Starters to use for Lesson
Planning
Starter: The Walking Chocolate Bar
Key Question:
1. FOLD: Fold your piece of paper into 8
2. THINK: Fill in two of the boxes.
3. SHARE AND LEARN: share information with others.
Aim to get all your boxes complete with good
reasons.
4. CONFIRM: Tick the boxes when the reasons have
been confirmed.
THINK: Why is this activity called a chocolate bar?
Who?
Beginning
of lesson
End of
lesson
What?
Beginning of
lesson
End of lesson
Starter
When?
Beginning of
lesson
End of lesson
Where?
Beginning of
lesson
End of lesson
Why?
Beginning of
lesson
End of lesson
Starter: The Wonderball
Topic:
You will be given a post it note
1. In pairs/individually, write a question you have about this topic.
2. Give the question to your teacher who will stick it on the
wonderball.
3. The wonderball will be thrown around the classroom during the
studies of this topic.
4. Every time you catch the ball, you must remove a question and
attempt to answer it.
5. If you cannot fully answer it, you can open it up to the rest of the
class.
6. Eventually, you should all be able to answer every question on the
ball.
Starter: The Cleverball
Topic:
The wonderball will be thrown around, with questions attached to it
about our topic.
1. When you catch the ball, you will be told what colour question to
pick.
2. Take the post it note off the ball and read the question aloud.
3. Attempt to answer the question.
4. You may have a chance to work with your
5. If you cannot fully answer it, you can open it up to the rest of the
class.
6. Eventually, you should all be able to answer every question on the
ball.
Starter: Find Someone Who….
• Key question:
Write your own answer, in the first box.
Now find an answer to the question from each of the following people.
Then revisit your own answer in the last box.
My answer:
Someone who is
born the same
month as me:
Someone who
lives near me:
Someone younger
than me:
Someone older
than me:
Someone taller
than me:
Someone with
blue eyes:
Someone with
brown eyes:
Someone I usually
work with:
Someone I don’t
usually work with:
Someone who
likes chocolate:
My revised (new)
answer:
Starter: The Alphabet
• Topic:
We will come back to this at different times during the lesson.
This is your starting point.
TASK: Write A-Z down your page/whiteboard.
Fill in as much as you can in 5 minutes, picking a word
connected to the subject for each letter.
A
B
C
D
E
F
Starter: The International Flight
Topic:
This lesson is a first-class trip on a
top class airline.
I am an air stewardess and you are
seated for a trip of a lifetime.
Fill in your boarding card to show
what you learnt last lesson, and
what you think you need to find
out this lesson.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What I need to find out/learn to do this lesson:
The 3 things I learnt last lesson:
Boarding Card
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What I need to find out/learn to do this lesson:
The 3 things I learnt last lesson:
Boarding Card
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What I need to find out/am still unsure about:
The 3 things I learnt this lesson:
Landing Card
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What I need to find out/am still unsure about:
The 3 things I learnt this lesson:
Landing Card
Outcomes: The International Flight
Lands
Have you ever been on a flight where you are
required to complete a landing/arrival card?
This is the document that flight attendants hand out
about three quarters of the way through your flight.
You need to note on your landing card either the
key concepts, facts or skills that you have learnt in
this lesson, an evaluation of your own work/effort,
and one thing you would like to investigate further.
Starter: The Vertical Relay
Aim of the activity: You will work together as a team
to complete a task with challenge.
• Teams of 6
• You will be given a stimulus
(picture/statement/question)
• Each member in turn will contribute to the group
task before passing on the “baton” (pen) and then
joining the back of the queue again
You will get higher points for higher level responses.
EXTRA: One of your group is a magpie who will have
60 seconds to go around and steal ideas from others.
You will have the opportunity to add to this
throughout the lesson.
The Vertical Relay Success Criteria
Task
1 point
2 points
3 points
Label a diagram,
map or image
Label a key part
Label a detail
Add information
Highlight and
annotate a piece of
text for specific
features
Identify and
highlight a
particular area
Correctly label the
feature
Explain the effect or
purpose of the
feature
Develop a mind
map
Contribute an idea
Build on someone
else’s ideas
Suggest an
alternative
Brainstorm ideas
for an exam
question
Contribute an idea
Provide evidence
for the idea
Explain why an idea
is relevant
Fill in the answers
to sums
The bottom row
The middle row
The top row (the
most challenging)
Starter: The Habit Spotter
Aim of task: To allow you to think about
what makes a good learner, and to
demonstrate those qualities yourself.
