Random Lesson Planner

This page should give you a random starter, main and plenary idea for a lesson. Most of the activities require minimal preparation, and whilst the examples I give are usually science related, the majority can be used in all subjects.
  • Starter: Card Sort

    This requires a bit of preparation, but after you’ve made it once it can be re-used. Make a load of cards and cut them up. In pairs, the kids have to sort them. There are lots of options here: Cards … Continue reading →

  • Main: Debate

    Debates always sound like a good idea but it’s a real challenge to run a debate successfully. I haven’t cracked it yet, so if anyone has any top tips for a debating framework or set of rules they use, add … Continue reading →

  • Plenary: Mini Whiteboards

    Mini whiteboards are pretty useful at any point in a lesson to check what the kids have learned. In case you haven’t heard of them, they’re small whiteboards that come with a whiteboard pen and an eraser, usually in a … Continue reading →

To get a new set of ideas just refresh the page, or you can browse through all the starters, mains and plenaries individually. I'd be very grateful for more activity suggestions - if you have an idea you'd like to share please email it to random@mrgravell.com and I'll put it in the database.