What If We Designed Lessons Backward from the Fun Part?

Let’s be honest—there’s usually one part of a lesson that’s just better than the rest. The hands-on experiment. The simulation. The lively debate where students actually argue instead of staring at the floor. That moment when they get so into a project they forget to ask, Is this for a grade?

So why don’t we build lessons around that moment instead of stuffing it in at the end like a prize for slogging through the “real” learning?

It’s a shift in thinking, but a powerful one. Instead of planning instruction in neat, orderly steps—lecture, notes, practice, activity—we start with the spark, the part that gets students leaning forward. Then we work backward, figuring out what they need to know to fully experience it.

Why This Works

Traditional lesson planning often front-loads information, expecting students to sit through explanations before they get to do anything interesting. That’s a problem. Students need context, but they also need a reason to care about it in the first place. If we flip it—start with the hook, the action, the real-world problem—they engage first. Then they start pulling the knowledge they need instead of passively receiving it.

This is how learning actually happens in real life. If you’re trying to build a piece of IKEA furniture, you don’t read a whole book on engineering first. You look at the parts, struggle a little, and check the instructions when you realize you need help. Learning happens because you’re in it, not because someone front-loaded all the information first.

The Science Behind It

Research on student engagement and retention backs this up. Studies in cognitive science show that when learners actively explore before receiving direct instruction, they retain information longer. It’s called the generation effect—when people try to figure things out on their own first, even if they fail, they remember the correct answer better once they receive it.

In a 2015 study published in Cognition, researchers found that students who were asked to generate possible answers to a problem before being taught the correct method showed deeper understanding and better recall than those who received direct instruction first. The struggle—the “aha” moment—made the learning stick.

This isn’t just about throwing in a gimmick to make things “fun.” It’s about restructuring learning so students are motivated to seek knowledge rather than being passive recipients.

What This Looks Like in Action

A few years ago, I saw a teacher introduce The Odyssey by having students reenact a courtroom trial for Odysseus before they ever read a single line. Was he a hero? A war criminal? A bad husband? The students debated furiously, bringing up ideas about leadership, morality, and Greek culture—all before touching the text. When they finally did start reading, they were invested. They had opinions. They wanted proof to back up their arguments.

Or take math. Instead of starting a geometry unit with vocabulary, what if students had to design the most efficient shipping container possible using only a set amount of materials? They’d hit roadblocks. They’d realize they needed to understand surface area, volume, and cost efficiency. And only then would the formulas become useful.

Even Small Shifts Work

Not every lesson can be a full-on courtroom drama or engineering challenge, but the concept still applies. Even in a 10-minute activity, you can flip the structure:

—History: Instead of starting with a lecture on the causes of the Civil War, show students real letters from soldiers on both sides. Let them guess—what’s happening? Why are these people fighting? Then introduce the context. 

—Science: Instead of explaining osmosis first, have students put gummy bears in different solutions and see what happens. Then discuss why. 

—Writing: Instead of listing the elements of a good argument, have students rank three opinion pieces from most to least convincing. Then ask: What makes the top one so strong?

The key is curiosity. Give students something to wonder about before handing them the answers. 

How to Reverse Engineer a Lesson

1. Find the “fun part” – The moment that would make students sit up and pay attention. A challenge. A mystery. A hands-on experiment. 

2. Work backward – What do they need to know to fully experience and understand it? 

3. Let curiosity drive the learning – Instead of delivering content, let students bump into knowledge gaps naturally, then guide them toward what they need.

Think of it as setting up a good movie. You don’t start with an exposition dump. You drop the audience into an intriguing situation, and they learn as they go.

But What About Standards?

Some teachers worry: This sounds great, but I still have to cover content. How do I make sure students actually learn what they need?

This approach doesn’t ignore standards—it makes them more relevant. When students are engaged, they’re more likely to retain and apply information.

A middle school teacher I know transformed her vocabulary instruction by making students “detectives.” Instead of handing them definitions, she gave them a list of words with no meanings attached and challenged them to figure them out using only context clues from a short text. The results? Way better retention than when she used to start with definitions and have them copy them down.

By leading with curiosity, we make sure learning sticks—which is ultimately what standards are trying to accomplish in the first place.

How to Start Tomorrow

You don’t have to revamp everything at once. Try these small shifts:

1. Flip your next lesson’s order – Take one upcoming lesson and rearrange it. Instead of starting with explanation, start with an engaging question, mystery, or challenge. 

2. Make students want information – Present a problem before giving them the tools to solve it. Let them wrestle with it first. 

3. Use real-world applications – If students ask, Why do we need to know this? have an answer. Better yet, show them before they even ask.

Instead of treating engagement as an “extra,” we can use it as the foundation for deeper, more meaningful learning.

So, what’s the fun part of your next lesson? And how can you build backward from there?