What do you do? You will be given
someone in your class to observe. Fill in
the habit spotter card with examples of
where they have shown the
characteristics.
Look at the example to give you ideas
You are the Habit Spotter for
………………………….
Catch them displaying a habit, write down some brief details and
shout “Bingo”! when they’ve shown them all.
Embrace challenge
Try hard
Creatively adapt
Persevere
EXAMPLE
You are the Habit Spotter for
Emma
Catch them displaying a habit, write down some brief details and
shout “Bingo”! when they’ve shown them all.
Embrace challenge
Emma pushed herself to
complete a harder
question than usual.
Try hard
Emma worked really hard
on her extended writing.
Creatively adapt
Emma had to change the
activity to a mind map.
Persevere
Emma kept trying with
her hand up.
Starter:
The Mexican Wave of Voices
Question:
1. Think of an answer to the question you have been
asked.
2. You are going to shout out your response in a Mexican
wave fashion. You will be given guidance on when to
speak.
3. Your teacher will be able to gather your key ideas
ready for the lesson.
4. Which ideas were the most interesting?
What do you know?
True or False?
If the statement is true, go to the right
hand side of the classroom.
If the statement is false, go to the left
hand side of the classroom.
true
false
Starter
Stand up if the
statement is
Sit down if the
statement is
Think, Pair, Share
I am going to give you a problem/ open-ended question
where there may be a variety of answers.
Think
Think on your own about this for 3 minutes
Pair
Work together, sharing ideas, discussing, clarifying and
challenging.
Share
Share your ideas (and your partners) with another
pair, or with the whole class.
PURPOSE
Processing information, communication, developing thinking.
RELEVANT SKILLS
Sharing information, listening, asking questions, summarising others’
ideas, paraphrasing.
What do you say to that?
With your study buddy, you have to script a
response to what is written below.
Controversial statement/
factually incorrect
statement/ quote from
someone.
Remember,
you need to be
factually
correct in what
you are saying!
Think, Pair, Share
Statement
In parts of the US, Kinder Eggs are deemed too dangerous to sell,
yet guns are easily available to buy.
DISCUSS
Write down your individual response to the statement
2mins
Discuss your response with person next to you.
2mins
Discuss your responses as a
table.
Agree on a
common response
from your group to
feedback
2mins
2mins
THE SNOWBALL
Eyes closed
I am going to describe
something to you which relates
to today’s learning.
Can you name/ draw the
shape/ key word/ event?
Starter.
Look at this video clip of ……..Write a sentence for three of the
below senses imagining you were there.
I saw…
I smelt…
I felt…
I heard…
I tasted…
CATCHPHRASE
HEE……..MO……………………………………….PHIL…………………………………….EAR
The king had…..HAEMOPHILIA!
WHO AM I?
FOR 7 POINTS
I fought in World War I
FOR 6 POINTS
I don’t like the colour red
FOR 5 POINTS
I am a good artist
FOR 4 POINTS
I am good at public speaking
FOR 3 POINTS
I was born in Austria
FOR 2 POINTS
I hated the Treaty of Versailles
FOR 1 POINT
I am the Fuhrer!
WHO AM I?
FOR 7 POINTS
I fought in World War I
FOR 6 POINTS
I don’t like the colour red
FOR 5 POINTS
I am a good artist
FOR 4 POINTS
I am good at public speaking
FOR 3 POINTS
I was born in Austria
FOR 2 POINTS
I hated the Treaty of Versailles
FOR 1 POINT
I am the Fuhrer!
Remember! You will need correct
spelling, punctuation and grammar
for all your GCSE exams.
Starter
Literacy.
Write out the information on the next slide
and correct the spelling, punctuation and
grammar errors.
This tells you about….
Corners
Can you remember?
Corner A
Raw material found within or on the
earth which can be used by humans.
Corner B
Can only be used once and can never be
replaced.
What are natural resources?
