CPU performance factors
Starters
Ten QuestionsA 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' (subscription only) |
topics Instructions |
30 secondsLesson 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. (subscription only) |
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3-2-1Lesson starter. 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. (subscription only) |
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Compare and contrastA starter activity in which students are given two items and asked to consider the differences and similarities between them (subscription only) |
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Memorise thisLesson starter. Students work in pairs or small groups to remember words which have been shown to them. (subscription only) |
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Odd one outLesson starter. Students are shown a number of key terms. They have to decide which of the terms is the ‘odd one out’ and give a reason for their choice (subscription only) |
What? Why? How?Starter or plenary task. Students are asked three questions framed as “What?” “Why” and “How?” (subscription only) |
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Draw me a pictureStarter or plenary. Students are given a selection of key terms and are asked to illustrate one of them in a diagram. (subscription only) |
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Give me tenA starter or plenary task. Students work in pairs before joining up with another pair to expand their list. (subscription only) |
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Just a minuteCan 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 (subscription only) |
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One, two, threeCan 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 (subscription only) |
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Pass the buckAn excellent starter or plenary for involving all students and getting them to identify a large number of facts about the current topic (subscription only) |
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Pick meThis provides a differentiated starter or plenary activity. Students are given a question and work in groups to come up with an answer. (subscription only) |
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Post-it key termsStarter or plenary. A good activity to encourage teamwork. Students compete in groups to identify as many key terms as possible. (subscription only) |
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Teacher talkaboutStarter or plenary task. The class 'test' the teacher on their knowledge of key words related to this topic (subscription only) |
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Three factsA starter or plenary task in which students are asked to write down three facts that they can remember off the top of their heads about the topic. (subscription only) |
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PictionaryA starter or plenary task based on the popular game Pictionary (subscription only) |
Plenaries
TabooA 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. (subscription only) |
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Talk aboutA plenary task. Students work in pairs with one student talking about the topic and the other monitoring how many of the displayed key words they mention. (subscription only) |
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Call My BluffA plenary activity based on the popular game show, ‘Call My Bluff’ (subscription only) |
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MastermindA plenary activity which is loosely based on the game show 'Mastermind' (subscription only) |
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One wordA plenary task. Students have to sum up today's lesson in just one sentence. They must include a given word within that sentence. (subscription only) |
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Teach me aboutLesson plenary. 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. (subscription only) |
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Word buildingPlenary task. Students work in groups to construct a sentence about today’s lesson (subscription only) |
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4-4-2A plenary activity where students are asked to summarise the lesson and pick out the main key words related to the topic. (subscription only) |
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Lucky dip questionsStarter 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. (subscription only) |