Five ideas for starting lessons in elementary school

Start the lesson right

It is worth investing a few minutes in a conscious, cleverly chosen introduction. You can read about the options and what they do here. We also provide you with 5 ideas for motivating starts - let yourself be inspired!

Beginning classes: a lot of untapped potential

Be honest: Do you really plan the beginning of your lessons consciously and carefully, or do you sometimes "just start"? Do you actually pay attention to variety, variety of methods and practicality or does it mostly stay with the same method? Of course, you know that the introduction sets the course for the further course of the lesson and can therefore be an important basis for the success of the lesson.

In practice, however, the beginning of the lesson is often lost - or you mainly fall back on the same reliable and cherished method.

The following ideas are primarily intended as fresh impetus and uncomplicated inspiration

Various possibilities

Over time we sometimes lose sight of the abundance of different entry options. There is ¦

• class opening rituals,
• material "warm-up exercises",
• informative entrances,
• playful entrances,
• problem-oriented introductions,
• object-oriented entry,
• cooperative entry,
• associative entrances,
• creative entries.

Depending on your needs, you can use it to discipline and calm the students, encourage their ability and willingness to concentrate, ask questions, arouse their curiosity and/or interest in a topic, inform them about what to expect, prior knowledge or - activate experiences, link new and familiar things or involve the students by letting them help plan and have a say.

Problem-oriented introduction: alienating

Alienations are suitable as a lesson introduction if the students generally already have an idea of ‹‹the subject of the lesson. You expect something familiar, familiar - and then you surprise you. In this way, the children question their own opinions and attitudes at the same time.

Texts or images are often used for alienation. For example, in the subject a you could have the students read a text in which the boys play with dolls while the girls prefer to play soccer. This will certainly make the students laugh at first, but then also make them think. Finally, you can talk about role models and behaviour together.

Playful introduction: football quiz

With this entry, you will not only inspire the young; it is well suited for warming up and for playfully tapping on previous knowledge. In preparation, make a magnetic soccer ball by copying the drawing of a soccer ball sufficiently large, laminating it and covering it with magnetic foil.

To start, pin the soccer ball in the middle of the kick-off point. Then ask your first quiz question, ideally you should answer it briefly with one or two words. The team that answers correctly first has effectively taken a first shot at the opposing goal and the ball moves to the nearest spot. With the next question, the ball can either go back to the kick-off point or to the point that is only one shot or one question away from the goal. The first goal falls after three questions at the earliest, but with a balanced composition of the teams it usually goes back and forth cheerfully at first.

Problem-oriented introduction: alienating

Alienations are suitable as a lesson introduction if the students generally already have an idea of ‹‹the subject of the lesson. You expect something familiar, familiar - and then you surprise you. In this way, the children question their own opinions and attitudes at the same time.

Texts or images are often used for alienation. For example, in the subject "Me and Others" you could have the students read a text in which the boys play with dolls while the girls prefer to play soccer. This will certainly make the students laugh at first, but then also make them think. Finally, you can talk about role models and behavior together.

Playful introduction: football quiz

With this entry, you will not only inspire the young; it is well suited for warming up and for playfully tapping on previous knowledge. In preparation, make a magnetic soccer ball by copying the drawing of a soccer ball sufficiently large, laminating it and covering it with magnetic foil.

In class, you divide the class into two teams, for example "1. FC Wall" and "1. FC Fenster". You draw a starting point in the middle of the board, two goals on the sides and two more points between the goal and the starting point.

To start, pin the soccer ball in the middle of the kick-off point. Then ask your first quiz question, ideally you should answer it briefly with one or two words. The team that answers correctly first has effectively taken a first shot at the opposing goal and the ball moves to the nearest spot. With the next question, the ball can either go back to the kick-off point or to the point that is only one shot or one question away from the goal. The first goal falls after three questions at the earliest, but with a balanced composition of the teams it usually goes back and forth cheerfully at first.