HUMANITIES

HOOKED ON LEARNING

At McKinnon we adhere to a Pedagogical Model which sets out the stages of a lesson. We begin each lesson with a Hook and end with a Review of the lesson’s activities. A poster of the Pedagogical Model is on the wall of every classroom.

Recently, Mrs Masterson and Sophie D'Ambrosio incorporated the brilliant idea for a Hook. While marking the roll and settling the students, this question is put to their classes: what is happening in the news which has caught your eye as Legal Studies students? This is a clever way to kick off a lesson for two reasons. It gets students reading important stuff that affects their lives. It also places the subject they are taking – in this case Legal Studies – into the context of real life.

One of our aims in the Humanities is to create life-long learners. The simple 5-minute Hook is an effective way for students to ‘buy into’ important political, social and economic events which affect their future. We encourage parents to foster this interest in current affairs and reading at home.

Simon Hughes

Head of Humanities