Effective Learning StrategiesA range of my tried and tested ideas – all in one place and just for you!

Assessment for Learning is…

Students knowing what they are learning, how they are learning, how they will be assessed, why they are at X level and how to get to the next level.

Teachers informing students of objectives, using different teaching and assessment methods, making success criteria clear, showing how to achieve the success criteria and giving clear advice on how to make progress.

Learning Objectives

• clear, shared and explained to the students

• used within the plenary to check understanding

• levelled

• challenging

Planning and Progression

• Use knowledge to inform future teaching

• plan questions into your lessons

• use levelled tasks and ladders

• “student speak” success criteria

• appropriate task setting

• self and peer assessment

Marking and Feedback

• use S and T on students work (research shows that comment marking is effective).

• use of RAG on students work.

• clear targets for improvement

• opportunity to improve work

• verbal and written feedback

There are lots of strategies to support AfL and I have tried to give as many examples of possible on

the next few pages.

The List of 11

1. Levelled learning objectives

2. Literacy objectives

3. Literacy techniques

4. Formative questioning by the teacher

5. Questioning by pupils

6. Independent learning

7. Paired and group work

8. Differentiation

9. Use of data to inform learning

10. Progress

11. Formative feedback

Climate for Learning

• colourful clear displays showing keywords, students work, exemplar work and assessment criteria.

• Use of rewards

• Constructive feedback in the assessment of work

• constructive use of data

• high expectations of work and behaviour

Other important strategies to support your teaching – all in one place to make it easier for you!

Literacy Strategies

Text FeaturesExplain the different parts of text book eg headings, pictures and important

points.

SQ3RSurvey the text before reading it. Predict the contents.

Questions – ask students to come up with the questions. Talk about the relevance of the questions.

Read to answer the questions.Recite the answers to questions out loud.

Retell – re read sections of text.

BundlingGood at the start of a topic. Write down facts on paper and then get into groups to classify them. Students use text books to support their work.

VisualisationRead the text (you could do this the first time) and get students to draw what

they see. Could be useful for work on cycles or experimental methods.

SummarisingFocuses on the key ideas. Allows a deeper knowledge of what has been read.

Useful for revision. See starter templates.

ResearchUse an organiser to plan. Teach students to skim read, use contents and index and relevant questions. What do I know? What are my questions? Where can

I find my answers?

Modelling readingExplain thought processes as you read through the text.

Power Talk and WritingEncourage the use of proper sentences and correct vocabulary when talking

and writing about science.

VCOP PlacematsSee example in the pack.

Summary PyramidsSee example in the pack.

Questioning

ABCD cards, No hands up, Wait Watchers, Basketball, Class Vote, Mini white boards, Phone a

Friend

Ideas

• No hands up

• Wait watchers

• Open v Closed

• Students write questions

• Basketball

• True/False

• Mini white boards

• Class vote

• Phone a friend

Hinge questions – these are the important questions that must be understood in order

to move the learning on

Diagnostic questions – what do the students know

Discussion questionsQuestioning Techniques and

Independent LearningGood activities to get students asking the questions are…

• Noughts and crosses

• Blockbusters – excellent for power talk during a starter

• I challenge you – students challenge each other to answer the questions. This is also a group independent learning technique.

Independent Learning

Getting the students to work without the intervention of the teacher. Could be individual, paired or group tasks.

Remember to use the 4 B’s approach!

Teachers will mark work regularly during every teaching sequence in Key Stage 3.

To ensure that marking is carried out in line with the school policy, I have set some compulsory tasks that all students must complete. The assessment of some tasks will be moderated and other marking will be scrutinised during book monitoring.

It will be essential for the teacher to forward plan and ensure that marking is distributed over the teaching sequence. For example do not set a homework deadline in the same week as a test.

Teachers can choose to assess other work at any time and are encouraged to do so. It is also essential to use peer and self assessment regularly as this will benefit students and their ability to access the success criteria.

Teachers will mark the following pieces of work… Compulsory homework task Other homework tasks selected by the student Level Assessed Tasks and Tests (a minimum of two per teaching sequence) Extended writing task Group work task

Teachers may choose to mark class work, especially tasks that require independent work.

