Do This Before Every Lesson

Spark Curiosity with a Mystery:

Two children sit through the same lesson on the same day. You quiz them both a week later. One remembers almost nothing. The other recalls it in vivid detail, unprompted, and is still talking about it. Same teacher, same material, same amount of time. What happened in the first child's mind that did not happen in the second?

All it took was a video and I was off. Three hours later I surfaced from a sea of computer tabs, scribbles in my notebook, and the satisfaction of finding the answer.

We have all experienced this. A spark of curiosity, and down the rabbit hole we go. What drove us to our seemingly endless research, those jottings on any scrap of paper we could find?

Neuroscientists have discovered the answer: curiosity.

When our curiosity is sparked, the brain releases dopamine. The anticipation of discovering the answer becomes a reward for our brain. The path we take to reach that answer, and the answer itself, then becomes encoded into our minds by way of that dopamine.

How does this help us become better educators for our children? If we can spark curiosity at the beginning of a lesson, activity, or project, then our children's brains will release dopamine, send them on a mental search for the answer, and when they find it they will remember it for the long term.

Let us start with the opposite first.

You begin the lesson. "Okay kids, we are going to learn how a gorilla spreads seeds throughout the forest after eating the plants that grow there."

You have just handed your kids the answer, no dopamine release, no urge to figure out the logic puzzle, no reason to remember the information later. 

Now let us flip the script.

You begin the lesson with a spark of curiosity. "Okay kids, before we start I have a mystery for you. A single gorilla eats plants almost all day long. Leaves, stems, shoots, fruit, hour after hour. You would think an animal that eats that much of the forest would slowly strip it bare. But gorillas actually leave behind more plants than they take. How can eating the forest help the forest grow?"

Do you feel the difference? Do you see the invitation? The eyes looking up as they try to work it out. The various answers being shouted out, the debate over whose answer is right, the itch to know the real one. But instead of giving them the answer, you invite them to find out for themselves, and you begin your activity or lesson.

Here are eight different curiosity paths:

Cause and Effect. Pose a question that asks them to figure out how one thing caused something else.

Prediction. Pose a question that creates a gap between their answer and the truth.

Real-Life Connection. Pose a question that connects the topic with their own lived experience, creating a natural connection.

Mystery. Pose a question that creates a gap between what they see and what they cannot explain yet.

Contradiction. Pose a question that challenges what they believe to be true against what is actually true.

Puzzle. Pose a question that points out a pattern and asks them to find the rule behind it.

Close Observation. Pose a question that asks them to lean in, observe closely, and truly see something for what it is.

Dilemma and Decision. Pose a question that makes them choose a side when both sides have a cost.

How do you come up with a spark of curiosity for each lesson? I admit it can be challenging. Just getting my kids to the table, never mind coming up with an intriguing question before we start, is a challenge in itself. That is why I have included Spark Curiosity boxes in my Bookish Adventure guides. They are there waiting for you at the beginning of each weekly activity, ready to pull your kids in and light their curiosity on fire.

And I do not stop there. At the end of each activity is a Circle Back box that invites you to return to the question you started with and complete the circle from not knowing to knowing.

Download a free week from my Odder guide and watch it work at your own table. You will get a real Spark Curiosity box, a full activity, and the Circle Back that completes the loop, so you can feel the difference curiosity makes before you ever commit to a full guide.