1. As you enter a classroom ask yourself this question: "If there were no students in the room, could I do what I am planning to do?" If your answer to the question is yes, don't do it.
Gen. Ruben Cubero, Dean of The Faculty, United States Air Force Academy

2. 24 Quick Teaching Ideas for use in the classroom
most taken from The Teaching Toolkit

3. Random Names 1 Random Name Generator – Click here Variations
Extend with ‘but’
Extend with ‘so’
Extend with ‘however’
Speech
Exclamation mark
Question
Short sentence – 3-4 words
Start with an adverb
Simile
Extend with ‘because’ – Click here 1

4. Sticky Notes
Sticky Notes – Click here 2

5. Paper Chains
Students can work in groups. They are asked to write something they have learnt on the strip of paper.
They then continue adding things they have learnt to build the longest chain possible.
This activity can be done individually and the paper can be colour coded to specific material areas 3

6. The Jigsaw Technique
The class is divided into several teams, with each team preparing separate but related assignments. When all team members are prepared, the class is re-divided into mixed groups, with one member from each team in each group. Each person in the group teaches the rest of the group what he/she knows, and the group then tackles an assignment together that pulls all of the pieces together to form the full picture.
Jigsaw module from Pedagogy in Action 4

7. The Gallery Walk
The gallery walk is a cooperative learning strategy in which the instructor devises several questions/problems and posts each question/problem at a different table or at a different place on the walls. Students form as many groups as there are questions, and each group moves from question to question. After writing the group's response to the first question, the group rotates to the next position, adding to what is already there. At the last question, it is the group's responsibility to summarize and report to the class.
more information and examples 5

8. Variations: In the middle of a piece of paper should be the topic title/question/equation/quote
Each student must write a fact/key point/keyword/case/info about the topic on their piece of paper.  Swap and then add a new fact/key point …, until the papers have been round the class once.
Students should then develop a point made by somebody else and add some more info to it... or argue against it?
Continue until the papers have gone round the class 5 times?
Students can then look at the paper they have and ask questions, summarise or it can be photocopied to make a booklet. 6

9. Variations:
Use images? Students restricted by number of words? Or asked to argue against or for only... Do this in mini groups? Instead of the whole class?
In silence?

10. 7 Learning Zones Red- Do not understand Amber- I am OK-ish
To check on the understanding of students how about you ask them to move to the learning zone that reflects their level of understanding...? One corner-  One corner-  One corner-  One corner- 
Red- Do not understand
Amber- I am OK-ish
Green- I am confident and able
Purple – I am willing to explain/answer questions 7

11. Viewers and Listeners
  First arrange the desks in your classrooms where students will be facing each other. Where one student/pair has their back to the board. The teacher then displays information on the board. The 'viewer' has a limited time to read and understand this information before it is removed from the board. The viewer then has to explain this information in their own words to the 'listener'! Both students must now write down their notes. The viewer and listener should not write until the teacher says so. When the viewer is reading- they must try to understand the information rather than memorising it. 8

12. Variations:
This can be done with images? Equations? Quotes? You can highlight words- TABOO words which viewers can not use when explaining to the listeners...?

13. Dictogloss
  Share with students a paragraph of text. This can be displayed or read out loud.
Then display/read out the same paragraph but with key words missing/not said Students have to recreate the paragraph- by either filling in the gaps or re-writing the whole paragraph They are not allowed to write when you display/read the text the first time and you should not slow down your reading/increase the display time Students are learning to pick out key elements of a text- along with learning how to write notes.  9

14. 10 Second Rule
  Give pupils 10 seconds to come up with an answer and then you choose who answers
Give pupils 10 seconds to come up with an answer and then invite hands up (A lot more will contribute) 10

15. 11 Pose, Pause, Pounce, Bounce
  Pose a question or ask for an observation or opinion
Pause for sufficient time for all to have thought of a response
Pounce on someone for an answer
Bounce onto someone else with a follow up question such as: What do you think of their response?
Criticise their response
Add to their response
What did …. Say
Keep Bouncing – see how long a chain you can form 11

16. Teach Me, Tell Me
  Each pupil has a question and answer on their card, the pupils move around the class asking other pupils their question, the pupil being asked can either say the answer if they think they know it or ask to be told/taught the answer.
Pupil swap questions and move on.
Teacher involved and integrates isolated pupils Rapid demonstrable progress as pupils come across previous questions and can now answer them. 12

17. Variations: Can have questions of different abilities on a card
Duplicates for reinforcement – 10 sets of 3
Pupils can pose their own questions
Could ask what does this line of poetry mean and record the answer below the question and then pass it on.
There could be information on the card and the pupil makes up a suitable question on the fly

18. 13 Wonder or Progress Wall
  Wonder Wall is used to encourage pupils to record on a post-it or similar anything that they wonder about during the lesson
Progress wall is used to record any key facts, excellent questions … during a series of lessons 13

19. Relational Cards
  Give a set of facts and get pupils to move around and seek to draw out similarities – text, images, problems, …
Give out a copy of some pieces of text you have marked, give out your grades, give out your written comments and see whether they can match them with reasons 14

20. Relay Race
  To aid group work by breaking a task down and making it competitive:
Write a sentence to introduce a story set in a large manor house
Include a simile in the next sentence
The next sentence must have only 6 words … 15

21. Inquiry
Science Example 16

22. Diamond ranking
Give the group 9 facts and they have to sort out the most and least important and then rank them in a diamond 17

23. Using a picture from the end of a piece of work to introduce a topic
Begin the topic with a picture from the end of the topic – the class has to work out what is in the picture and why it has been chosen – can begin to think of questions which can then be answered as the topic goes on 18

24. 19 Picture interpretation
Give the group a picture with two text boxes around it – in one they write about what the picture shows them, in the other they write about what the picture does not show them 19

25. Hypothesis testing
Give the group a series of statements – they have to work out whether they are true or false by using appropriate information 20

26. 21 Use a video extract with the sound off
Get the group to provide their own commentary
Use a video extract with the picture off
Get the group to work out the tone of the extract and what might be happening 21

27. Review Wheel
Click here  22

28. Plenary Grid
Click here  23

29. Behaviour Management
Click here  24