Marking and feedback are essential! Use the marking policy that we have in place, including…

• Success and Target

• RAG

• MADIC and RADIC

An outstanding lesson would contain…

Teaching styles matched to the learners needs.

Exemplary behaviour from students as a result of their

engagement and enjoyment with the work.Work is tailored to the capability

of the students.

Resources are directed and managed highly effectively so that learners make exceptional

progress.

There are a range of assessment methods

including effective peer assessment.

Assessment methods allow students to improve.

Learners engrossed in their work.

Exemplary subject knowledge and teaching style.

Students with exceptionally good attitudes towards

their work.

Use the list of 11 to make sure that all of these points are covered.

Type of work Marking Frequency Storage of work

Compulsory Homework

RAG work initially, giving students with RED or AMBER the chance to improve. On final

marking the work must be levelled.

1 per unit In APP folder

Other homework tasks

This will depend on the work…• posters and similar formats might be

marked with success and target• questions may be marked out of 10 (and so

on)

1 per unit In classwork folder

Classwork Use MADIC and RADIC to annotate work that we have gone through in class.

As often as

possible

In classwork folder

Group work Task Great opportunity for peer assessment here. Use success and target to assess the work

overall.

1 per unit In classwork folder

Level Assessed Tasks and Tests

Level work. Use success and target to give written feedback.

Min 2 per unit

In APP folder

Extended writing Mark this against the literacy focus for the unit, giving a clear target for the student to

work on.

1 per unit In APP folder

RAG Use this on as many pieces of work as possible. The students will have thisin their work books so that they will know what you mean.

MADIC and

RADIC

Marked and discussed in class or Read and discussed in class. These acronyms should be used when you are going through and self marking questions. Quick, simple and effective.

Literacy

Use the literacy marking guide to assess the work against the focus for the unit.

Success and Target

Longer pieces of work need written feedback in the form of success and target (or tip, which sometimes fits better). I prefer to think about these as what went well and even better if….

Levels Levelled work should be included each unit. Use the level ladders to introduce the criteria to students. You can also RAG the work with this system – I give a target for all work at A and R.

What do the colours mean?

Work has not been completed or it is incorrect.You must make improvements and show your teacher when you have. Make sure you aim for amber or green next time.

Work has been completed but it could be improved or achieve a higher level.You need to write down how you can improve the work and aim for green next time.

Work has been completed well and you have achieved your target or more.Make sure you ask your teacher to give you achievement points and keeping aiming for green!

Brain Think about the

question again

Buddy Ask the person

next to you

Book Try to find the

answer in a book

Be an independent learner – use the 4 B’s!

Then you can ask me – the

Boss!

Read and discussed in class

Marked and discussed in class

What do the colours mean?Work has not been completed or it is incorrect.You must make improvements and show your teacher when you have. Make sure you aim for amber or green next time.

Work has been completed but it could be improved or achieve a higher level.You need to write down how you can improve the work and aim for green next time.

Work has been completed well and you have achieved your target or more.Make sure you ask your teacher to give you achievement points and keeping aiming for green!

Assessment in Science

Use the VCOP grid to help you write the answer to your work.

What happens in this experiment and why?

Vocabulary Connectives Openers Punctuation

particlessolid

heatingexpansioncontractionconduction

thermalenergy

andalso

as well asnext

howeverwhereasotherwisealthough

meanwhile

Use interesting words to begin your

sentences..”!(),?’;

What went well…

Even better if…

Name:

Vaccines

One word to say who discovered vaccines.

Two words to describe what a vaccine is.

Three words to explain how a vaccine works.

Four words to explain why we vaccinate people.

Five words to say why vaccination is so important

Crack the Code

a b c d e f g h i j k l m

n o p q r s t u v w x y Z

Put your keywords here: change to “windings” text

Odd One Out

Say why you have chosen the keyword.

Silent SentencesMake sentences, placing a word or phrase in each box so students have to make a

sentence

Anagrams

Put the keywords here and make sure they are scrambled up.

Extension – ask students to make a sentence with the words in it.

Word Grid

Add keywords here (or not) and ask students to find them.

Matching Keywords

A,E,I,O,U

Place the keywords below but miss out the vowels.

