KNOWLEDGEIS POWER

LESSONPLAN

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STARTER ACTIVITY

JEFF TOOZE’S PACEY LESSON SUGGESTION WILL GET EVERY STUDENT INTHE ROOM COMPETING TO ABSORB THE MOST INFORMATION POSSIBLE...

WHY TEACHTHIS?

As a trainee, there was a great deal of pressureover the last year to deliver an ‘outstanding’ lesson.However the problem I encountered was that, as Ifocused in on meeting the observation criteria, thefeeling of being disenfranchised from my ownteaching grew with it; it wasn’t mine, it was what itwas meant to be. A feeling I would wager you haveall had at some point in this profession.

So when I finally bucked the trend of getting‘good’ with a lesson I actually enjoyed preparingand teaching, it felt like I had received manna fromheaven. Having now employed this with Year 10sand 8s in ‘outstanding’ observations, and also witha Year 6 taster lesson, I feel it will have somethingto offer you in your own practice whoever andwhatever it is that you teach; particularly where youare looking to balance the sometimes suffocatingrequirements of the job, with the importance of

genuine enthusiasm for what you are delivering. In short, this idea is what I like to call a ‘CompetitiveMarketplace’, adapted from the well-established‘Marketplace’ strategy encouraged by the likes ofPaul Ginnis. In terms of application, it is particularlyefficacious in those lessons where you need toimpart a great deal of knowledge about a topic thathas multiple causes/factors that need to becovered; i.e. in a science lesson on energy, whereyou might need to construct detailed knowledgeabout all of the fuels that can be used, e.g oil, coal,wind etc. Additionally, it has real purchase becauseit gets students to collaborate in groups, prioritiseinformation, practice skimming and scanningreading skills, work with sources and mostimportantly, constantly communicate what they arelearning to others as they are learning it; makingthem facilitators for their peers in the process.

The hook for the students from theoff is that they are going to becompeting with each other in smallgroups to acquire the knowledgethey need to win a quiz, with aprize of your own choosing, at theend of the lesson. This competitivementality encourages students tostrive for as much information as

This lesson which I ameager to share with allTeach Secondary readers isa concept I have refinedover the past year. With afair wind behind it, it willprovide a fast pacedacademic outlet forstudents across the entirespectrum of learning styles,while keeping the focusfirmly on learning andengagement. Nonetheless,what gives this idea mostcurrency is that thestructure is easilyadaptable and recyclablefor multiple subjects andtopics, and is genuinelyexciting to teach; not least,because you will learnsomething new about yourstudents every time youuse it.

possible and work as a team, whichI find is the downfall of moretraditional ‘Marketplace’ activities. Itis important to communicate thatthis is their goal early, as it getsthem in a conducive and receptivemood quickly.

I would recommend beginningwith an abstract starter activity,which helps identify and signpostthe information you will want thestudents to be looking for in the

rest of the lesson. For example,when I used this to teach howHitler transitioned from Chancellorof Germany into Fuhrer, I askedthem to discuss and feed-backwhat obstacles might stand inHitler’s way, and what he mightneed to do to overcome them.These would become the two key

focus questions of the main activity,thus scaffolding what information tolook out for early. This alsoestablishes a good baseline fortheir knowledge which you orothers, can use to help measureprogress against.

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HISTORY | KS3/4

Homework for this task willdepend on the type of topic it isused to teach. Nonetheless, whatyou should try and encouragewith any homework is to getstudents to think about all of theareas rather than just the onethey focused on originally. Youcould use something like a blankpie-chart, where learners have todivide it up to show howsignificant they think each areais, giving one reason why this isthe case for each.

HOME LEARNING

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The groups then reconvene, share what they have learned andtake on the quiz which is made of questions from a good cross-section of all the different areas groups were given. Thisacts as a great AfL plenary, and I love to use mini-whiteboardsfor this, as the whole class AfL is really easy to gauge progresswith. Giving the mini-whiteboards out at the beginning alsoprovides you opportunities as you go throughout the lesson tohelp chunk it up for pace; just ask, “everyone write down onekey word they have learnt so far”, or any other area you wouldlike to focus on, they are great tools when they support the useof questioning in this way.

