Recap

A task recapping this lesson, meant to be used as a starter in the following lesson.

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Chinese whispers

Starter task using the theme of the old childhood game, Chinese whispers.

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Double puzzle

Starter. Students are presented with a list of scrambled keywords to unscramble, and are then asked to discover and unscramble a hidden keyword from their answers

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Find and sort

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

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Post-its

A fun kinaesthetic starter task 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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Split the words

A starter activity. Students are presented with a condensed paragraph of theory and are asked to make it legible.

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Ten 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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Wordsearch

Students are provided an online tool and asked to come up with a list of keywords related to the topic and create a wordsearch from them. They then are asked to solve one another's work

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Countdown

Starter task. 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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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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Word tennis

Starter. 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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Thirty 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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Three two one

Lesson 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.

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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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Create a double puzzle

Starter or plenary. Students are given instructions on how to use an online tool to create a word puzzle, and are told to print them out and solve each other's creations.

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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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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 it around

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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Post it key terms

Starter or plenary. A good activity to encourage teamwork. Students compete in groups to identify as many key terms as possible.

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Sort and answer

Students work to reconstruct a scrambled question about this topic, and then provide an answer.

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Three facts

A 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.

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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 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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What why how

Starter or plenary task. Students are asked three questions framed as What, Why and How

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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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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.

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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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Give me 10

A starter or plenary task. Students work in pairs before joining up with another pair to expand their list.

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Haiku

Starter or plenary task. Students are asked to write a description in the form of a haiku poem for one of a handful of key terms.

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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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I predict

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

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Across the curriculum

A plenary activity. Students are asked to consider how they could apply what they have learned today in other school subjects and at home

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Charades

Probably best as a plenary task. This ever popular acting game is an excellent activity to engage students at the start of a lesson or to add a fun element to the end of a lesson. Rules and list of words are provided.

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Create a wordsearch

Students are provided an online tool and asked to come up with a list of keywords related to the topic and create a wordsearch from them. They then are asked to solve one another's work

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Four four two

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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Golden envelopes

Plenary task. An engaging task that has an element of surprise

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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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Lesson self assessment

Students assess what they have achieved during this lesson and identify how they could improve.

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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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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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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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New words

A plenary task in which students have to identify three new words/terms that they learned during this lesson and then explain their meaning

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Pass the box

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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PNI

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

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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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Teach me about

Lesson 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.

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Word building

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

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Are they right

Testing the class's knowledge on the topic by asking them to judge whether a single student's answers are right or wrong

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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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