Here are the answers…

Put the answers here and ask students to write the questions

Title

In pairs, decide who is “noughts” and who is “crosses”. If you answer the question correctly, you win the square. If you both don’t know the answer, look it up in the revision guide. You have 5 minutes to play the game.

Turn over for extension

Limestone and clay are heated to make cement Limestone is also

called calcium carbonate

When limestone is heated, calcium

hydroxide is made.

Endothermic reactions take in

energy.

Cement is mixed with sand and water to make

mortar.

Limestone neutralises alkaline

soil.

Quarrying damages the

environment by making lots of dust

and noise.

Calcium Oxide has the chemical formula CaO.

Limestone is heated with sand

and sodium carbonate to make

glass.

No energy is needed to produce

cement and quicklime.

Waste materials produce unsightly

tips.

Slaked lime is an acid.

Slaked lime is also known as calcium

hydroxide.

Limestone can be crushed and used for road surfaces.

Limestone is made from plants.

When calcium carbonate breaks

down, carbon dioxide is made.

This is on $Drive – called wipeout

Classroomtools.net

• Use this website to make your own quizzes.

• I write the questions in word and copy them in.

Two useful properties of copper

Gold is found…

The melting points of alloys are ----- compared to metals

Nitinol is an example of a…

Brass is used for…

Two advantages of building cars with aluminium bodies

Alloy containing copper and tin.

The alloy used in dentistry

The alloy which contains iron

How copper can be purified

The electrode which copper ions are

attracted to

An alloy containing tin and lead

Called “catchphrase” – on the $Drive

Cross out the wrong sentence in each pair

What am I?

I am …

Hangman

You know what it is!

Back To Starters

A - Ze.g. Write down a key/related word for our

topic area for as many letters of the alphabet as you can.

Arms

Bay

Conflict

Darfur

Earth

Freedom

Guantanamo

Harm

Can also do it verbally. Ask students/groups to shout out when you give them a letter.

Back To Starters

Taboo

Students have to describe a key word without using that word (it is taboo!).

(could do it in teams, pairs, whole-class)

Back To Starters

Compare and Contrast

What differences and similarities do you notice?

(Zimbabwe, Oct 2007)

Back To Starters

4 W’s and an H

• What?

• Where?

• When?

• Why?

• How?

Acrostic Poem

M

A

G

N

E

T

SUPD8 Electromancer - Useful additional

activities - NE Feb 2010

Bingo Sheetse.g. Pupils get bingo sheets with key

words/phrases and you read out definitions...

Back To Starters

Mystery Bag

Take a bag into the classroom that

contains an object which has a

connection to the lesson.

Pass it around and let the students

feel the object inside the bag.

The first person to guess

what it is could be rewarded

with a merit.

Back To Starters

What do you know?

(variation – ideas must be pictures instead of words)

Back To Starters

Flow ChartPrime Minister

MPs

Voters

Fill in the gaps!

Back To Starters

Make links between the words

Lesson Review

3 things I have learnt today are…

Continuum

Make a continuum in the room with strongly for and strongly against at either end. As students come in tell them the proposition and that they must justify the position on

the continuum they choose.

(variation – pupils line up randomly. They discuss with their neighbour only and then move accordingly. Continues until the continuum is fully drawn)

Back To Starters

Pass the Parcel

Wrap up an object related to the lesson and play pass the parcel.

Each layer could include a question related to previous

learning or the lesson to come.

Back To Starters

DominoesGordon Brown

Labour Party

Harriet

Harm

anE

quality

Democracy Voting

Fra

nchi

seS

ubw

ay

Develop by making huge dominoes to lay out on the floor

Back To Starters

Random Words

www.edwarddebono.com

Give students a list of five random words,

e.g. Box; Cow; Sunshine; Beyond; Fence

And ask them to:

-Show how any or all of the words connect to one another.

- Explain how they may influence one another.

- Suggest how they might link to the learning.

- Create a story encompassing all the words.

- Mind-map the connotations of each word and then analyse the links between them.

Adapted from an idea by Edward De Bono – a super author for all things thinking.

Contents Page

Exam Questions

Ask students to produce exam questions for the topic they are studying. These could be scaffolded by criteria or left open.

Extension:

- Students go on to create model answers to the questions they have set.

