Teach Like a Pirate Chapter 7- The Third Circle

Dave says in chapter 7 "When you have crafted an engaging lesson for your material it is like coasting downhill on a perfectly tuned bicycle with two fully inflated tires."  

It is so much easier to go down the hill than up it, and even easier when the tires are the way they are supposed to be (though at this point, I would be lucky to stay ON the bike- it has been so long since I rode one). In order to coast downhill, following the ideas in chapter 1-6 are key. Those chapters are like the foundation. But putting it all together- you need to know HOW to create the engaging lessons. 

Sometimes I have some a-ha moments. Where I think, "HEY I could teach this like that and bam we have a winner". Those are the downhill rides. I don't have to work hard to get the kids engaged or wanting to learn. 

Important tips from Dave:

- sell it! You can't do it just at the beginning of the lesson. It has to be maintained the entire time.- Layer your hooks so engagement doesn't wane. After 30 minutes of a lesson, you can't get their attention again by saying "hey remember earlier when I said/did this."

- Nothing is more important that nurturing and building a love of learning.

- Key content (the most important info of the lesson) needs to be delivered at the moment of peak engagement.

- Lose the delays between hooks and delivery. 

- Worry more about lost engagement than lost minutes. 

I could really go on and on about this chapter. If you could see all my highlighting you would be shocked. But I will let you head over to Kim (another sweetheart) and see what she has to say.