A set of 7 starters to get students thinking and engaged. Always popular with students as they can enjoying looking for clues and connections between the images, and learn some new things along the way. Suitable for primary and secondary age groups.

A collection o keep students thinking - the lessons build from a starter and are great for cover or intervention lessons. The approaches here give good integration of critical thinking with practical activities.

A nice little starter that will get students making some links with different approaches across cultures and hook up with their Geography. There is a trick one also to get them guessing. They will enjoy spotting the countries as some are easier to identify than others. Useful for links between Art and Geography, so can be used as a starter in either or in form tutor time

A starter activity for students to think outside the box. The nature of the starter means that they may not guess the right answer, it is more important that they ask questions and think of possible answers - a really important life skill. Handy to focus students on as they arrive to any lesson or tutor time. Useful to lead into discussions on trees as symbols, how we mark events such as 9/11

A useful intervention or cover lesson which focusses analysis through a discussion style question on why the sea is a popular theme for painters. There is an odd one out starter to engage students from the start and a set of images for them to consider in response to the question. I find the discussion question approach much more useful than the standard art historical approach as the students can explore context and meaning through this.

A starter activity to promote thinking skills for AO2 and AO3 for GCSE and A level - how artists use media, and how they review, modify and refine. This one works really well to break down barriers of not wanting to go beyond the comfort zone when developing work and shows students how artists work in ways where they change their minds when working. Ideal for a lesson involving drawing and reworking a drawing

A starter activity designed at getting students to consider and explore the ideas and concepts behind the design process and how this affects the look of the product. This is ideal for any age group but particularly good for GCSE and A Level graphics communication in particular, and will give information on which students can show an informed response.

This starter activity really gets students looking and questioning. I like to make students look beyond the obvious connections and really question what they see in an image - this one works really well in giving students new ideas to explore for AO1 in asking of them what artists are doing in different ways and includes statements by the artists in terms of what the work is about for students to be able to demonstrate Informed responses. This is great for GCSE and A Level but will work with any age group in giving them opportunities to make connections and guesses around what the are seeing, and that's a key thing I think in getting to students to look more closely where they usually only register what they see at first glance.

This lesson covers AO 1 and 2 really well giving good opportunity for students to comment on working practice and philosophy as well as practical activity in exploring the approach. It can be used as an intervention lesson or as a part of a scheme of work in exploring different practical approaches to painting. The presentation uses close up photos of Blotter by Peter Doig taken by myself to show what peter talks about in his comments on ways of working and the lesson plan includes questioning for AFL as well as E&D .

A starter activity the promotes looking harder. This gives some extra understanding to how painters hide things, or make them less obvious and challenges them to question why which is great for AO1 and AO4, making informed responses and commenting on the work of artists in ways which help them develop ideas and understanding. It works for most age ranges as it really relies on them looking and making connections with what they can see. Great for small group work and useful for building skills in responding to works of art through comparing and contrasting approaches.

A PowerPoint run through of a mid grade sketchbook which throws up good opportunity for students to spot what could be improved, and help them identify what they may be doing wrong. The starter activity focusses them on identifying what the differences are between approaches from students and proper artists and gives opportunity to challenge why there may be differences. A really useful lesson to focus and redirect students and hits AFL nicely with self and peer assessment.

A starter to engage the students on entry, looking for clues as to what the connection might be with a difficult fourth image which doesn't quite fit. These starters really make the students look and think and give good opportunities to look across cultures for why artists might choose the subject matter. Suitable for any age group - KS2 KS3 KS4 and KS5, and good for some background knowledge on art history AO1

A starter to engage students on entry - looking for clues for connections they can make between the images and learn a bit about Art History along the way. These starters always go down well even with the reluctant participant because they can look and suggest possible answers, and students can get new ideas on approaches for their own projects.

This lesson has a starter for students to make connections and leads into an analysis task exploring how an artist's work develops, looking for style and technique changes as well as ideas and concepts. Its a nice variation on art history research approaches and focuses the students more on what they are looking at in the work of an artist over their life. The starter is fun and always engages as students like guessing at what the connection may be. Ideal as a back up lesson, an intervention lesson or as evidence of informed personal response for GCSE and A Level work

A starter for any lesson - an excuse to get students exploring possible connections between the paintings. The important thing is not that they get the answer but they ask questions and make suggestions - gets them thinking!

A starter to engage students in thinking about design, hygiene, and different cultures and conditions around the world. Particularly useful if your students are not particularly well travelled as it provides them with basic ideas of how different life can be

A starter to engage discussion and thinking - the criteria for "best" can be left for the students to decide on and justify through the reasoning - can be design, versatility, price etc

A fun starter activity testing knowledge developing thinking skills - will broaden students' understanding of art as well as encouraging them to think that all artists started as students.

A starter activity to engage in looking for the subject matter. Useful for students to see that artists paint their mums and for them to consider why they might do this. The works for any age KS2, 3 4 and 5 Art and Design

A fun starter to spot how the images are linked. Gets your class interested in looking with a set of images they have to link, with the fun bit being they have to work out what the link might be - throws up some interesting ideas for them.