- Students swap questions with one another and then answer these.

- Questions are taken in by the teacher and redistributed at random. After writing answers students meet up with the question author to mark the work.

Contents Page

SymbolsAsk students to translate something into symbols that could be understood by an outside observer.

The something could be a specific piece of content, the whole lesson, their learning etc.

Example –

People vote in elections and whoever gets the most votes becomes leader.

Contents Page

Defend Your ConsequenceA great game to use in all manner of subjects.

Students are given a consequence (or cause) for which they must develop a defence. This can be done individually or as a group activity.

Example:

The most important consequence of not listening to your parents is…

- You save your ears from being worn out

- You miss potentially life-changing information

- You fail to get a complete picture of their world

- They might not listen to you

- If you don’t listen, how can we say that they

have really said anything?

Contents Page

Accuracy and Precision

Precision and accuracy are important skills. Create extension tasks that encourage students to practice them, or reflect on what they already do.

An example would be asking students to recreate an image exactly as it is in original, or, take journalist style notes of a partner talking which are then compared to what was actually said (perhaps the partner could write down first and read from the script).

Contents Page

ObserverChoose a student to sit and observe what is happening in the class (this might work particularly well with debate, discussion or group work).

Their role is to assess what is happening and offer suggestions for change, ways to improve, examples of excellent work etc.

Extensions:

Ask the student to produce a set of criteria they will use for their assessments.

Get the student to justify their decisions, including the criteria chosen.

Contents Page

Bloom’sHave a list of evaluate and synthesis

words to hand for teacher and student to create extension questions off the cuff.

CombineCompose Construct Create Devise

Design Formulate Hypothesise Integrate Merge

Organise Plan Propose Synthesise Unite

Appraise Argue Assess Critique Defend

Evaluate Examine Grade Inspect Judge

Justify Rank Rate Review Value

Evaluate

Synthesise

Contents Page

Specify

Ask students to review their work and analyse where they have not been specific.

They must explain why they have not been and rewrite their work so it is more specific. In addition, they can compare the meaning of the two pieces of work, drawing out the changes increased specificity brings.

Extend by asking students to examine the nature of communication and consider what the problems of ambiguity and vagueness might be.

Contents Page

Big PictureOften in school knowledge can become compartmentalised and lose its connection(s) to the real world.

Challenge students to re-forge these connections by transferring knowledge out of the classroom and into society and the environment.

Ask them to analyse how what they are learning might link to jobs, ideas, actions, beliefs or relationships. Or, where it might have come from originally and why it might now be deemed important for schoolchildren to know.

Extend by asking students to think backwards from their own bigger picture and develop a plan for what they think should be added to the curriculum.

Contents Page

ReductionOften in science, and particularly in physics, the material world is reduced into smaller parts so as to aid experimentation, observation and analysis. This has pros and cons as it can also lead to a failure to think about things in a holistic way.

Nonetheless it is a useful tool and students can be asked to reduce their learning, ideas or theories into smaller parts.

These can then be studied independently in order to reveal more about their nature and workings.

Extend by asking students to reduce more complex phenomena or plan specific methods of investigation they wish to pursue via reduction.

Contents Page

Experimenter

Students are asked to design an experiment which could be used to test the validity of:

- What they have learnt- Their opinions- Their arguments- The ideas of others

This works in subjects beyond science. For example in Citizenship a student could design an experiment that tests whether democracy promotes human rights.

Extend by asking students to think about the limitations of their methodology, the limits to what we can know or the difficulties of conducting experiments.

Contents Page

What might happen if...Ask students ‘What might happen if...’

...religion was banned tomorrow

...the laws of physics were temporary

...mathematical functions altered over time

...birds did not migrate

...written translation was not reliable

Extend by asking students to come up with their own ‘What ifs’ which they then answer.

Or, challenge them to produce multiple answers and argue which is most likely/appealing/harmful etc.

Contents Page

Changes

Ask students to recommend changes to something and explain why they have made such recommendations. For example:

-How might you change the interpretation of the causes of World War One?

-How might you change the structure of the textbook to make it more user-friendly?

-How might you alter today’s lesson in order that future students learn more easily from it?

