These tasks lend themselves to the revision of any topic or content subject and all you have to do by way of preparation is apply the tasks to the specifics of your subject and provide the postit notes. Slide one has 6 images – choose any icon to click on in a way that engages the class [throw a di, ask a question, choose a quiet student to make the choice]. A hyperlink will take you straight to the relevant slide, where the tasks will come up in steps on your click [adapt the wording of these to suit your specifics if you wish]. At the end of the lesson ‘end show’ to get back to slide 1 for the next lesson. Each task is explained in your ‘recipe for success’ word document and alternatives or ways to differentiate suggested. The central idea is to get students helping each other while you facilitate only when required.

Pollination: Useful for revision with a weaker class, but a great way to challenge a more able one. Students look at photographs of pollinators at work – really look – and try to consider the implications of what they are seeing. This can be done in teams or individually. 4 slides show insect, bird and wind pollination and one has a quote from Darwin as an extra challenge. Then the same pollinators are shown with commentary and some extra information designed to provoke discussion and spark interest. This gives the opportunity for the class to discuss the implications of what they notice. [If this is done as a cover lesson, the non-specialist teacher could draw up a list of questions generated by students to put to the teacher for next lesson]. The lesson ends with a 2 question test as a plenary to sum up what has been learned. To accommodate differentiation there are the extra challenges and additional information for more able students, as well as a fill in grid with some given information for the less able or slow writers. The stunning photos in the Power Point are presented in Word for printing off as A4 or A3 posters for display.

With more and more pressure on teachers to ignore Christmas and keep working till the last day, we need something subject related to lighten the mood. All the activities are easily adaptable, you just have to fill in your subject and maybe change the examples to suit. Have some subject related topics in mind for those who need extra guidance. There are 6 tasks to choose from, suiting certain classes and subjects slightly better, some more homework oriented, others will cover several lessons, some make a perfect starter or plenary, depending on ability and age- but the task sheet explains the essence of the task, what you might need to tweak and how to make each task educational. The icons on the first slide of the PP are hyperlinked to the relevant activity, so you can guide the class into choosing which one they’d like to do [please prepare beforehand though, there are places to insert your subject etc.]. There are templates for the games and a fill-in letter to Santa for classes that need guidance. And if you really haven’t got time this Christmas, you can still use the activities later in the year, just change the icons if you want to use the PP. So, an ultra versatile, fun-learning resource adaptable to most subjects AND 6 activities for the price of 1: its a gift!

We all know it is no revision at all to tell students to write loads of past papers in timed conditions – only a few would do it. These tasks lend themselves specifically to the revision of essay questions of any topic or content subject [R.E., Biology; English; History; Geography...] and all you have to do by way of preparation is apply the tasks to the specifics of your subject, particularly your exam board and provide some guidance as to where students can find information, whether that’s in the text book, online or reference books. Your exam board’s website should be able to provide you with sample questions, mark schemes and sample answers. Before using these tasks you will need to prepare the material, but chances are you’ll have it to hand anyway as it is what you’d be revising: this resource helps you approach it in a different way and gets the students actively involved in their revision. On the task prompt sheet is a ‘You will need’ list to help you prepare. Slide one has 6 images – choose any icon to click on in a way that engages the class [throw a di, ask a question, choose a quiet student to make the choice]. A hyperlink will take you straight to the relevant slide, where the tasks will come up in steps on your click [adapt the wording of these to suit your specifics if you wish]. At the end of the lesson ‘end show’ to get back to slide 1 for the next lesson. Each task is explained in your ‘recipe for success’ word document and alternatives or ways to differentiate suggested. The central idea is to get students helping each other while you facilitate only when required. And I’ve added a bonus task in recognition of the price rise – you should get at least 8 lessons out of this pack – Enjoy!