10 questions

Students are shown a term or given a scenario and they have exactly 10 seconds to come up with 5 different, suitable answers.

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Memorise this

Students work in pairs or small groups to remember words which have been shown to them.

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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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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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Compare and contrast

A starter activity

Students are given two images and asked to consider the differences and similarities between them

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Consider all reasons

Starter task

Students are given an open ended statement related to the topic.  In pairs, they identify as many reasons as possible in order to provide an answer to the statement

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Countdown

Students are given a set of jumbled up words related to this topic. They have to unscramble each of the words within 30 seconds.

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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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What am I thinking

Students are told that the teacher is thinking about three things to do with this topic. They have to write their guesses down onto post-it notes.

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Word tennis

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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Hot and cold

Starter.

A fun kinaesthetic activity encouraging students to correctly arrange a sentence preparing them for the lesson ahead.

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Post-its

Starter task

A fun kinesthetic activity where students work in teams to solve a puzzle.

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Questions to ask

A starter task

Students are given a list of categories and asked to write down the questions they would like answered from today's lesson

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Scrabble

Starter task

Students are given a blank scrabble type sheet and take it in turns to write down key words related to this topic

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What do I know

Starter and plenary

Students fill in a sheet at the start of the lesson to indicate their level of knowledge for this topic. At the end of the lesson they revisit the sheet and update it to show what they have learned.

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Chinese whispers

Starter or plenary task. Students write a description of a key term, then pass it through translation filters for a different group to put back together.

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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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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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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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Three facts

Starter or plenary task

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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Turn it down

Starter or plenary task

This follows the traditional game of writing a statement, folding or turning the paper down to hide what has been written and then passing it to the next student.

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What why how

A starter or plenary task.

Students are given a scenario. They have to suggest a solution, explain why they feel their solution is the most appropriate and finally explain how to implement their solution.

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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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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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Pick me

This provides a differentiated starter or plenary activity. Students are given a question and work in groups to come up with an answer. The group must ensure that all members are able to articulate the answer.

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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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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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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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Stand up sit down

A kinaesthetic plenary that gets students to think about the main terms related to this topic

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Taboo

A plenary activity.

This task follows the traditional Taboo game. Students work in teams with one student from each team having their back to the board. A word is displayed on the board and teams take it in turns to describe the word to the student without actually mentioning the word itself.

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Word building

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

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I have the answer

I have the answer

Students are shown the answer to a set of questions. They have to identify what the question might have been in order to arrive at the given answer.

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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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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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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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Evaluate anothers work

A plenary that gives students the opportunity to compare their own work with those of their peers and judge how well they stack up.

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Self assessment

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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Pass the parcel

This starter follows the traditional party game, with questions instead of gifts.

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Word chains

Starting with the shaded letter, students find the adjacent letters which spell out a word related to this topic.  Letters can go horizontally, vertically and diagonally in any direction.

Two differentiated versions of the task are supplied.

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Theory notes task

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

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100 words

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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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Key terms

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

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Matching pairs

Students work in pairs to turn over two cards and matchup a keyword with a definition or example.

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

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Matching statements

On the left-hand side is a set of terms.  On the right-hand side is a set of statements or definitions.  Students are asked to draw a line to matchup the correct term and statement.

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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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Mnemonic

Students often find it hard to remember long lists of items. A mnemonic is a rhyme or acronym that they can create to help them recall such a list.

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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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Once upon a time

Students are given a set of words related to this topic and asked to make up a story incorporating as many of the terms as possible.

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PNI

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

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Podcast

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

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Tick the answers

Students are given a number of different statements relating to this topic.  They have to decide whether the statement is true or false and place a tick in the correct box.

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Wordle

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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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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Jumble up

Students are given a set of sentences related to this topic. However, the words in the sentences are jumbled up. Their task is to unjumble them so that they can read the words in the correct sequence.

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Poster

Students are given a passage of text about this topic. They are asked to create a poster that could be used for a classroom display. Key design techniques are suggested.

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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.

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QR codes

A good kinaesthetic activity.

Students have to find, decode and answer questions stored in the form of QR codes

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