A little box of tricks to...

A little box of tricks to... ...get them thinking

Choose a letter/numberJim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook Ask the student to come up with a letter from the alphabet and a number between 1 and 10. Then, based on their responses get them to come up the specified number of words that relate to the subject you are studying that all begin with that letter.

Animal MemoriesJim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook Ask students to choose an animal from a farm or zoo. Then ask them to write any words associated with your topic that begin with the letters of the animal.

Just a MinuteJim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook Put students in pairs and give them a topic. They have to see how long they can talk on that subject. Give them some rehearsal time before showcasing pairs infront of the whole class. Use non-performing students as an audience to pick up on any repitition, deviation or hesitation. As a slight twist it could be a minute of mime or drawing.

ThunksIan Gilbert, The Little Book of Thunks Debate questions with no right or wrong answers If I borrow one million pounds am I a millionaire? Is it right to bully a bully? Is the hokey-cokey really what it’s all about? Get students to create their own.

Killer QuestionsJim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook Get students in to groups to create questions on a topic that you have studied. These can then be asked to another group sitting in the hotspot. Rotate the hotspot groups whenever they get a question wrong. Award points to make it a competition.

Frustrated by...Jim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook Ask the students to create questions they want to know the answer to - the question they are so frustrated by they stay awake all night. Why is the sky blue? Why do two negatives make a positive?

What if...Jim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook ...rubbish bins give you £1 every time you put rubbish in them? ...door handles were made of chocolate? ...there was no such thing as time? Get the students to ask each other their own what ifs.

Forrest GumpJim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook ‘Life is like a box of chocolates’ Ask students to make a comparison between what they are learning about and another item. The Second World War is like ...a garden fork because... Managing your finances is like... a treadmill because... Quadratic equations are like... a fish and chip shop because...

5-3-1Jim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook This is a way to generate many ideas and then focus in on one that you look at in more detail. For example, ask your students to write down 5 causes of the second world war. Choose three that they think are the most important. For one of these justify your answer. You can then extend this in many different ways. For example, get the students walking around the room finding two people who disagree with them.

DIY Get groups of students to create 5/10 minute starter activities for the next half term. The starters must review this terms learning. Give each group a time slot over the next term. Get groups of students to create revision material in preparation for a test. It could be powerpoint, video, a lesson, part of a lesson. Give them a couple of lessons to prepare and then hand it over to them for a week.

Homework Make your own notes on what you have learned today. Make a powerpoint/poster/video on what you have learned today. Write 3 challenging questions on this topic.

ReflectionMike Hughes – See RKA The aim of this is to get students to reflect on what and how they have learned. Students need to use a double page in their books to reflect on their learning. Support this with Red and Blue questions in the lesson. Red – content – What have you learned today etc Blue – process – How did you..., Is there an alternative..., etc Content The left hand page is used to make notes on content – be creative with this. Process The right hand page is used to reflect on the process of learning .

Speed DatingMike Hughes This is a great way to get students to look at different ways to solve a problem. Set a problem and give all students 5 minutes to think how they would solve it. Students sit in pairs. The person on the left remains seated and the person on the right moves around. Left asks how would you solve this problem and right has 2 minutes to tell them. Right moves to next table Left tells the new person how the last person would solve the problem and asks how would you solve this problem. 3/4 minutes Right moves to next table Left tells the new person how the last two people would solve the problem and asks how would you solve this problem. 4/5 minutes Continue this process 4 or 5 times Now give them 5 minutes to modify their own plan. You can also do this at the end to reflect on how they went about solving a particular problem. You could also use this half way through to share some ideas if they are struggling with a problem.

3B4ME Jim Smith, The Lazy Teachers Handbook This is a good way to promote independence. Brain Book Buddy Check for evidence that all these things have happened before you give any help. Be creative with this book could mean text book, exercise book, board, internet, video. Buddy could be experts in the class, a TA, an expert you can access via email, guest speaker etc

3 Tricks I will try this term

My Own Tricks

A little box of tricks to...