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: Quiz

    Very simple way to start or end a lesson. Prepare five to ten quiz questions (or just make them up on the spot) and read them out for the students to answer, either on rough paper or in the backs … Continue reading →

  • Main: Picture From Memory

    This activity is a more interesting way of learning labelled diagrams, like these plant and animal cells: Print out one copy of the diagram and enlarge it to A3. Put students into groups of around four and give each group … 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.