Contents Page

InventorsInvention requires creative, synthetic thinking, the use of the imagination and the proposal of possibilities. It requires an open mind, yet one that is also capable of honing in and sustaining a course of action; capable of cultivating an idea from seed to tree. What great skills for students to develop!

Challenge them to invent machines, slogans, theories, solutions, products, contraptions, advertisements...

You could set them a brief, provide criteria to fill, give a question or name a problem that needs cracking.

Extend by asking students to refine their inventions – what problems might they encounter and how could these be overcome?

Contents Page

Fact or OpinionSeparating fact and opinion is an important skill in everyday life – when in contact with the media, talking with others, at work etc.

Ask students to pull apart articles, reports or other texts in order to discern which aspects are factual and which are opinion.

Extend by:

-Challenging students to think about the comparative validity of fact and opinion.

-Asking what ‘facts’ can be definitely known.

-Getting students to analyse what authorities the facts and opinions rely on.

Contents Page

Looking for BiasBias is everywhere, the nature of human experience is that it is partial. Ask students to engage with this idea by analysing texts or information related to the lesson to look for bias.

Extend by:

-Asking for a set of criteria for spotting bias.

-Questioning whether bias is ever legitimate.

-Challenging students to compare different accounts of the same event or idea and synthesise them into a balanced piece of work.

Contents Page

What’s your opinion?

Ask students to write/speak in pairs a short explanation of their opinion about the topic you are starting to study. This can then be revisited at the end of the lesson/unit.

Back To Starters

Storyboard

Make a storyboard of today’s lesson/your learning/a key concept/the topic studied…

Back to Plenaries

Evaluation Tree

Back to Plenaries

Ask students where they feel they are on the tree in relation to the lesson or topic.

Can be used repeatedly to articulate progress/problems.

Could print out on A3/A2 and get students to put post-it notes on with their name. Could then pair up strong and weaker students etc.

http://www.evaluationsupportscotland.org.uk/article.asp?id=13

Which Pic?

Back to Plenaries

Which picture matches your learning today? Explain why?(pictures = new ideas, problem solving, discussion, experimenting, team/group work, creativity)

Back to Plenaries

Write 5 sentences summarising today’s topic…

Now reduce that to 5 key words…

And finally to one word….

5-5-1 Deluxe!

Use shapes and pictures to deluxe-ify 5-5-1

PLTSBack to Plenaries

Creative Thinker

Independent Enquirer

Team Worker

Self ManagerReflective LearnerEffective Participator

1) Pick one of the skills and explain how you have used it today…

2) Pick one of the skills and explain how you have improved it today…

3) Pick one of the skills and explain how you will aim to use it or improve it next time…

Beat the Teacher

Your task is to try and beat the teacher!

Come up with questions based around your learning today and see if the teacher can answer them.

Develop by: - snowballing - writing questions on pieces of paper and placing in a box. One student (sensible - able to vet) thensits opposite the teacher at the front of the class and pulls out questions to ask a la Mastermind.

Back to Plenaries

Pyramid

Back to Plenaries

Question you have about the lesson

Things you have been

reminded of today

Things you have learned

today

Back to Plenaries

Write a newspaper headline about today’s lesson…

Develop by: - asking for a plan of the article to go with the headline

- asking for a series of different headlines (i.e. sensational, serious, tabloid etc.)

- asking for a headline with picture

Exam Question

Write an exam question based on your learning today. Then, swap books and answer someone else’s question.

Develop by writing a mark scheme for the question as well, using peer/self assessment or using different types of exam questions – multiple choice, short answer, essay etc.

Back to Plenaries

Targets

What three things have you done well this lesson?

What can you improve next lesson?

How will you do this?

Develop by signposting with exemplar, ideas of targets or oral Q+A

Back to Plenaries

Equation

Write an equation showing your learning…

For example –

Eggs + flour + milk + sugar X oven = cake

Back to Plenaries

K U IAs a result of the lesson today I:

Know…

Understand…

Can use the information in the following other situations….

Back to Plenaries

Success!

I have been successful in the following three ways…

I could make this better next time if I…

If I were starting again and designing this for myself I would do this instead…

Back to Plenaries

Txt MsgBack to Plenaries

Write a txt msg explaining your learning

Neighbours

Ask students to review the lesson through their neighbour. For example:

What three things has your neighbour learnt today?What would your neighbour like to find out more about?

