Finding the right way to start a lesson can make all the difference: it sets the tone, grabs the children’s attention and gets them ready to learn. But when you’re short on time, thinking of something fresh every day isn’t easy.
That’s why we’ve put together a list of our favourite quick and easy lesson starter ideas you can use across subjects. They’re designed to spark curiosity, get everyone talking and settle your class into learning mode straight away.
Display a set of words, objects or numbers on the board and challenge children to identify which is the odd one out, and explain why.
Examples:
English:
A set of verbs and one adjective
A set of proper nouns and one common noun
A set of words that all rhyme with each other and one that doesn’t
A set of kangaroo words and one word non-kangaroo word
A set of words with three syllables and one with four
A set of synonyms for a particular word and one antonym
Maths:
A set of odd numbers and one even number
A set of regular shapes and one irregular
A set of prime numbers and one composite number
A set of multiples of a particular number and one number that isn’t a multiple of that number
A set of fractions that are equivalent to e.g. one half and one that represents one third
Science:
Pictures of animals that are all mammals and one reptile
Pictures of objects that are all made of wood and one that’s made from plastic
A list of substances that are soluble in water and one that isn’t
Pictures of animals that have adapted to live in a desert biome and one that lives in a rainforest biome
Pictures of trees that are deciduous and one evergreen
Cross-curricular:
A list of European countries and one South American country
Pictures of ancient Egyptian artefacts and one from the Victorian period
Artworks from the Pop Art movement and one from the Impressionist movement
Photos of famous buildings in London and one from Paris
Photos of foods that are all carbohydrates and one that is a protein
Display three sentences or statements on the board, two of which are true and one of which is false. Can children identify the false statement and explain why it is false?
Examples:
English:
A cat is a noun. A chair is a noun. Running is a noun.
Roald Dahl wrote Matilda. Julia Donaldson wrote The Gruffalo. Michael Morpurgo wrote Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
A question mark is used at the end of a question. Speech marks show when someone is talking. A comma ends every sentence.
Prefixes: Un- means “not”. Re- means “again”. Pre- means “after”.
A simile compares two things using “like” or “as”. Personification gives human qualities to non-human things. Onomatopoeia is when words rhyme.
Maths:
Show two correct number sentences and one with an error.
In 345, the 4 is worth forty. In 7,892, the 8 is worth eighty. In 56, the 5 is worth fifty.
0.1 is the same as one tenth. 0.5 is the same as five hundredths. 0.75 is the same as three quarters.
A square has 4 equal sides. A triangle always has 4 sides. A rectangle has 2 pairs of equal sides.
There are 100 cm in 1 metre. There are 1,000 g in 1 kg. There are 500 ml in 1 litre.
Science:
Wood comes from trees. Glass can be transparent. Paper is made of metal.
The Earth orbits the Sun. The Moon orbits the Earth. The Sun orbits the Earth.
Mammals usually have hair or fur. Reptiles lay eggs. Fish breathe air with their lungs.
Gravity pulls objects towards the centre of the Earth. The Moon has weaker gravity than Earth. Gravity pushes objects away from the Earth.
Light travels in straight lines. Shadows are formed when light is blocked. The Moon makes its own light.
Cross-curricular:
The River Nile runs through Egypt. The Amazon River runs through the USA. The River Thames runs through Edinburgh.
There are seven continents on Earth. Africa is the largest continent. Europe is bigger than Asia.
World War 2 began in 1939. The Blitz happened in Britain. Queen Victoria was the monarch during WWII.
Pulleys can lift heavy objects. Gears can change the speed of movement. A lever always makes lifting harder.
Vincent van Gogh painted Starry Night. Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. Andy Warhol painted The Scream.
Posing a simple ‘What if…?’ question relating to whichever topic you’re teaching is a great way to encourage deeper thinking about a subject. And it works with just about anything!
Examples:
English:
What if there was no punctuation?
What if the letter ‘a’ disappeared?
What if you could only speak in rhyme?
What if you could swap places with a famous character for a day?
What if stories had no endings?
Maths:
What if a clock only had numbers 1 to 6 — how would you tell the time?
What if there were only 10 numbers in the world — how would we count bigger than 9?
What if the number system was in base 5 instead of base 10 — what would come after 4?
What if percentages didn’t exist — how else could we show parts of a whole?
What if you multiplied an odd number by an even number — what kind of answer would you always get?
Science:
What if plants could walk around like animals?
What if the Sun disappeared for a whole day?
What if the seasons never changed?
What if electricity didn’t exist — how would life be different?
What if water froze at 50°C instead of 0°C?
Cross-curricular:
What if there were no oceans?
What if every country spoke the same language?
What if there were no colours in the world?
What if famous paintings could talk?
What if you could travel back to the past?
Children love playing teacher and finding mistakes! This simple activity not only helps children to develop the ability to spot errors in their own work but can also help to hone their reasoning skills if they are encouraged to explain how they identified the mistake.
This activity could be used to challenge children to:
identify punctuation, spelling or grammatical mistakes in English
find errors in number sentences in Maths
identify errors in word definitions for vocabulary related to a particular topic
correct mislabelled parts of a diagram in Science (e.g. labelling the heart as the lungs)
spot geographical errors on a map (e.g. countries, rivers, capital cities)
identify mistakes in a timeline of historical events
find errors in measurements or units in a DT or Science investigation
spot deliberate mistakes in steps of a method or set of instructions
find false statements hidden in a text or knowledge organiser
identify false “facts” in a short reading passage (e.g. “The Sun is a planet”)
Put four quick questions on the board: one from yesterday, one from last week, one from last term, and one challenge question. Great for retrieval practice.
Pupils have two minutes to sketch something from a previous lesson, such as a diagram, a historical figure or a scientific process, then explain it to a partner.
Provide pairs for children to match up. Examples could include matching:
synonyms with their antonyms in English
fractions to decimals in Maths
animals to their habitats in Science
materials to their properties
famous works of art with their artists
countries with their capital cities
inventions with their year or time period
religious holidays or festivals with their religion
Easy lesson starters don’t have to take up lots of planning time or eat into your lesson. Sometimes the simplest activities spark the biggest engagement. Whether it’s a quick-fire quiz, a “What if?” question, or a game of “Spot the Mistake”, these short tasks help children settle, switch on their thinking skills and make connections across subjects. By keeping a bank of tried-and-tested starters to hand, you’ll always have a simple way to kick off lessons with energy, focus and curiosity.
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