Students often wonder, “What importance do these historical issues have for me?”  That’s a problem; and indeed it is the case that history and social studies seem far removed from the lives of students.  Thus, it is very important that we use hooks that challenge students and problematize concepts, like, trade, political rule, or the dissemination of information in a way that gets them to think about how they would carry out these processes or functions efficaciously.  Part of that requires a challenge.  In my social studies class, I challenged a student to write a signature faster than I could as I used a printing press.  The printing press served as a model to whet the students’ interest and the challenge of writing a signature more quickly than me established a challenge that one particular student was intended to rise to.  Now that he has failed in beating me in writing a signature manually while I have used a machine, he can see that it may be important for human beings to build things that work faster than others.  As such, the development of the printing press was a historically significant event, and people can learn from that event to make printing or information broadcasting more efficient.

Moreover, the use of models for hooks is inviting to the students’ interest and will make it clear to them that the teacher cares about her or his craft and wishes to make their education journey worthwhile.

Model of a Printing Press