2. SIMPLE STARTERS www.geoffbarton.co.uk (inc prep for KS3 tests)

3. www.geoffbarton.co.uk 7 principles

4.  Kick- start learning  Don’t aim for false links with main lesson content  Do aim for coherence across starters  Are great for grammar  Emphasise collaboration & problem-solving  Avoid the temptation to extend the activity  No Blue Peter badges

5. www.geoffbarton.co.uk

6. -ible-able

7. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Homophones Sound of MusicKylieBeethoven theirtherethey’re tootwoto prayprey

8. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Homophones FreezeStand adviceadvise practicepractise effectaffect It’sits Hard

9. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Activity I’ll say some sentences containing homophones. You tell me whether it’s list A or list B. Make up sentences – eg “The pilot of the aircraft was really rather plain”) A – stand upB – under table plain Plane weak Week steal Steel main Mane rows Rows fareFair breakBrake sew So due Jewwhether

10. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Mnemonics Necessary Separate Disappearance Fulfil Never eat chips - eat sausage sandwiches and raspberry yoghurt

11. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Call My Bluff OXYMORON LITOTES

12. WORD CLASSES BY COLOUR ADVERB NOUN ADJECTIVE VERB The cat slept heavily on the old carpet PREPOSITION

13. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Connectives The house was looking dark …. (walk in … lights not working … hear a sound upstairs … go to explore … hear a window smash...)  And  But  Or

14. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Word patterns Auto - Gh - Who can think of most words starting with these letter patterns …?

15. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Synonyms: Who can think of most words meaning scary, big, small, nice

16. www.geoffbarton.co.uk Semantic continuum: Think of synonyms for house / toilet / friend Place them in order of formal to informal

17. www.geoffbarton.co.uk It was really cold. The weather was awful. I was walking along the edge of the cliff and I was really scared.

18. Jake began to dial the number slowly as he had done every evening at six o’clock ever since his father had passed away. For the next fifteen minutes he settled back to listen to what his mother had done that day.  Fiction or non-fiction?  What text-type is it (eg thriller, romance / autobiography, leaflet)  How can you tell?

19. Seville is voluptuous and evocative. It has to be seen, tasted and touched. The old quarter is Seville as it was and is. Walk in its narrow cobbled streets, with cascades of geraniums tumbling from balconies and the past shouts so loudly that one can almost glimpse dark- cloaked figures disappearing silently through carved portals. Fiction or non-fiction?

20. Proud mum in a million Natalie Brown hugged her beautiful baby daughter Casey yesterday and said: “She’s my double miracle.”  Fiction or non-fiction?  What text-type is it (eg thriller, romance / autobiography, leaflet)  How can you tell?

24. SIMPLE STARTERS www.geoffbarton.co.uk