What does your neighbour think about….What answer to the overall question can your neighbour give?

Set targets with your neighbour by sharing your work

(Develop by sitting different abilities together, snowballing so that a pair of neighbours then become the neighbours of another pair,)

Back to Plenaries

60 Seconds

Timer on board – http://classtools.net/main_area/template_loader.php/?timer

Set students the challenge of summing up the lesson in sixty seconds.

Students then read out their summations until a really full picture is presented to the class.

(Develop by setting paired work – one speaker, one scribe; giving certain words/phrases to include; adjusting the time for more quick-fire/in-depth answers)

Back to Plenaries

Predict it

Back to Plenaries

Ask students to make a prediction based on the knowledge gained in the lesson. For example:

What do you think we will study next lesson?

What would happen if a catalyst were brought into the reaction?

Predict the changes if welfare benefits were removed

Mr Wrong

Back to Plenaries

Give students the wrong answer and ask them to explain why it is wrong.

e.g. Parliamentary democracy has no safeguards for the individual against the state.

Potassium is an un-reactive element

3+8 = 12

Objective Traffic Lights

Back to Plenaries

How do you feel about the lesson objectives?

Red = don’t think I have grasped this

Amber = feeling OK about this, have just about got there

Green = Confident I have achieved this

Develop through AfL tools i.e. hand out traffic light cards that students show visibly, use coloured pens for students to indicate on their work how they have assessed themselves, have a class count of red/amber/green and then pair up greens with reds and ambers to try and improve the spread

Aide Memoire Back to Plenaries

Students have to come up with something to help them remember what has been studied. This could be a mnemonic,

visual aids, a story, a song etc. Allows differentiation for learning styles.

Develop by asking students to share their aide memoires and producing a pool of the most helpful ones.

Question? Answer. 2

Back to Plenaries

Put a question on the board and have different answers around the room. Students go to the one they think is right and justify

their decision.

Make this easier by having A,B,C,D points or posters in your room. Then you can have the answers on the board as well to save

faffing.

Develop by getting one member from each answer area to try and convince the others that their answer is right (good for encourage use of reason and uncovering of fallacy, misconceived

reasoning etc.)

Learning

0

10

20

30

40

50

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Time Through Lesson

Am

ou

nt

Lea

rned

Learning

Back to Plenaries

Draw a graph showing your learning during the lesson.

Or;

Ask students to draw a graph showing a certain aspect or topic from the lesson

Graph It

0123456789

0 2 4 6 8 10

Time

Po

liti

cian

Po

pu

lari

ty

Du

rin

g 'S

win

e F

lu W

eek'

KnightmareBack to Plenaries

Make a grid 4 by 5 on the floor at the front of the classroom (or have five ‘stages’). Sort class into four teams. Each team sends a

student up. They stand on the first square of the grid. They can only move on if their team gets a question right. Ask the teams in turn

and the first student to the end of the grid/last stage is the winner.

(it’s a bit like the old TV show Knightmare)

Odd One Out Maker

Make an odd-one-out activity based on today’s lesson

Back to Plenaries

Could be key words, pictures, diagrams, concepts etc.

Students then try them out on each other.

Pyramid 2Back to Plenaries

Three key words that are important

Two words that have made

an impression

One thing you will do to follow up, or question you want

to ask

Set your own homeworkBack to Plenaries

What homework would you set yourself on what you have learnt today? How would this help you to build on what you have done?

(students can then do the homework, or the class can vote for the best one and all do that)

What? How?Back to Plenaries

Explain what you have learnt today and how you have learnt it

?

As easy as 1 2 3

Place students in groups of 3 and number them 1-3.

3 statements on the board which the corresponding individual must explain to the rest of the group.

Develop by ‘phone-a-friend’ where if one student can’t explain they find another student with their number in

the group and learn from them.

Back to Plenaries

Helpful Tips

Write 5 top tips or golden rules about the topic for students taking the lesson next year.

Develop with snowballing, group answers or posters etc.

Back to Plenaries

Question? Answer.

Set a question at the beginning of the lesson – as the aim, lesson objective etc.

