TEACHING & LEARNING

 

The starter should set the context of the lesson and can be skills based. It should be no longer than 5 minutes.

 

A starter activity has 4 main uses:

To make links to the previous lesson

To introduce the new lesson

To link to a learning or thinking skill

To set the classroom climate and the behaviour for learning


Students learn best when they feel curious, when you have activated their brains to take on a new challenge.  Plan effective and interesting “hooks” for the start of each lesson (eg. optical illusions, ‘what comes next?’ a puzzle, ‘what if?’ activities) and share the learning intention and success criteria in a clear and engaging way.  An interesting way to do this is to set the learning objective as a question. e.g. “Is Lady Macbeth a stronger character than her husband? Can you find three facts to evidence your answer?”  There are many extensions you can give this in order to cater for the ability of the class. By asking a question, you have set everyone on a process of investigation and enquiry, all have to develop their thinking skills and thus access deeper learning levels.