While this structure provides pace, active learning, AfL,simple differentiation, support for all the VAK styles and agenuinely useful teaching activity, the real boon is that it is funfor both student and teacher; and once you have created theresources the first time around, it’s very recyclable andrepeatable. Please, use it and abuse it to your heart’s content!

SUMMARY

INFORMATIONCORNER

Jeff Tooze teaches Historyand Politics at ClactonCoastal Academy. JeffTooze is a First ClassHonours graduate in‘Modern History’ from theUniversity of East Anglia. Hehas just completed his InitialTeacher Training and PGCEwith North Essex TeacherTraining and was passed asan ‘Outstanding’ trainee,taking a special interest inthe teaching of KS5.

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MAIN ACTIVITIES

Students should be put intogroups of three, where one of thestudents is of higher ability. This isbecause he or she will need totake on the role of ‘Team Leader’who will have a differentiated rolethroughout the lesson, whichshould ensure consistentchallenge for that individual.

To begin, split the differentfactors or topics up among yourgroups so there is an even spread;I had eight groups and four topics,so this worked out quite nicely. Foreach factor I produced aninformation sheet, which includedfull text about that topicaccompanied by lots of colour andpictures to help them focused.

While reminding them of theirfocus questions from the starter,their task is to create what I call a‘Cheat-Sheet’ to help themremember the information in frontof them. The idea of this is thatthey must, in the style of‘Pictionary’, translate the keyinformation into a series of picturesthat will help them recall what theyneed to know. This is the best partof the lesson for me, as it reallyhelps you get to know thecharacter of your students.

It’s always good to show theman example of what you arelooking for on the board. In thisinstance I showed them ‘The Nightof the Long Knives’ depicted as acrescent moon, crossed with anexceptionally long kitchen knife.While this might sound feckless,the drawings they createundoubtedly help them to

remember the content and get theirimaginations going. I also stronglyrecommend setting a word-limit fortheir cheat-sheet. This means theycan record important informationlike names, which are hard todescribe in pictures, but retain the

incentive to focus on the pictures,in order to keep their words forthis vital information.

Now you take the informationaway from the groups, and leavethem with only their cheat-sheetas a frame of reference. Whatgives this whole exercise a greatdeal of educational value, is thatthe abstract nature of theirpictures means they are forced to explain, rather than just recall notes.

Next, the ‘Team Leader’ staysand the other two members goand research the informationfrom other ‘Team leaders’. Stressthat they need information fromall the topics around the room towin the quiz! This task is all aboutasking the right questions to findthe information, and the quality ofexplanation, so circulating andpriming lower ability studentswith questions is a good strategyto differentiate here. Of course,the higher cohort is thenchallenged by being chargedwith explaining to others as anatural part of their role.

STRETCH THEMFURTHERAS THIS TASK IS COMPETITIVE BYNATURE I LIKE TO INTRODUCE‘BARTERING’ INTO THE ACTIVITY,PARTICULARLY SO THAT THE HIGHERABILITY CAN HAVE AN EXTRA LEVELOF CHALLENGE, WHEREBY THEY ASKFOR INFORMATION IN RETURN FORGIVING SOME UP. THIS ALSOENCOURAGES THE RESEARCHERS TOEXPLAIN IN RETURN. WHENSTUDENTS GET INTO THIS ROLE IT’SINCREDIBLY ENTERTAINING TOWATCH, AS SOME ARE UTTERLYRUTHLESS IN THEIR APPROACH.

TO EXTEND THIS ACTIVITY INTOANOTHER LESSON I WOULDRECOMMEND A QUICKTURNAROUND ON THE MARKING OF THEIR BOOKS ANDCONSTRUCTING A DIRT (DEDICATEDIMPROVEMENT AND REFLECTIONTIME) STYLE SESSION AS A FOLLOWUP. MARK USING TARGETEDQUESTIONS FOR EACH STUDENT TOFILL IN THEIR APPARENTKNOWLEDGE GAPS AND GET THEMTO ENGAGE IN RESPONSIVEFEEDBACK, AS SOME KERNELS OFINFORMATION CAN BE MISSEDALONG THE WAY IN THIS ACTIVITY.

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