Return to this and ask students to now produce an answer. This could be in lots of different forms – written, verbal, still

image, poster, storyboard

Develop with word limits, producing for specific audiences.

AfL with mini-whiteboards, thumbs/colours agreement when answers read out. Back to

Plenaries

Stop!...wait a minute Mr Postman

Use post-it notes to share reflection, recall and evaluation.

Could be done in groups of 3/4 on sugar paper and then presented.Could use pictures relating to parts of the lesson or people/characters related to it.

Could have a number of A3 sheets with different questions/areas on.

Back to Plenaries

5 – 5 – 1

Summarise today’s topic in 5 sentences.

Reduce to 5 words.

Now to 1 word.

(with as many variations as there are numbers!)

Back to Plenaries

Concept Map

Give students a list of words related to your chosen concept. This can either be on

cards or on the board. They must then turn these into a ‘map’, where each connection

can be explained and justified.

e.g. Democracy Voting

Safety Freedom

Back To Starters

Revision Poetry

The first line is one word and names the idea.

The second line is two words and describes what the first line means

The third line has three words and says what the first line means

The fourth line has four words and tells how the writer feels about the first line

The fifth line renames the first line in a single word

Design a starter

• Ask students to design a starter activity to use next lesson. Set success criteria.

Back To Starters

Just a Minute

One pupil starts to speak about a topic. At the first repetition, pause or mistake another takes over - and so on until the minute is up.

Back To Starters

No to no and no to yes

Students are not allowed to use the words ‘no’ or ‘yes’ when answering questions.

Questions can be posed by the teacher, in pairs or groups.

Back to Plenaries

Think – Pair – Share

Give students a problem or question and then allow think time

in which they can engage with it.

Following this, students turn to their ‘Learning Partner’ and

discuss, clarify, challenge etc.

The pair then share with another pair or the whole class

(students should share their partner’s ideas as well as their own) Back To

Starters

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Google ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire template’ and off you go!

Back To Starters

Draw me the answer

• Like ‘show me the answer’...except with drawing only!

e.g.

A) Show me what democracy looks likeB) Draw fairness

C) What does change look like?

Back To Starters

True or False

True..................................................or is it false!

Could do with material students have already covered, or with material they are about to cover.

Back To Starters

Questions

e.g. A series of questions

1) What does consumer mean?

2) Are you a consumer?

3) Why?

4) What rights do consumers have?

5) Who protects them?

Back To Starters

Post it

Put up a number of different questions around the room and

give each student 1-2 post-it notes. They have 5 minutes to look

at the questions and discuss them with others. They must then

vote for which they would like to focus on during the lesson. This

is done by sticking their post-it note by the question. The

question with the most post-its becomes the focus of the lesson.

Back To Starters

BlockbustersSet up a Blockbusters

style grid using

appropriate

key terms/names/places

etc. to play

Can I have a‘P’ please Bob

No

Back To Starters

One more time1) Plan peer and self-assessment opportunities

2) Link outcomes to learning objectives

3) Provide clear success criteria

4) Train children to develop an appropriate assessment language

5) Provide opportunities to discuss and reflect

6) Guide children in self-reflection

Return to Contents

'Find one example you are really proud of and circle it. Tell the person next to you why you are pleased with it.'

‘Decide with your talk partner which of the success criteria you have been most successful with and which one needs help or could be taken even further.'

(After whole-class sharing for a minute or two) 'You have three minutes to identify two places where you think you have done this well and read them to your partner.'

'You have five minutes to find one place where you could improve. Write your improvement at the bottom of your work.'

'Look back at the problems you have solved today. Where were you successful? What approach did you take?

Return to Contents

Homework Peer Assessment

e.g.

Students asked to swap homework (relies on it having being done) and peer assess their neighbour’s on the success criteria you set.

Can also use two stars and a wish.

Back To Starters

Pupil as Teacher

e.g. One (or more?) pupil is the teacher.

They have to summarise the last lesson(s) and question the class

on what was studied.

Back To Starters

Goal Setting

If beginning a unit of work, ask students to set their own goals by

creating a chart showing –

What I know about the topic...

What I want to know...

What I have learnt...

Back To Starters