Rocket up your Class!

101 High Impact Activities to Start, Break and End Lessons

Dave Keeling, Ian Gilbert

• Publisher: Crown House Publishing
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9781845901349
• eBook ISBN: 9781845903619
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Are you looking for a creative opening, energising middle or big finish to a lesson? then just pick out a relevant game, exercise or idea from this wonderful book and watch the fireworks go. Failing that, just leave the room as you found it and head for your local hostelry where Dawn will be waiting with a patient ear, a packet of crisps and your usual. All the ideas contained within this book have come together over ten years of experience, working with thousands of students in hundreds of schools. Some are of Dave's own devising, some have been donated and the rest have been simply nicked under the user-friendly title of knowledge sharing, but all have been deployed with one vision in mind which is to shamelessly entertain whilst at the same time engaging young people in the creative arena in order to prove, as Socrates the Greek philosopher once stated, "Life and learning should be a festival of the mind".

The Rockets

1

Smile and Say Hello

When – Every day, every lesson.

Why – You’d be surprised how many teachers don’t employ this simplest of tools.

Students will only engage in an environment where they feel understood and then, in turn, more confident (for more info see Dr Andrew Curran’s The Little Book of Big Stuff About the Brain). This is the starting point for the foundation of a respectful working relationship.

How – Practice in the mirror. Think of someone you dislike being arrested or watch Shrek 3. Just don’t be miserable because, like gravy and ice cream, miserable and teaching don’t mix well.

2

Have a Drink

When – When no one’s looking.

Where – Stationery cupboard, back of sports hall or in your car at lunchtime.

Why – Why not?

3

Get Naked (I went to a small school in the country)

Only joking. I just thought I’d get the three most popular exercises out of the way first.

You have to admit it though, with these three options you’ve got yourself one hell of a lesson right there.

4

Name Game

When – Beginning of term or whenever you may encounter a new class.

Why – It’s a quick and entertaining way for you and the students to get to know names and interesting titbits about one another. It breaks the ice and helps to promote a team feel early on, as well as being a superb stand-alone memory technique.

How – The group stands in a circle. The leader (in most cases you) starts off by saying their first name and something they really love.

For instance, ‘My name is Dave and I love to wear women’s clothing’ (I don’t; it is simply an example).

The next person to my left must then say my name and what I love followed by their own name and something they love.

There’s a lovely moment in this exercise when it suddenly dawns on everyone that the last person in the circle will not only have to remember everyone’s names but also what they love.

You’d be surprised how many people panic at this notion yet haven’t realised that by the time it gets round to them it will have been repeated many times over and wired itself deep into their synaptic connections, making their recall magnificent.

You can split them into two smaller groups if you feel the group is too large.

It doesn’t just have to be about names. You may wish to focus this memory activity around facts, dates or moments in history.

The key is in the repetition and so for that reason you may wish to read this passage again.

5

Anagrammer

When – Beginning.

Why – In my experience, I’ve found many times over that if you don’t give students something to do as soon as they ente...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Introduction
• The Rockets
• Final word from the author
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright