Sorry for the lack of posts, things got busy at work so here is a double whammy. One of the 5 ideas to try series and the other is a collection of thoughts on GCSE revision.
1) No ICT at all
I think we can become too dependent on computers. The phrase “death by Powerpoint” is not a new one. Kids are largely unsurprised by anything we can do with a computer. So how about turning it off for a lesson (apart from your register of course). The other day with my French class we had a lesson with no ICT at all. They did not have to even look at a screen. It was great! Everything was old-school. We had flashcards, card sorts and all manner of activities but nothing involved a computer.
2) Giant scrabble
Great way of stretching pupils thinking skills and knowledge of vocabulary on a particular topic. Put as many mini-whiteboards together as you can. Start with a word in the middle. Pupils get a point per letter for their word and a point per letter from any word it bisects. You could make it a team effort if you have large classes so two pupils work cooperatively. My old German teacher used to do this on an OHP, we loved it but the mini-whiteboard version allows everybody to be involved. I’ve also tried adding challenges such as: include words on the theme of … (double word score), include a particular grammar item (triple word score). The possibilities are not endless, as that is a cliché, but there are quite a few.
3) Differentiated dice speaking.
I might have posted this one before but it keeps with the no-ICT theme above. Give pupils dice. If you can buy some D12s (12-sided dice) then do. You then have the following options.
- Put 2 sets of numbers 1-6 with vocabulary (eg me gusta and school subjects) pupils roll the dice twice, say the phrase and their partner translates
- Give them a task per number of the dice to revise material covered over the year.
- Give them a task per number of the 6 sided dice and then a modifying element with the twelve sided (heavyH on prep but great for stretching the kids).
4) 50-50 Hands up/hands down
I’ve seen some classes where the rule is no hands up and others where the rule is hands up all the time. I’ve been trying a mixture of both recently and it’s working. It maintains the engagement as both other methods have two distinct problems. The no hands up rule is great but only if the teacher makes a point of picking on all class members. It can easily lead to picking on the brighter ones, further the learning and progress of a class. The latter has an issue as it allows the quieter members of our class to hide. I find this one neatly counters both. It shows you who is keen but allows you to keep all members of the class on their toes.
5) Murder mystery https://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/murder-mystery-lesson–food-and-drink-6091212
Brilliant resource by the exceptional rosaespanola on TES revising foods, likes and dislikes. My only concern is that my bottom set did a better job than my top set. The language was quite challenging and the task is not particularly easy. If you use it then give it the 5* rating it merits.
Everyday MFL 