Explicitly Teaching HOTS

1. Explicitly Teaching HOTS

2. Why Teach the HOTS explicitly? • HOTS are acquired skills, that need to be learned. • HOTS need to be taught “neutrally”, unrelated to English Literature. • HOTS which are explicitly taught are “filed” away in the brain for use in a multitude of different situations, not only for use in English Literature.

3. The Value of Explicit HOTS teaching • In order for the student to “transfer” the HOTS to other domains, it needs to be neutrally taught. • The more experiential the lesson is, the more memorable the HOTS is. • When the explicit HOTS lessons are memorable, the HOTS are more easily drawn upon when needed by the student.

4. How to teach HOTS explicitly • Choose the HOTS which lend themselves to the text well. • Think about a life situation in which you use the HOTS. • Try and think of a fun, creative, interactive way to present the HOTS. • Smile.

5. Important! • Doing these HOTS activities is not always easy for the teacher, they require a certain level of creativity and theatrics. • Feedback from students shows that these HOTS activities are well worth the effort! You can do it! • In these videos, simple, non-technological means were used to teach the HOTS in order to reach as wide a population of teachers as possible. • Pay attention to the fact that the HOTS lessons are short and to the point. They do not take up all of the English hours that you have.

6. Summary • The HOTS must be taught explicitly. • The HOTS should be taught memorably. • There is a wide range of ideas and activities which can be used to teach each HOTS. • The amount of time needed to teach the HOTS explicitly does not have to be excessive. • Any teacher can do this!

7. GOOD LUCK! Think of teaching the HOTS explicitly as filling a box of chocolates which your students will carry around and enjoy for years to come!