Description
The anticipation guides method asks learners to express their opinions about ideas before they encounter them in a text or unit of study. Completing anticipation guides helps learners recognize and connect to themes that surface in their learning. Use this strategy at the start of a lesson or before working with content. You can also review anticipation guides at the end of a learning activity or unit as a way to help learners reflect on how learning new material has influenced their viewpoint.
Implementation
- Select Statements: The most useful statements are related to themes and are worded in ways that make sense when connecting to events in the unit and situations in learners’ lives. For instance, below are statements you could use when creating an anticipation guide to prepare learners to address the themes of forgiveness and social justice.
- Learners Respond: Prepare a worksheet or graphic organizer that structures learners’ responses by asking them to decide if they strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the statement and then explain why. Alternatively, ask learners to respond to the form of a numerical ranking. For instance, 1 can represent the most robust agreement, and 10 can express the most substantial disagreement. You may also give learners one or more statements to respond to in their journals.
- Reflect on Anticipation Guides: Instructors often have learners review their anticipation guides after finishing a text, noting how their experience with the content may have changed their thinking. Reflections can be in writing or through discussion. Typically, the statements utilized in anticipation guides are useful jumping-off points for essay writing. They also lay the groundwork for productive class discussions using the Four Corners method.
