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: Tedious Link

    This is an adaptation of “Dave’s Tedious Link” from the Chris Moyles Show (watch this video if you, like me, don’t actually listen to Radio 1). The idea is for the kids to link together two things in the maximum … Continue reading →

  • Main: Concept Map

    A concept map is a set of linked keywords, as shown in the example below (which is a concept map about concept maps), with the subject in the middle. I usually do concept maps in three stages. For the first … 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.