As you enter a classroom ask yourself this question: "If there were no students in the room, could I do what I am planning to do?" If your answer to the question is yes, don't do it.

Gen. Ruben Cubero, Dean of The Faculty, United States Air Force Academy

24 Quick Teaching Ideas for use in the classroom

most taken from The Teaching Toolkit

Random NamesRandom Name Generator – Click here

Variations

Extend with ‘but’Extend with ‘so’Extend with ‘however’SpeechExclamation markQuestionShort sentence – 3-4 wordsStart with an adverbSimileExtend with ‘because’ – Click here 1

Sticky NotesSticky Notes – Click here

2

Paper ChainsStudents can work in groups.They are asked to write something they have learnt on the strip of paper.

They then continue adding things they have learnt to build the longest chain possible.

This activity can be done individually and the paper can be colour coded to specific material areas

3

The Jigsaw Technique

The class is divided into several teams, with each team preparing separate but related assignments. When all team members are prepared, the class is re-divided into mixed groups, with one member from each team in each group. Each person in the group teaches the rest of the group what he/she knows, and the group then tackles an assignment together that pulls all of the pieces together to form the full picture.

Jigsaw module from Pedagogy in Action

4

The Gallery Walk

The gallery walk is a cooperative learning strategy in which the instructor devises several questions/problems and posts each question/problem at a different table or at a different place on the walls. Students form as many groups as there are questions, and each group moves from question to question. After writing the group's response to the first question, the group rotates to the next position, adding to what is already there. At the last question, it is the group's responsibility to summarize and report to the class.

more information and examples

5

Variations:

In the middle of a piece of paper should be the topic title/question/equation/quoteEach student must write a fact/key point/keyword/case/info about the topic on their piece of paper. Swap and then add a new fact/key point …, until the papers have been round the class once.Students should then develop a point made by somebody else and add some more info to it... or argue against it? Continue until the papers have gone round the class 5 times?

Students can then look at the paper they have and ask questions, summarise or it can be photocopied to make a booklet.

6

Variations:

Use images? Students restricted by number of words? Or asked to argue against or for only...

Do this in mini groups? Instead of the whole class?

In silence?

Learning Zones

To check on the understanding of students how about you ask them to move to the learning zone that reflects their level of understanding...?

One corner- One corner- One corner- One corner-

Red- Do not understandAmber- I am OK-ishGreen- I am confident and ablePurple – I am willing to explain/answer questions

7

Viewers and Listeners

First arrange the desks in your classrooms where students will be facing each other. Where one student/pair has their back to the board.

The teacher then displays information on the board.The 'viewer' has a limited time to read and understand this information before it is removed from the board.The viewer then has to explain this information in their own words to the 'listener'!Both students must now write down their notes.

The viewer and listener should not write until the teacher says so. When the viewer is reading- they must try to understand the information rather than memorising it. 8

Variations:

This can be done with images? Equations? Quotes? You can highlight words- TABOO words which viewers can not use when explaining to the listeners...?

Dictogloss Share with students a paragraph of text. This can be displayed or read out loud.

Then display/read out the same paragraph but with key words missing/not said

Students have to recreate the paragraph- by either filling in the gaps or re-writing the whole paragraphThey are not allowed to write when you display/read the text the first time and you should not slow down your reading/increase the display time

Students are learning to pick out key elements of a text- along with learning how to write notes. 9

10 Second Rule Give pupils 10 seconds to come up with an answer and then you choose who answers

Give pupils 10 seconds to come up with an answer and then invite hands up (A lot more will contribute)

10

Pose, Pause, Pounce, Bounce Pose a question or ask for an observation or opinion

Pause for sufficient time for all to have thought of a response

Pounce on someone for an answer

Bounce onto someone else with a follow up question such as: What do you think of their response? Criticise their response Add to their response What did …. Say

Keep Bouncing – see how long a chain you can form

11

Teach Me, Tell Me Each pupil has a question and answer on their card, the pupils move around the class asking other pupils their question, the pupil being asked can either say the answer if they think they know it or ask to be told/taught the answer.

Pupil swap questions and move on.

Teacher involved and integrates isolated pupils

Rapid demonstrable progress as pupils come across previous questions and can now answer them.

12

Variations:

Can have questions of different abilities on a card

Duplicates for reinforcement – 10 sets of 3

Pupils can pose their own questions

Could ask what does this line of poetry mean and record the answer below the question and then pass it on.

There could be information on the card and the pupil makes up a suitable question on the fly

Wonder or Progress Wall Wonder Wall is used to encourage pupils to record on a post-it or similar anything that they wonder about during the lesson

Progress wall is used to record any key facts, excellent questions … during a series of lessons

13

Relational Cards Give a set of facts and get pupils to move around and seek to draw out similarities – text, images, problems, …

Give out a copy of some pieces of text you have marked, give out your grades, give out your written comments and see whether they can match them with reasons

14

Relay Race To aid group work by breaking a task down and making it competitive:

1. Write a sentence to introduce a story set in a large manor house

2. Include a simile in the next sentence3. The next sentence must have only 6 words4. …

15

Inquiry

Science Example

16

Diamond ranking

Give the group 9 facts and they have to sort out the most and least important and then rank them in a diamond

17

Using a picture from the end of a piece of work to introduce a topic

Begin the topic with a picture from the end of the topic – the class has to work out what is in the picture and why it has been chosen – can begin to think of questions which can then be answered as the topic goes on

18

Picture interpretation

Give the group a picture with two text boxes around it – in one they write about what the picture shows them, in the other they write about what the picture does not show them

19

Hypothesis testing

Give the group a series of statements – they have to work out whether they are true or false by using appropriate information

20

Use a video extract with the sound off

Get the group to provide their own commentary

Use a video extract with the picture off

Get the group to work out the tone of the extract and what might be happening

21

Review Wheel

Click here 22

Plenary Grid

Click here 23

Behaviour Management

Click here 24