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: Odd One Out

    A simple and self-explanatory activity – write some words on the board, give students some thinking time then ask them to pick the odd one out. You can make some obvious, with only one sensible answer, and others more open … 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: Charades

    Another simple activity – prepare a list of cards with key words on. Students come up one at a time and try to act them out without talking. The first student to guess correctly comes up to do the next … 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.