Recently, as I finished reading a book to my almost-2-year-old, I encountered something strange.  Now, she loves to be read to.  Normally, finishing a book is followed by loud cheering and prompt demands for a repeat performance.  This time, though, she just sat there, waiting expectantly.  After a minute or two, it dawned on me that this particular story didn’t include “…and they lived happily ever after” - she was still waiting for the rest of the story.

This got me thinking about how the vast majority of books I read as a child began with “Once upon a time” and ended with “…and they lived happily ever after.”  Now, I’m not sure how this started or why it is, but someone somewhere decided (once upon a time) that it was important to frame stories within this standard beginning and end.  And for my little girl, this establishes her story time comfort zone - the “once upon a time” lets her know it’s time to sit and listen, and the “happily ever after” is her cue it’s over.

So, what does this have to do with learning?  Well, as someone who often designs exercises and activities for the classroom, I think establishing a good beginning and end is just as important as what we put in the middle.  Think about it - if you just jump into a classroom exercise without explaining the purpose or the context, the students may lose the purpose entirely.  And a proper recap gives students a cue the exercise is over, a chance to reinforce the main learning points before moving on - or cheering loudly and demanding a repeat performance .

How does this work in practice?   With a few exceptions, any exercise or activity must be framed within the lesson.   Students should have a general idea of what skill they are supposed to be learning or what problem might be resolved by the learning.

When the exercise has been completed, the basic points - not the whole lesson - but one or two main points should be reinforced.  You might do this by asking the students “What was the point of this?” or “What did this illustrate?”  You don’t always have to preface your conclusion with “In conclusion, the main points are…”  Don’t be afraid to be creative.  Maybe the students can come up with the main points themselves, building on each other’s ideas until they correctly sum up the focus of the lesson.

Students are most comfortable when they know what to expect and, in turn, are more open to learning and retaining the information.  It would be a shame not to fully reap the benefits of a fun, well-designed exercise by failing to properly frame it within the learning experience.  So, when “once upon a time” you next find yourself launching into an activity or classroom exercise, make sure it has a solid beginning and end - and you’ll have your students learning happily ever after.

Elizabeth Hurd is a freelance coursewriter and curriculum developer.  For information on your specific education and training needs, please call 843-442-0441 or fill out a contact form to be contacted directly.