A little box of tricks to...
...get them thinking
Choose a letter/number
Jim 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 Memories
Jim 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 Minute
Jim 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.
Thunks
Ian 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 Questions
Jim 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 Gump
Jim 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...
5-3-1
Jim 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.
Reflection
Mike 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.
Content
Process
The left hand page is
used to make notes
on content – be
creative with this.
The right hand page
is used to reflect on
the process of
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
Speed Dating
Mike 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
My Own Tricks