10 questions

A lesson starter activity
A volunteer (either a student or class teacher) is given a slip of paper so they know 'what they are'.

The rest of the class can ask up to a maximum of 10 questions to guess what they are. The volunteer can only answer 'yes' or 'no'

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Topics

instructions

30 seconds

Lesson starter

Students are shown a number of terms for exactly 30 seconds. They need to memorise as many as possible. After 30 seconds, the terms are hidden and they need to write down as many terms as they can remember along with at least one fact about that term.

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Task

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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character cards

topics

Teach me about

Lesson starter

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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Task

Word tennis

Starter task

Students work in groups of three with two 'serving' words related to the topic. The observer monitors for words which are 'out'

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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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Task

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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Task

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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Task

Teacher talkabout

Starter or plenary task

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

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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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Task

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

Pass the buck

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

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Task

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

Tweet it

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

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Task

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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Task

Corkboard

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

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Task

I predict

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

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Task

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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Task

New words

A plenary task

Students have to identify three new words/terms that they learned during this lesson and then explain their meaning

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Task

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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Task

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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Task

Mastermind

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

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Task

Call my bluff

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

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Task

Word building game

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

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Task

One word

A plenary task.

Students have to sum up today's lesson in just one sentence. They must include a given word within that sentence.

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Task

Podcast

Students are given instructions about creating a revision podcast based on this topic

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Task

Playdough

A wonderfully fun kinaesthetic activity which will help students to think creatively.

Warning: this can be fairly messy

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Task

100 words

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

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Task

PNI

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

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Task

Word cloud

Students write a set of notes about this topic and then use them as the basis to create a word cloud. Their work can be used to create a classroom display.

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Task

You are the teacher

Students work in small groups to prepare a lesson on this topic. They are provided with information and tips about the tasks they need to prepare.

Because all students will be working on this task there is no real need for them to actually teach it the following lesson

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Task

Agony aunt

Students are put into the role of an agony aunt who has to answer a set of letters about technology related problems.

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Task

Booklet

Students are given a scenario and asked to research for specific information. They are then given a set of guidelines and asked to create a booklet from the information they have gathered.

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Task

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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Task

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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Task

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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Task

Discussion statements

Students are given a number of open ended and sometimes controversial statements related to this topic. In groups, they discuss each statement in order to see if they can come up with a suitable answer.

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Task

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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Task

In the style of ....

A fantastic kinaesthetic activity which is bound to produce some amusing results whilst at the same time reinforcing the main concepts of this topic.

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Task

Key terms

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

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Task

Mind Map

Students are given the basic structure of a mind map for this topic. They are asked to recreate the structure on their own sheet of paper and add further detail to each of the branches.

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

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Task