Whether you’re looking to spark student interest with an engaging hook, reveal common misconceptions about the lesson topic, or review the background knowledge students need before diving into the core concepts, the LabXchange library provides a wide range of source material for building engaging opening activities.
Let’s explore a few common approaches to opening a lesson, along with some practical strategies for incorporating LabXchange resources into each.
LabXchange resources include a wide range of visuals spanning biology, data science, physics, chemistry, and more. Displaying an image—or a quick progression of images—of a concept central to the upcoming lesson and asking students to recall what they already know about it is a great way to activate the background knowledge they’ll need going forward.
When introducing restriction enzymes to students who already have some background knowledge of enzymes, you could display an image of the HaeIII restriction enzyme alongside the DNA sequence it recognizes and cuts and ask students: What do you know about enzymes?
You could then push their thinking further with follow-up questions. For example:
What are enzymes made of?
Would this enzyme cut other molecules or sequences?
How might the surrounding environment affect its function, and what conditions would need to be controlled for it to work optimally?
Search for Images in your content area. If you can’t find exactly what you need, expand your search to Simulations, Interactives, or Videos. You can clip a specific image or play a short portion of a longer resource as a refresher.
If you want to show only a short portion of a video as an introductory hook to a lesson, you can clip it on LabXchange by adding it to your own pathway, which lets you set the video’s start and stop time.
For a full walkthrough, visit Clipping a Video in a Pathway.
Many of our resources open with a real-life problem or example. Playing through these opening sections as a whole class (or in pairs or small groups, if students have their own devices) is a great way to prompt discussion about how a concept connects to students’ everyday experiences, building investment before the lesson begins.
As an introduction to a lesson on genetics, pedigrees, or Mendelian inheritance, you could scroll through the opening of the interactive above and ask students to think of real-life scenarios or careers where knowledge of genetics is useful.
You could then ask: Based on what you just saw, what do you think determines whether a trait gets passed down from parent to child? This prompts students to start reasoning about inheritance before the lesson formally introduces it.
Search for Interactives or Videos in your content area and play through the first 30 seconds or so. That’s typically where you’ll find the strongest hook.
If your upcoming lesson involves a hands-on procedure, LabXchange simulations and interactives let students become familiar with and practice using the tools, equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), and materials in a lower-stakes, simulated setting as many times as they need before doing it for real.
Search for Simulations or Interactives in your experiment area. Even without an exact match, you’ll likely find related simulations covering similar tools or comparable procedures (like micropipetting).
If you want students to build confidence with a particular technique or method, you can search How To: in the search bar and filter for Videos to find method videos demonstrating how to use equipment or conduct a particular type of experiment or statistical test.
With a strong opening in place, it's time to move into the heart of the lesson. Next, we'll look at how digital resources can support you in introducing a new concept or skill in your classroom.
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