Activities

Not so Noble – 50 years of reactions of the inert gases

It was the evening of 23rd March 1962.  Neil Bartlett was in his lab at the University of British Colombia in Vancouver.  Everyone else had gone home, including his student.  It had taken longer than expected to set up the apparatus for his experiment but now he was ready.  A… Read More

Simply take … A set of blank cards – A matter of opinion

This is an activity that could be used to introduce the ideas of probability compared to likelihood. The lesson before: For a homework I asked students to take six cards (size A6 seems to work well) and to write on each of these an event that might or might not… Read More

100 years of the atomic nucleus

The atomic nucleus with its orbiting electrons is one of the iconic images of the twentieth century. To some it promised unlimited energy, to others it signified the horrors of nuclear war and to many it means the dangers of radiation.  The concept of a tiny nucleus surrounded by electrons… Read More

Secondary RE and PSHE – Enquiry-Based Learning

During an INSET day in September, I was reminded that students learn and remember best when the learning has meaning. Essentially, the learning undertaken within PSHE and RE should have meaning to all students, as both subjects explore contemporary moral issues and personal views and opinions as well as those… Read More

Secondary Sociology – Sociological Settler Activities

The settler is essentially a thought-based prelude to a starter activity.  In my practice, it’s usually something projected on the interactive white board as students enter the class.  Not only does a good settler maximise a patch of dead time whilst students get seated and get out their books etc,… Read More

Secondary Geography – Creating Landscapes

Box Clever I recently purchased some burger boxes from my local cash and carry, for a few pence each. The following lesson, Year 7 pupils were each issued with an empty box, and an instruction: I asked them to put a ‘landscape’ of some kind inside the box. There… Read More

GCSE Statistics – Probability activities

People are always talking about probability. ‘I think it’s going to rain’, ‘I have no chance of passing my maths test’, ‘I expect I’ll win the tennis match.’ Probability is the measure of how likely an outcome is. An impossible event has a probability of 0. Something that is… Read More

Primary cross-curricular – Fun ways to use the news

Primary schools are very good at reacting to news events. If there’s a disaster of some kind, somewhere in the world, the school will feel the children need to know about it and in return the children’s natural compassion makes them want to help. The charity events which come about… Read More