SIMPLE STARTERS (inc prep for KS3 tests)

SIMPLESTARTERS

www.geoffbarton.co.uk

(inc prep for KS3 tests)


7 principles

Kick-start learning

Don’t aim for false links with main lesson content

Do aim for coherence across starters

Are great for grammar

Emphasise collaboration & problem-solving

Avoid the temptation to extend the activity

No Blue Peter badges


Mr B’s New Year Spelling Frolics

-our words -re endings -able / -ibleendings

-ous endings Single/doubleconsonants

colourhumourrumourarmourf lavour

humorous

centimetrecentretheatre

Availablelikeablesociableconsiderablelaughablesensibleincredibleterriblepossibleresponsible

t rem end ous

enor mouspoisonous

myst eri ous

cont inuousprec ious

f ero cious

del icious

ca ut ious

ambit ious

beginning

ups e t t ing

f org ot t en

commit t eepermittedoccurred

visit ed

reg r e t f ul

developing


-ible -able


Homophones

Sound of Music Kylie Beethoven

their there they’re

too two to

pray prey


Homophones

Freeze Stand

advice advise

practice practise

effect affect

It’s its

Hard


Activity

I’ll say some sentences containing homophones. You tell me whether it’s list A or list B.

Make up sentences – eg “The pilot of the aircraft was really rather plain”)

A – stand up B – under tableplain Planeweak Weeksteal Steelmain Manerows Rowsfare Fairbreak Brakesew Sodue Jewwhether whether


Mnemonics

Necessary

Separate

Disappearance

Fulfil

Never eat chips - eat sausage sandwiches and raspberry yoghurt


Call My Bluff

OXYMORON

LITOTES

WORD CLASSES BY COLOUR

ADVERBNOUN

ADJECTIVE

VERB

The cat slept heavily on the old carpet

PREPOSITION


Connectives

The house was looking dark ….

(walk in … lights not working … hear a sound upstairs … go to explore … hear a window smash ...)

And

But

Or


Word patterns

Auto -

Gh -

Who can think of most words starting with these letter patterns …?


Synonyms:

Who can think of most words meaning scary, big, small, nice


Semantic continuum:

•Think of synonyms for house / toilet / friend•Place them in order of formal to informal

Starter 3: Autobiography

OpenerPaper 1 = non-fictionExpect autobiography, letter, or diaryLook at this opening from an autobiography.

ActivityOHTWhat can you tell about:WriterWhere the text is setWhat might happen next

Closing sequenceDiscuss student responses

It was on a bright day of midwinter, in New York. The little girl who eventually became me, but as yet was neither me nor anybody else in particular, but merely a soft anonymous morsel of humanity – this little girl, who bore my name, was going for a walk with her father. The episode is literally the first thing I can remember about her, and therefore I date the birth of her humanity from that day.

Starter : travel writing

OpenerIn the KS3 tests the first section will probably be a non-fiction text – eg autobiography or travel writingLook at this extract from travel writing …

ActivityLook at OHTStudents respond to questions, in pairs or small groupsThey actively explore aspects of the style

Closing sequenceWhat do you think are the key features of travel writing? How do you think it’s different from a travel brochure or autobiography?Synthesise features

Urquhart castle is probably one of the most picturesquely situated castles in the Scottish Highlands. Located 16 miles south-west of Inverness, the castle, one of the largest in Scotland, overlooks much of Loch Ness. Visitors come to stroll through the ruins of the 13th-century castle because Urquhart has earned the reputation of being one of the best spots for sighting Loch Ness’s most famous inhabitant.

American Travel Magazine

1 Which words tell you that this text is trying to persuade readers to go to the castle?2 How would you rewrite it as a purely factual text?3 What makes it seem like travel writing rather than aitobiography?

Starter 1: brainstorming for stories

Opener – 1 minLook at this writing topic:“Write the opening of a story set in a wild place”

Activity – 6 minsWorking in pairs, think how you would spend the first 5 minutes of the test getting ideas.

How would you think of A place?A character?A storyline?How would you organise your ideas?

