No gap, gap fill
A great way to challenge pupils by providing an exercise to decipher what is missing and where it is missing. It means they really have to focus and think to be certain they understand a topic! No gap gap fill
Starters
‘Live’ lesson objectives
Display a picture or word related to the focus of the lesson and get pupils to ask as many questions as they can on that particular topic. Identify a ‘thread’ amongst the questions and set ‘live learning objectives.’ Pupils work together to then spend the lesson finding answers to their queries.
Only connect
A challenging starter that requires pupils to group 4 terms and justify their connection to one another in a race against time! Use this website to create an electronic game version: https://www.classtools.net/connect/ Only connect
Blind starter
Expose students to quotes, texts, concepts or definitions at the start of the lesson before any teacher input. Blindstarter
In the news
Introduce current affairs into your lessons. Provide articles, videos or documentaries for pupils to read and discuss, or ask pupils to find these themselves. Then encourage pupils to pose their thoughts collectively to discuss and debate the issue further. Pupils can to upload their thoughts using padlet or pearltrees for the class to easily access. Click here for …
The big question debate
Encourage and facilitate open debates with pupils. This gets them thinking and encourages them to apply their knowledge and make links to the wider world. It can also encourage pupils to develop their reasoning skills, and equips them to better cope with unforeseen questions. Click here for some examples Big question debate
Passion projects
Whet pupils’ appetite for a topic or subject area by allowing them time and choice over independently studying an area of interest. It could be not something covered by the curriculum or specification, but something they care about or are interested in. Then let them teach the class! Click here for some ideas Passion projects
WOW starters
Create curiosity and awe for your subject areas at the beginning of lessons using WOW starters. Posing open and thought provoking questions to get pupils thinking or drawing links between topics. Wow starters
Case against
Provide pupils with a false or controversial statement. Then encourage them to make a case against you! This promotes deep thinking and additionally creates an opportunity for pupils to create challenging questions to quiz you about! case_against
Gradual reveal
An engaging way to introduce a lesson or topic by gradually revealing parts of a text to see if they can decipher the key learning. Assess whether their views change as more is revealed, it really encourages pupils to justify their responses. Gradual reveal