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: 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: Plenary Circle

    This is a simple way to finish off a lesson. Arrange lots of keywords around a circle on the board, and ask students to try to create sentences that link those keywords together. If you have an interactive whiteboard you … 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.