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.

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 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 starter of 9 images of artists at work and an open question for students to discuss as to which one best typifies how an artist works. Good for students to consider ways of working and how we perceive artists at work.

A starter to get students thinking about design, practicality, comfort, so the students can weigh these up as to deciding what constitutes best.

A fun starter to engage and get students in a good mood - 10 cities in the fog for students to identify. Can use this as a starter for any subject, and it has a link with Geography obviously.

A starter activity to get them guessing looking for possible connections. This one is based on names and slide 2 has the explanations of origins. This activity has no other questions - it is really about students asking the questions with the odd clue from the teacher thrown in when they get stuck. Gets them thinking about fashion beyond the look of it.

A really simple starter - a discussion generator. They can decide on their own criteria for how to measure "best" - cheapest, most robust, most versatile etc.

A starter for a Photography, Art or any lesson where you want students to challenge and question what they think they see, and make them consider why a photograph may be altered. Engages the students on entry and asks them to choose 3 images where there has been argument over whether they are true or not.

A starter activity - engages students in looking for connections and questioning what they see in what the differences and similarities are in the city views, which are real and which are false - leading into discussions on what the artists are attempting to do. Ideal for KS3, 4 and 5 as a starter for any lesson where you want them thinking as soon as they come in.

A starter to focus students on questioning why people vandalise works of art, thinking outside the box to lead into discussion whether graffiti is art or vandalism, and how can you tell the difference.

A starter activity for students to explore possible connections between the paintings and question what is going on in them. These starters really engage students and when done regularly they begin to catch on that they have to think outside the box and look for clues in the subject matter. Its always useful to make them think!

In 1565 Pieter Bruegel painted a series of paintings dedicated to the months of the year. He broke the cycle of the year into six stages in six paintings, two months per painting. This starter asks students to make connections between the images to spot that they about the seasons and months and this gets them looking more closely at the activity going on in the painting. Suitable for any year group as its really about looking and asking questions.

A starter to engage on entry and stimulate curiosity and questioning on the part of the students. I find these starters great for getting students going as soon as they arrive and good for them to consider looking at images in a different way to the way expect to in art work and so challenge their ideas on wider culture

A starter activity to engage on entry and help get students looking for connections between images. Stimulates curiosity and thinking especially if working in pairs and creates a climate where they are happy to suggest possible answers - working on 2 levels - if they can identify the correct image, they can then puzzle further on what the answer might be. Great for learning about how to question what they are looking at.

Engages students on entry and gets them looking and asking questions - good for getting them to think outside of the box

A starter activity for students to look more closely at Art and question what the work is about. This is great for developing thinking skills and questioning, for students to go beyond the basic description of the work. It gives students good opportunity to respond to AO1 - developing ideas and commenting on the work of others.

A starter activity for students to explore connections between images and this leads into discussion on censorship in art, film, music and literature. The starter comes with notes to inform the students' discussion. This starter is great for students to consider wider issues in what is deemed acceptable in different cultures and through history for GCSE and A Level students and is a nice trigger for British Values of tolerance, free speech and rule of law. Although I use this a lot in Art and Design it can be a good discussion starter for English, Music, Film and Media as well as PSHE.

A nicely constructed essay on "Structures and Abstraction" to show students beginning the written element of their personal Investigation with a good mix of research and gallery visits to inform the personal response. The student uses quotation well to set up opportunities to comment and develop ideas further, supported by examples of their own work. Also includes the student's own photos of work seen in galleries such as the Mondrian on this cover image.