January 07, 2026

6 Two-Minute Activities to Prepare Minds for Learning

Every day we face the challenge of guiding students to make the transition from what they were doing before they entered our class, to getting them ready to engage in what we have planned. Some students may come to us filled with energy and excitement over news they just heard. Others may be distracted by an unfinished conversation. Some may be stressed by conflict with a friend. Still, others will show up with other emotions, distractions, and concerns.

Of course, we cannot always know where our students’ minds are, but we need to find ways to settle their emotions, spark their thinking, and help them shift their focus and get ready to learn. We know that the first minutes of class are crucial to making or breaking the quality of learning we have planned.

Consequently, we need to move quickly to gain their attention and focus their thinking. The good news is that there are several quick, high potential strategies we can tap. Here are six options to consider.

Two truths and a myth. Engaging students in assessing what is true and what is not can be a great way to focus student attention and capture their curiosity. Students might be allowed to discuss their assessments with classmates and develop arguments to support their positions. Throughout the lesson, you might point out elements of truth and hint at what people often assume or believe that is not true. You might conclude the lesson by returning to the truths and myth to discuss what students have learned and explore the likely basis of the myth.

Solve this challenge. Consider inviting students to solve a problem, question, or challenge related to what they will be learning. Obviously, students are likely to struggle to find success with something which they have yet to learn about. However, their exploration and struggle can be great way to hook their curiosity and build commitment to tune in to your instruction. You might return to the activity at the conclusion of the lesson to debrief and help students see how what they have learned has empowered them to find solutions that eluded them before the lesson.

Make a prediction. You might provide a brief description of what students will be learning. As examples, you might provide a hint or share a mystery about an historic event, a surprising invention, or accidental discovery. Students might predict what event, invention, or discovery is involved or they might predict how the event relates to what they will be learning. As the lesson unfolds, students are likely to be paying close attention to reveal whether their prediction is correct. You might conclude the lesson by revisiting the predictions and discussing with students whether their predictions were correct and what they have learned.

Dump your knowledge bucket. One of the best ways to build strong and sustained recall of information is to have students occasionally write or discuss everything they know about a topic, concept, or skill. The technique, known as “retrieval practice”, can also be an effective way to have students refresh their prior knowledge in preparation for additional learning. The twin benefits of this activity make it a great choice to prepare students for learning.

One question to explore. Present students with three to four sentences describing what they are about to learn. You might share uses, questions, or interesting facts about what lies ahead and then ask students to consider and write a question that occurs to them in response to what you shared. Consider sampling questions to gain a sense of what students are wondering. Where you can, embed answers to some of the questions in your instruction. At the conclusion of the lesson, return to the questions and discuss with students those that have been answered and which questions remain. You might answer some additional questions or commit to address them in future lessons.

What experts/famous people say or do. Find quotes or short stories about the topic or skill to be learned from people whose names or work students are likely to recognize. You might share their words about why the concept is essential to understand, how someone uses the concept in their work or creative endeavors, or a recent discovery about or new application of a skill or concept. As examples, you might share a story about how a grammar mistake led to confusion or misinterpretation in an important event, a quote about how a math concept was instrumental in early space travel, or a scientific discovery that changed the way we understand a key force in nature. Giving students context and making connections to famous people or people they admire can be a useful way to create readiness for learning.

Think of these strategies as starting places to try and then modify to meet your needs and respond to the age and maturity of your students. The keys are to have the activity connect with what you want students to learn, give students a role to build engagement, and follow up to provide closure and reinforce what students have learned.