Anticipation Guides
What It Is
Anticipation guides are a type of graphic organizer.
They have a list of 5-7 statements, related to the topic students are studying, and students are required to agree or disagree with the statement. Anticipation guides are used before learning and after learning, and then a comparison is made.
Why Use It
“An anticipation guide can be used to activate and assess students’ prior knowledge, generate reflection and discussion about a new topic, and motivate reluctant students by stimulating their interest in a topic.” (From Thinking Strategies)
Where To Use It
Try using an Anticipation Guide in the following scenarios:
- Before and after students watch an informational video
- To explore theme topics related to a novel, movie, short story or other texts, before and after reading
- Before and after reading an expository article or textbook section
- To gather information before a unit of study and then to check for what students have learned after
See It In Action:
Exemplars:
Click here to view some examples of Anticipation Guides.
