Secondary Psychology

Vocabulary Expander

Literacy is at the forefront of the educational agenda at the moment, with a clear focus in improving students’ levels of written and spoken English. With the reintroduction of SPAG marks at GCSE, there is also even more of an incentive for students to pick up (and learn to spell!)… Read More

Secondary Psychology- Displays

Displays are a bit like marmite… you either love or hate doing them. Here are some quick and easy ways to spruce up your classroom and they aren’t too time consuming at all Debates wall This provides a talking point for lessons whilst covering the debates in Psychology… Read More

Secondary Psychology- Frothy magazines and current affairs

From time to time students need a break from content and need to have time to apply what they know. Application is used as a way of assessing ability in the exams, and is often tricky for some students. The following lessons I’ve used often, particularly when numbers… Read More

Secondary Psychology- Friday Afternoon Activity: Dragon’s Den

A format of lesson I’ve found particularly useful for a Friday afternoon lesson is Dragon’s Den. It will depend on your groups, but by picking the right dragons you can watch the students spend an hour of engaging debate and analysis. They also learn to produce counter arguments, something that… Read More

Secondary Psychology- Progress over time . . . Using assessment folders to track progress

Ask a students their target grade and some will reply with a “ Dunno”. Students need to be well prepared for any questions they may be asked by an OFSTED inspector. They need to know what they are currently working at and where they are heading to. As post 16… Read More

Secondary Psychology – Do they ‘get’ the topic? (aka. medium term planning for progress)

It is important to plan for progress at a medium term level as the new OFSTED framework places a specific emphasis on evidencing pupil progress. This means not only over the course of a key stage, but also within lessons and over time. Each subject necessarily has its own way… Read More

Secondary Psychology – Quizzes!

Quick quizzes are brilliant at any part of the lesson and a quick convenient way of measuring progress. The new OFSTED framework emphasises progress over time and within lessons. The quiz format provides an excellent strategy for demonstrating ‘rapid progress’ which can be an awkward thing to demonstrate visibly (i.e. Read More

Secondary Psychology – How to learn studies

“Not another study to learn Miss…” Many students complain about the number of studies they have to learn for the examination. There are things they can do to ease the process of prioritising and memorising. Here are some activities/ strategies to answer those FAQs… FAQ Number 1 :Which ones do… Read More

Secondary Social Sciences – Recap lesson carousel

Information served six ways (or five)…  This lesson evolved from a discussion with a colleague about how we can ask students to recap their knowledge thoroughly, but without endless exam questions and essays. What emerged was so successful that I did it to death that week with my other Sociology… Read More

All A Level – AS to A2 essays

AS to A2… Making the leap Around this time of year I am marking the first couple of A2 essays from my Year 13 students who have negotiated the first hurdle of AS level successfully. It is rare to find a student who produces an A2 mark on a par… Read More