Closing sequence

Look at brainstorming formats Ask students to describe their different approachesEg spider diagrams … random jottings … lists of words Get students to think which would suit them best in a 5-minute planning session at the start of section 3

Starter 2: Writing effective story openings (a)

Opener – 1 minRemember the story planning session yesterday. Today – look at what you think is a good story opening. Here’s the topic again:

“Write the opening of a story set in a wild place”

Activity – 4 mins

In pairs, write two opening sentences – one a really GOOD opening, the other a REALLY BAD ONE

Closing sequence

Listen to the bad ones from different students.Make list on the board of what makes them unsuccessful (boring vocab, unexciting sentence structure, no sense of place, no suspense … etc)Give everyone 30 secs to improve their good one in the light of these suggestions. Now listen to good ones and vote on which one in the class works best (ask student pair to type it up overnight to display on wall)

Starter 3: Writing effective story openings (b)

Opener – 1 minIn KS3 tests you might be asked to write a story.What did we say yesterday were key ingredients of good story openings?

Activity – 4 mins (See handout B3Now you’re the experts … working in pairs/small groups, look at this opening para and say how you would improve it. Think about:StructureSentencesWords

Closing sequenceWhat have you changed?How did you improve it?Listen to different versions. Prize for best oneSummarise – key features of good story openings


It was really cold. The weather was awful. I was walking along the edge of the cliff and I was really scared.


Opener – 2 mins

In X weeks’ time you’ll be sitting your KS3 testsWorking in pairs, look at last year’s paper 1 and answer these questions:

1 How long does the whole test last?2 How many sections are there?3 How long should you aim to spend on each section?4 What different skills will you need to show?

When you have answered these, think of any questions you have about the test

Activity – 6 mins

In pairs as above

Closing sequenceQuickly through answers:1 How long does the whole test last? – 1 hour 30 mins

2 How many sections are there? 3: Reading non-fiction A, Reading fiction B, Writing C

3 How long should you aim to spend on each section?A – 30 minsB – 20 minsC – 35 mins

Jake began to dial the number slowly as he had done every evening at six o’clock ever since his father had passed away. For the next fifteen minutes he settled back to listen to what his mother had done that day.

Fiction or non-fiction?What text-type is it (eg thriller, romance / autobiography, leaflet)How can you tell?

Seville is voluptuous and evocative. It has to be seen, tasted and touched. The old quarter is Seville as it was and is. Walk in its narrow cobbled streets, with cascades of geraniums tumbling from balconies and the past shouts so loudly that one can almost glimpse dark-cloaked figures disappearing silently through carved portals.

Fiction or non-fiction?

Proud mum in a million Natalie Brown hugged her beautiful baby daughter Casey yesterday and said: “She’s my double miracle.”

Fiction or non-fiction?What text-type is it (eg thriller, romance / autobiography, leaflet)How can you tell?

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE KS3 TESTS… isn’t “teaching to the test”

… it’s teaching

Seeing it from the student’s perspective, what could we do to …

Familiarise them with the format of the papers?Teach the appropriate forms?

Brief them on the contents of the papers?

Help them understand instructions like compare, plan, comment, contrast, describe?

Help them understand concepts like “explore the way the writer uses a beginner’s point

of view”“comment on the writer’s use of language”“explain how the writer builds up suspense”“explain how Shakespeare makes the scene

dramatic”?

Demonstrate appropriate writing styles (eg structure, use of discourse markers, judging an

analytical tone, supporting points with quotations)?

Ensure consistency of approach across the Departmental team?

Use display / handouts / websites to enable students to look up details for themselves?

READING

Key word or phrase Example Classroom implicationsCompare “compare the ways X and Y react to

their situation …”Comment “Comment on the language the writer

uses to convey the reactions”Suspense “In what ways does the writer build up

excitement and suspense?”Sentence structure “Comment on .. the writer’s use of

language, including sentence structure”Mood “Comment on … the mood of the last

paragraph”Effective “…how far you consider it an effective

ending for a passage”Point of view “Comment on … how the writer uses a

beginner’s point of view”Use of language Comment on … how the writer’s use of

language, including comparisons,makes the passage interesting”

WRITING

Mood “try to engage the reader’s interest byestablishing character, mood or

setting”Setting “try to engage the reader’s interest by

establishing character, mood orsetting”

Tension “try to engage the reader’s interest bycreating a feeling of tension”

Story “Write the opening section of a story…”

Article “Write an article for your localnewspaper …”

description “Write a description of a place which isunwelcoming”

SHAKESPEARE

State of mind “What do you learn about Macbeth’schanging state of mind from the way he

speaks …?”Sympathetic “How does Shakespeare make you feel

increasingly sympathetic towards Julietin this scene”

Tense “How does Shakespeare make thisscene interesting and tense for the

audience?”Direct “Imagine you are going to direct this

scene for a class performance”

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE KS3 TESTS… isn’t “teaching to the test”

… it’s teaching

SIMPLESTARTERS


SIMPLE STARTERS (inc prep for KS3 tests)

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