Corner C
Corner D
Any rock which is mined, drilled or
quarried for example coal or gold.
Energy produced from uranium atoms.
Mix Freeze Group
• Mix around the room.
• When I say group, look at the question and
get in the relevant group sizes (e.g. 2= 2
people)
• Share your answer.
• If you are not with a partner, go to Lost and
Found and think of a question.
Spelling!
Which is correct?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Phicopherist
Phychotherapist
Phycotherapist.
Physiotherapist
Mix Pair Share
Mix around the room.
I will call ‘Pair.’ (Get into pairs)
I will ask a question.
I will then pick a random pair to answer the
question.
Bus Stops!
In the groups I
have placed you
in, put yourself
in order across
the classroom
so that your
information
makes sense in
a line.
Blind Sequencing (teambuilding, thinking)
• Teams work to sequence cards in their proper
order, but there is a catch – each
• student holds his or her own cards, and no one
else can see what is on them.
Dominos.
Arrange these statements so that they
make a paragraph.
Could they go in any other arrangement?
Using the images on the next slide, thought shower
(teambuilding/ thinking) as many ideas as you can as to
what …..
You will work in groups of 4.
a. Speed sergeant – encourages speed
b. Sultan of silly – encourages silly ideas too
c. Synergy guru – encourages team mates to build on
other ideas too.
d. Sergeant support – encourages all ideas, suspends
judgement
e. One of you will also serve as secretary and record your
ideas.
Learning Activity: The Doughnut
PURPOSE
You will learn through talk by sharing information and
developing ideas.
RELEVANT SKILLS
Talking quietly, moving for a purpose, sharing information,
listening, summarising other’s ideas, paraphrasing, asking
questions, help others.
STEPS
•Stand in two concentric circles facing each other.
•Face your partner and take it in turns to share information
and ideas or ask each other questions.
•At a given signal from me, the outside circle moves a given
number of places clockwise.
•You will then give feedback on what was said between
yourself and your previous partner.
•When I give the signal, we will repeat this process again .
Lucky Dip!
Select and answer a question from a
hat!
You have 10 seconds thinking time.
You can play or pass to a study buddy.
If you pass, you must rate their answer
out of ten with a reason why.
SPOT THE MISTAKE
What…
Why…
Who
Who…
Why
How…
Where…
Annotate
Using the image, draw as many arrows as you can to specific points and explain
what is happening.
Picture/ Image/ Diagram/
Calculation
Starter
Say what you see
Learning Outcome
Explain what you see
Knowledge: List for me the key
characteristics of this picture
Objective/
Key Word
Understanding; What do you
think is happening here?
Application: How do these
pictures relate to ….?
Image/
Statement
Analysis Explain how each character would define a …..
Evaluation Should these pictures be used to support a
belief in …?
ODD ONE OUT
WHAT’S THE LINK?
Post - It
School
Post - It
Post - It
Government
Post - It
Post - It
CAPTION CREATE
Using your reading, stick the following images into your books and create a
caption for them:
Tourism
Honey Pot
Starter
Hide and Seek
Conservation
The definitions to the key words
are printed around the room.
Leisure
Sustainable
Tourism
Find the answers.
Remember to learn through talk
by checking you have the correct
definition with your study buddy!
Eco-Tourism
National
Park
Heads
Tails
Conscience
Free Will
Golden Rule
Job
Moral evil
`
Jesus’ teaching that people should treat others as
they wish to be treated themselves.
Evil and suffering caused by people.
All powerful
An inner voice or feeling giving guidance on the
rightness or wrongness of behaviour.
The sin which was brought into the world at the Fall
and which Christians teach everyone is born with.
Natural evil
The belief that God created humans with the ability to
make moral choices.
Omnipotent
Giving up a life for God.
Original Sin
Biblical character whose faith is tested.
Theodicies
Evil and suffering caused by natural events such as
earthquakes.
Sacrifice
The disobedience of Adam and Eve resulting in their
expulsion from Eden.
The Fall
Arguments justifying why there is evil in the world if
God is good.
Redemption
The idea that sins can be forgiven and a person can be
redeemed. Jesus is often referred to by Christians as
the redeemer as he died for the sins of the whole
world.