Acting up

A fun starter activity.

Students are given a character card. They then have to explain a term related to this topic whilst staying in character.

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topics

characters

Teach me about

Students become the teacher! One student is tasked with preparing a five minute revision starter about this topic for the beginning of the following lesson.

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Consider All Reasons

Students are given a question related to the topic.  They are asked to identify all of the factors that need to be considered in order to answer that question.

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3-2-1

Display this on the whiteboard as students are walking through the door. They can work individually or in pairs to come up with the answers.

Good for differentiation as all students should be able to get at least one of the six points.

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Three Facts

Students are asked to write down three facts that they can remember off the top of their heads about the topic.

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Teacher Talkabout

The class 'test' the teacher on their knowledge of key words related to this topic

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Pass the Buck

An excellent starter for involving all students and getting them to identify a large number of facts about the current topic

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One, Two, Three

Can be used either as a starter or a plenary task.

Students are given a sheet to complete firstly on their own, then with a partner and then joining up with another pair

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Task

Lucky dip questions

Starter or plenary task

Every student is given a number at the start of the activity. This is used to help pick who will ask and answer questions about what has been learned during the lesson.

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Word association

A starter or plenary task.

Students are asked to write down all of the words they associate with this topic. They then work with a partner to categorise them.

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Task

Draw me a picture

Starter or plenary

Students are given a selection of key terms and are asked to illustrate one of them in a diagram.

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Give me ten

A starter or plenary task

Students work in pairs to come up with ten words related to this project before joining up with another pair to expand their list.

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Just a minute

Starter or plenary task

Students are asked to talk to a partner about this topic for 60 seconds whilst abiding by a set of rules

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What's your opinion

Starter and plenary task

Students are given a statement about this topic and asked to discuss their opinion in pairs. At the end of the lesson they can reassess whether their original opinion has changed

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Call my bluff

A plenary activity based on the popular game show, ‘Call My Bluff’

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Mastermind

A plenary activity which is loosely based on the game show 'Mastermind'

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Word building game

Plenary task
Students work in groups to construct a sentence about today’s lesson

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4-4-2

A plenary activity where students are asked to summarise the lesson and pick out the main key words related to the topic.

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Corkboard

A great plenary idea both for AFL and for getting feedback from every student

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I predict

This task acts as the plenary from one lesson and the starter for the next lesson

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Lesson summary

This plenary provides students with an opportunity to evaluate the lesson and their learning and an AFL opportunity for the teacher.

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Pyramid

A plenary activity.

Students are asked to complete a self assessment sheet to indicate what they have learned during this lesson

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Text me

A plenary activity where students are asked to write a text message to explain what they have learned during the lesson

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Tweet it

A plenary activity

Students write a ‘Tweet’ message to sum up what they have learned during the lesson

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Theory Notes Task

Students read the theory notes on the mini website and then answer the questions on the sheet.

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Correct the Teacher

Students are given a piece of text written by a ‘teacher’. The text contains a number of mistakes. They are asked to read the text and correct any mistakes they find.

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task

answers

Noughts and Crosses

Students work in pairs to take turns at answering questions. If they get the answer correct, they take a turn on the noughts and crosses grid.

Full instructions are given in the task sheet. Requires preparation prior to the lesson

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task

answers

Exam Style Question

Students are given a set of questions which are similar to those they might expect to see in their written examination.

A good opportunity to give students practice on question answering technique.

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Task

Answers

100 words

Students have exactly 100 words to summarise the key points about this topic

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Crossword clues

Students are given a completed crossword and asked to write the clues.  This task is an excellent way to help students really understand the meaning of each term.
Differentiation is achieved through the complexity of the clues written.

Students can swap clues and provide feedback on their clarity.

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Construct an answer

Students are given an exam style question to answer. They are also given a set of key words to incorporate into their answer.

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Create your own crossword

Students are given step by step instructions about creating their own crossword which they can then give to fellow students to solve

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Identify the question

Students are given the answer to a number of questions.  Their task is to identify what the original question might have been.

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Key Terms

Students are asked to provide a definition and example for key terms related to this topic

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Mind Map

Students are given the basic structure of a mind map for this topic. They are asked to complete the mind map by adding extra branches.

Mind maps are a useful tool to use as a revision aid.

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PNI

Students are asked to identify the positive, negative and interesting points relating to this topic

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Presentation task

Students can take forever to set up a presentation often wasting valuable lesson time choosing their background colours and font styles.

This resource provides students with a template for this topic with the aim on them spending time on the content rather than the 'pretty stuff'.

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Pros and cons

Students are asked to identify the pros and cons for the main factors related to this topic.

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