefly what the lesson will be about. During the step, the teacher also:

  • Gauges the students' level of collective background knowledge of the subject to help inform instruction
  • Activates the students' existing knowledge base
  • Whets the class's appetite for the subject at hand

The anticipatory set also allows the teacher to briefly expose students to the lesson's objectives and explain how she will guide them to the end result.

What to Ask Yourself

In order to write your anticipatory set, consider asking yourself the following questions:

  • How can I involve as many students as possible, piquing their interests for the subject matter to come?
  • How should I inform my students of the lesson's context and objective, in kid-friendly language?
  • What do the students need to know before they can delve into the lesson plan itself and direct instruction?

Anticipatory sets are more than just words and discussion with students. You can also engage in a brief activity or question-and-answer session to start the lesson plan in a participatory and active manner.

Examples

Here are a few examples of what an anticipatory set would look like in a lesson plan. These examples refer to lesson plans about animals and plants. The goal of this section of the lesson plan is to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking.

Remind the children of animals and plants they have studied earlier in the year. Ask them to name a few of each and tell you a little bit about them. Ask students to raise their hands to contribute to a discussion of what they already know about plants. Write a list on the blackboard of the characteristics they namewhile prompting them and offering ideas and comments as needed.

Repeat the process for a discussion of the properties of animals. Point out major similarities and differences. Tell the children that it is important to learn about plants and animals because people share the Earth with animals and each depends on the other for survival.

Alternatively, reread a book that you have read to the students earlier in the year. After finishing the book, ask them the same questions to get them thinking and to see what they can remember.

Edited By: Janelle Cox

How to Write Anticipatory Sets in an Effective Lesson Plan (2024)

FAQs

How to Write Anticipatory Sets in an Effective Lesson Plan? ›

The anticipatory set contains five essential elements. It should engage and prepare students, connect with earlier lessons, explain the material students will learn, explain the activity the students will complete, and connect with future lessons.

How do you write an anticipatory set in a lesson plan? ›

The first step to creating an anticipatory set is to identify what students will be learning over the course of the lesson. Consider what skills or knowledge students will acquire, and use the learning objectives to guide you throughout the lesson planning process.

What is anticipation in lesson planning? ›

Anticipation guides stimulate students' interest in a topic and set a purpose for reading. They teach students to make predictions, anticipate the text, and verify their predictions. They connect new information to prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic.

What is an anticipatory paragraph? ›

Anticipatory sets are short snippets at the beginning of a lesson that capture students' attention. They may also help to activate prior knowledge, to bridge one day's lesson to the next, and prepare students for fresh learning. The best lesson introductions are creative, unexpected, and thought-provoking.

What is the anticipatory set for teaching vocabulary? ›

In the anticipatory set, the teacher alludes to familiar concepts and vocabulary as a reminder and refresher for students. In addition, the teacher tells students briefly what the lesson will be about.

What are examples of anticipatory sets? ›

Lesson "hooks" or "set induction" are other terms used to refer to anticipatory sets. Some anticipatory set examples include creating contemporary analogies, using student polls, asking connecting questions, and role-playing.

How do you come up with an anticipatory set? ›

Anticipatory Set: 8 Ideas for Engaging Students
  1. Ask an open-ended question related to the topic. ...
  2. Play Hangman. ...
  3. Play Charades or Pictionary. ...
  4. Watch a video. ...
  5. Anticipation Guide. ...
  6. Do something unexpected! ...
  7. Read a picture book or play a song. ...
  8. Use a prop.
Apr 30, 2017

What is anticipated problems in lesson plans? ›

The slightest steps of your teaching practices must be planned, or as tutors say, you must walk the line. A tiny part of those lesson plans belongs to anticipated problems. As the title suggests, teachers should be ready to deal with what-ifs and predict what might go wrong, and prepare themselves to troubleshoot.

How do you write an anticipation guide? ›

Write four to six short, declarative, thought-provoking statements about the new concept, some true and some false. Include two sets of columns before and after the statement. One column should be labeled “Agree” and the other “Disagree” (see template). Read or display the statements to the class.

What is the meaning of anticipatory learning? ›

On the other hand, anticipatory learning also refers to the exploitation of predictions for the improvement of further learning progress. Available predictions allow the filtering of expected, uninformative information and thus to focus on unexpected, novel information.

What are anticipatory strategies? ›

Anticipatory strategies are plans of action people can have in mind before a situation occurs. Work with your group members to make applying anticipatory strategies a natural part of their day to help them prevent communication breakdowns.

What is the difference between anticipation and anticipatory? ›

Anticipation is the emotion we experience when we are expecting something to happen (good or bad), where we are left in a state of anxious suspense. Some people may feel excited, and others may just feel nervous. Anticipatory concerns are the thoughts we have while feeling anticipation. What will happen next?

What is the anticipatory set for teaching place value? ›

Anticipatory Set

For example, using the number 22 the teacher will ask students “How many groups of ten are in the number 22?” and students should respond by holding two fingers up in the air. The teacher will then show the you tube video titled “Place value math song: ones, tens, hundreds” to students.

What is the first thing that a teacher has to do before preparing lesson plans? ›

Before you plan your lesson, you will first need to identify the learning objectives for the class meeting. Then, you can design appropriate learning activities and develop strategies to obtain feedback on student learning.

What is closure in a lesson plan? ›

Lesson Closure provides an opportunity for teachers to conduct a final, brief review of the lesson and to check and confirm that student learning has occurred at the conclusion of a lesson.

What does anticipatory mean in education? ›

Anticipatory learning is sometimes considered synonymous with the general mechanism of learning to generate predictions or learning a predictive or forward model of an encountered environment or problem.

What are the 5 steps of the writing process lesson plan? ›

The writing process is divided into five steps: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publication. In this lesson, we will discuss the five steps of the writing process by following the student Susie taking these steps.

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