Pound shop challenge!

A colleague of mine gave all staff at my school the challenge of going to a pound shop over the holidays to find a teaching and learning resource. Here is what I found and have come up with:

Soft Ball

1. Throw the ball to a student and they must answer a question. Then throw it back for me to throw to another. I ask the questions.

2. Same as above but students throw the ball to each other asking their own questions.

3. Divide the class into two teams. They ask the other team a question. If the team gets it right, one student is allowed to try to get the ball in the bin/ box. The team with the most goals wins.

4. Musical ball - students pass the ball around the class and when the music stops, the student holding it answers a question.

5. 2 lines facing each other about 2m apart. The ball is passed back and forth zigzagging down the two lines. Students have to say a keyword before they throw it to the next person. This could be timed.

Playing Cards

1. Students take a card as they enter. Hearts must do one starter, clubs another etc.

2. Random way of putting students into groups.

3. Students take a card as they enter. Code on the board gives them a letter and they have to think of 5 keywords beginning with that letter.

4. Writing activity with 4 categories (eg school subjects, opinions, snacks, past tense). Each team picks 4 cards which corresponds to each category. The cards they pick will determine how many of each category they will need to include in their writing. This could be done as a competition.

5. Students take a card as they enter. Each suit and each letter corresponds to a category. Students have one minute to think of as many keywords as possible for that category or they have one minute to talk about the category

Passing notes!

I've been thinking about revision activities for assessments and remembered something I hadn't used for a while - only because I caught a student passing a note! Each student writes a note - it could be a phrase, question or item of vocabulary. They pass their notes while music is playing which adds an element of excitement and buzz in the room! When the music stops, they open the note and have to answer the question or translate the word or phrase. You could check students' understanding by using a random name generator. This could also be done using paper aeroplanes or snowball fight depending on your class. 

Teach meet in Taunton

Here are my notes from the teach meet last week at Bishop Fox's school in Taunton. What a lovely evening - especially the food made by the Year 11 catering team. There were ideas for all subjects. 

Search for soul pancake on YouTube.

Table Safari - places information or texts on tables for students to move around and collect information.

Extended writing - keep asking why for students to extend their answers and give reasons in their writing.

Use haiku deck as an alternative to PowerPoint.

Give students hexagons for them to put keywords from the lesson. Ask them to make links between hexagons. Can they join theirs up with their partners?

The scary scale 0-10 - learning check on MWB.

Flipped learning - homework is to find out about and then use next lesson to complete a task.

Look for stanchester school's lesson planning app and question generator app using Bloom's.

Pointless gameshow - items you would find in a pencil case. Students to come up with as many answers in 100 seconds as possible. The most obscure the better. If other teams have your answer you get a point. Team with the least points wins. 

bit.ly/tmtaunton for tutor time activities

Add apps to your wish list in App Store and it will notify you when it's free.

Teachmeet - Exeter Oct 2013

There were some lovely ideas at the teachmeet last Thursday. Here are just a few:
1. Active phonics - chant phonics to a tune with different parts of the class chanting different ones.
2. Cross-curricular project with drama based on the play, the pearl necklace. Played cluedo as part of the preparation (je pense que c'est...)
3. Tarsia - google and choose hermitech labs, formulator tarsia. Can also produce follow me cards.
4. Creative talk - what's in the news in France/Germany? Look at government websites.
Dual language texts add cultural context - find the French or translate sentences.
Design own shelter box and justify.
Students produce their own vocab lists with at least 5 verbs, 3 adjectives etc. I have 9 words if you can match 5 or more of mine = reward (2 stamps). Next, use vocab to form sentences. Use sentences to have a debate (opinions), be in role, record on voice thread.
5. Differentiated mind mapping, triangle progress for unit - colour in when done.