The anticipation portion takes place before students have learned about the topic, when they predict or share what they think they know. At the end of the unit, students revisit their responses in the reaction portion, compare them with what they’ve learned, and reflect on how their knowledge has grown. This structure sets a clear purpose for learning and helps students recognize their own progress.

How to Create an Anticipation Reaction Guide

To design your guide, begin by identifying the heart of your unit. Look at your process grid or essential understandings and decide what the “big ideas” are that you want students to take away. Then, write questions that are engaging and build around those ideas.

When writing your questions, use a mix of formats so that students can respond in different ways. You might include true/false questions, multiple choice questions, open-ended prompts, fill-in-the-blank statements, or even opportunities to sketch an answer. Variety not only keeps students interested, but it also prepares them for the different assessment types they will encounter in the future.

It’s also important to make sure your questions are thought-provoking. Including questions that spark curiosity or make students stop and think helps build motivation and focus right from the start. You can also add a metacognitive twist by asking students questions such as “Why do you think so?” or “Where did you learn that?” These types of prompts encourage deeper reasoning and make the reaction phase even more powerful.

Each guide should provide space for students to record both their anticipated response and their after-learning response, all on the same page.

How It Works in the Classroom

At the beginning of the unit, you hand out the Anticipation Reaction Guide. You read the questions aloud to students so that it measures their content knowledge rather than their reading ability. Students then make their predictions and record what they think, even if they are unsure.

Throughout the unit, you resist the urge to go over the answers right away. Instead, students gradually uncover the correct information during lessons and discussions.

At the end of the unit, you return the guides to your students. You read the questions aloud again, and students review their original responses. They then decide whether to keep their original answers, revise them, or change them entirely based on what they have learned. This is also the time to have students cite evidence to support their answers by asking them, “Where did you learn this?” or “How can you prove it?” These prompts transform the guide into both a reflection tool and a celebration of growth.

Why Teachers Love It

The Anticipation Reaction Guide is part of Be GLAD’s Focus and Motivation strategies because it does so much at once. It builds excitement for upcoming learning, connects lessons to students’ prior knowledge, and provides a formative check on what students know (or think they know). It also strengthens critical thinking by pushing students to explain their reasoning and cite sources, and it helps them visibly track their own learning journey.

The Student Experience

One of the most powerful outcomes of this strategy is the moment students realize how much they’ve grown. They can see their initial guesses side by side with their evidence-based responses at the end of the unit. That “aha!” moment reinforces not only the content but also their confidence as learners.

Ready to try it?  Create an Anticipation Reaction Guide for your next unit and watch how it transforms curiosity into lasting understanding. Check it out in action here: