PLENARY STRATEGIES
“Off The Cuff” Plenaries:
1. Ask each pupil to list 3 things they learnt today and one question that they
would like to ask in order to help them improve their understanding.
2. Refer back to the lesson objectives and, for each objective, ask each pupil to
indicate how well they have understood it, by using ‘traffic lights’ with green
meaning fully understood; amber mostly understood and red not understood.
(This can also be done by pupils holding up between 1 and 5 fingers to indicate
level of understanding).
3. Ask pupils/groups to summarise the topic in 5 sentences; then reduce this to 5
words; then to one word.
4. Give the pupils two minutes individually, or in groups, to compose two
statements about what they have learned to day and how they have learned it.
Select individuals/representatives to feed back.
5. Give the pupils two minutes individually, or in groups, to suggest 3 other
topics/subjects where they could apply today’s learning. Select
individuals/representatives to feed back.
6. Ask pupils to write 5 top tips, including H&S tips, from to-day’s practical.
7. Ask pupils to brainstorm or mind map what has been learned during the lesson.
“Prepared” Plenaries:
8. Quick question and answer session based on the content of to-day’s lesson but
use strategies to avoid individuals from dominating:
- use whiteboards and ask all pupils to show their answers [N.B. This
works well with true/false questions]
- pick the person to answer by randomly distributing numbered cards and
picking a number to answer/rolling a dice.
It is important that the questions asked are related to the objectives of the
lesson.
9. Give out a sheet containing anagrams of key words from the topic; ask the
pupils to unravel the anagrams and then write one sentence for each containing
the word in the correct context.
10.Provide the pupils with 5 answers based on to-day’s lesson and ask them to
devise the questions that go with each answer.
11.Have prepared several statements on card relating to to-day’s topic. Ask
individuals/groups to sequence the cards and then select an individual/group to
justify their sequence.
12.Play a card loop game – possibly replaying a card loop from the start of the
lesson and trying to do it faster.
ARRIVAL STRATEGIES
“Off The Cuff” arrival strategies:
1. Copying down the objectives for the lesson. (This is not a challenging activity
but it does help to settle). This can be made more effective in terms of learning
if it is linked to plenary No 1 – with pupils also reviewing their learning points
from the last lesson and then asking the teacher their questions.
2. Write a long science word on the board, related to the unit, and ask pupils to
find as many other science words as possible from the letters that make it up.
3. Read the teacher’s comments in your books and write a target for yourself.
Alternatively, transfer targets set by you teacher to your planner etc.
4. Unscrambling science words from the board/OHT. Writing a sentence for each
one showing it in context.
5. New science word on board (keyword from the current unit). Pupils have to list
as many words with the same beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) as they can. The
patterns in these words can be used to explain the meaning of the new word.
Excellent literacy opportunity.
6. Pupils write the name of a key concept on a piece of scrap paper and the words
‘How?’, ‘When?’, ‘Where?’ and ‘What?’ in the four corners (shown on
board/OHT as they come in). They then work in pairs to come up with one
question about that word/concept that begins with each of the words in the
corners.
7. Give the pupils a brief wordsearch containing key words from last lesson.
Rather than listing the words, give meanings/clues to help them to identify the
words. Alternatively, pupils could write sentences showing the words in context
once they have found them.
STARTER STRATEGIES
Simple starters:
1. Card sorts of words and their definitions (or similar – this, hopefully takes very
little explanation).
2. 5 questions on last lesson’s work with answers that require yes/no type answers
Pupils use whiteboards to communicate their answers – this ensures
involvement.
3. Statement on the board (e.g. ‘The earth is round’, ‘light travels in straight lines’
‘fire is alive’) In groups/pairs pupils have to decide whether or not they agree
and prepare to justify their decision. The teacher then asks a selection of groups
to feed back.
4. 3 ‘answers’ on the board related to last lesson. The pupils must decide, in pairs,
what questions they are the answers to.
5. ‘Brainstorming’ to introduce a new idea. This is best done initially as
pairs/small groups and ‘snowballed’ to give a whole class perspective so it isn’t
dominated by 1 or 2 pupils