Closure Activities
Every activity will be written in your Closure Notebook on a daily basis. In addition, students will be chosen at random to share results with the class, so be prepared!
1. / Element of Surprise / Students receive an envelope containing a card with a word or phrase selected by the teacher. Students write the meaning in their Closure Notebook.2. / 3 - 2 - 1 / In their Closure Notebook, students write 3 interesting items about today's lesson, 2 items learned, and 1 question.
3. / Fishbowl / Student writes one question they have about the topic of this lesson in their Closure Notebook. This can be something for which they know the answer or for which they want an answer. Share questions with the person in front of you; see if they know the answer. Switch who is asking question; if time, rotate to a new partner.
4. / Three W's / Students discuss and write in their Closure Notebook: 1) What did we learn today? 2) So what? (relevancy, importance, usefulness); and 3) Now what? (how does this fit into what we are learning, does it affect our thinking, can we predict where we are going)
5. / Key Ideas / Students list the key ideas from the lesson in their Closure Notebook and why they were important. Share with the class.
6. / Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down / Pose some questions that can be answered thumbs up/down/sideways; ask for explanation of the decisions. Write a brief summary of the event in your Closure Notebook.
7. / Postcard / Students are given an index card and they write a postcard to their parents explaining the day's lesson. Extra credit for an illustration, too! Remember to log this in your Closure Notebook.
8. / We learned what? / Students write open ended questions on index cards. two students are selected to come forward. The first student draws a question card and poses the question to the class. After the class discusses the question and answers with their partner, they write their response in their Closure Notebook.
9. / Commercial / Students write a 1 - 2 minute commercial in their Closure Notebook to use at home when asked, "What happened in Geography class today?" Volunteer to share with the class.
10. / We're Going Where? / Students predict the topic of tomorrow's lesson. The prediction is written in the Closure Notebook.
11. / Cliff Notes, Jr. / Students prepare a "cheat sheet" in the Closure Notebook they would like to use during a quiz over the day's topic.
12. / Sentence Starters / Sentence starters will be displayed/projected on the wall or on white board. Written responses, signed and dated, will be written on sticky notes and placed on the door, or another designated area, on the way out of class. The next day when the student enters the classroom, they can take their note or someone else's to discuss. The question and answer are written in their Closure Notebook. Starters are:
a. I was surprised to learn...
b. I am still curious about...
c. I would like to know more about...
d. I have a question about...
e. I feel, think, or wonder...
f. Today I learned...
g. I was fascinated by...
h. This lesson was valuable to my learning because...
i. I do not understand...
j. I am beginning to understand...
k. I now understand...
EC / Sell It To Us / Write a jingle, poem, rap song, etc. that explains the main idea of the lesson. Be prepared to share with the class.