Every single one of these activities I've either done or seen done in a science lesson, and a fair few in maths lessons. If you would like more information about any of these, including specific examples or copies of my own work, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Also, if you have other examples you would like me to add to the list, please pass them along in the comments!
·
Hot
seating
o
One
person answers questions in the 'hot seat' about certain topics
·
Silent
debating line
o
One
side of the room is for those who agree with a particular
opinion/statement/comment, the other side of the room is for those who
disagree, and students move according to their own opinion (without verbalising
anything).
·
Teach a
partner
o
Students
pair off and teach each other about a specific topic they have been given that
the other student doesn't necessarily already know.
·
Taboo
o
Have a
list of words on the board. Students pair off with one facing the board and the
other facing away. The one facing the board has to get the other to guess the
word without looking, but their descriptions cannot include the word (don't
play like charades, they need to think of definitions etc).
·
1-minute
Brainstorm
o
Students
write down as many dot points as possible about the topic in 1 minute. You
could spice it up by offering a price to the student with the most points.
·
Think-Pair-Share
o
Individually,
students answer a question/form an opinion/ summarise key information. They
then pair up with another student and discuss both of their responses. As a
pair, they then report back to the class what they came up with (could have
whole class or just chose random pairs, according to time).
·
Jigsaw/Expert
Groups
o
Divide
students into groups – each group is an expert group on a particular topic
(could provide this information as a text etc). After they have learnt the
information, they form into groups with one member from each expert group. Each
member of this new group then teaches the others about their expert topic.
·
Reverse
Questions
o
Students
are given a marking scheme/answers and asked to create the questions it was
based on. Students then pair up and discuss their questions/answers. Could then
have students quiz each other using the questions they created.
·
Group
Stations
o
Students
split into small groups (3 or 4 at most) and rotate around the room completing
activities/answering questions. If you are staying away from physical
activities, this works well with short text comprehension questions in science
and problem solving questions in maths. Allow the students to work together to
come up with the answer.
·
Snowballing
o
Students
pair up and respond to a task/question. After a given amount of time they then
meet up with another pair and discuss their respective responses. After another
given amount of time each pair must find and discuss with another pair. Continue
as time and behaviour allow.
·
Never-ending
List (works best with physical items)
o
Have a
range of stimuli around the room, with small groups assigned to each stimuli.
They are given 1 minute to write a list of all of their thoughts about the
stimuli, or in the example I used they had to write down as many physical
properties of the item as they could. When the time is up, groups swap stimuli.
The same time limit applies and the students must add on to the current list,
expanding it. Continue as time permits. You’ll be amazed how innovative and
creative the answers get as the list extends!
·
Gallery
o
Display
several questions/stimuli around the room. Students rotate and respond to one
(or more).
·
Footprinting
o
Students
are given a text about the topic as well as a series of post-it notes in
different colours. Each colour represents either a different question, or a
different topic etc. Students read the text and respond on the post-it notes. I
have seen this done with difficult texts where students write a list of unknown
words from the text on one post it, summarise the information they understand
on another, etc. I have also seen it done with specific questions on each, or
in the case of science they had a different system on each note and had to
write the steps/summarise.
·
Timed
reading
o
This
activity is good for increasing fluency in students who really struggle with
reading. Students pair up with a simple text and a timer. One student reads the
text out loud and the other times how long they take. They then swap roles.
They repeat this a few times to see how they improve.
·
Jeopardy
o
Play
this game using a PowerPoint template set up with questions/answers relevant to
your topic (contact me if you would like a blank template!). Have students form
small groups, create a group name, and play as seen on TV. Keep a tally of
points and reward the winning group – but make it fair and ensure each group
gets the chance to answer some questions.
·
Role
Play
o
Students
create a short performance to model a process or opinion.
·
Debating
o
Can
split the class in half, or in to smaller groups.
·
Parliamentary
Role Play
o
Students
are given a general topic to debate, and form into ‘expert witness groups’ who
need to present facts to support their opinions, with one group the decision
makers. The decision makers need to decide on a list of questions to ask each
different group, and the groups need to be knowledgeable enough to answer those
questions without being exposed to them beforehand. This may seem like a very
long process, and indeed you could extend it to take multiple lessons, but I
have seen it done in a one-hour session.
·
Brainstorm
Groups
o
Students
are formed into groups and given A3 paper to respond to a topic. They then swap
their paper with other groups, who can add or disagree with points made. The
class then discusses each paper.
·
Splat
o
Students
are put into two groups, lined up facing the board. A question is asked and the
first student to splat the board is able to answer. Points are given for
correct answers.
·
Speed
Dating
o
Students
are given a set of questions and answers. They line up and are given a set
amount of time to ask and answer the questions, before moving on to another
partner. As they go, they collect points for correctly answering questions. The
person with the most points wins (or could be couple).
·
Celebrity
Heads (or Who Am I?)
o
Students
are given a name or description that they have to guess by questioning a
partner (e.g. Am I found in a plant cell?). The other student can only answer
Yes or No. The first student to guess their name/description wins.
·
Bingo
o
Students
are given or create bingo cards with key terms. Teacher reads out descriptions.
·
Students
to summarise to class
o
Summarise
key points about a text/lesson/activity back to the class based on information
given by another student.
No comments:
Post a Comment