Visually engaging gap-fill worksheet for those with alternative needs.

UPDATED LESSON- READY TO GO for MIXED ABILITY GROUPS with high SEN/G+T The lesson was taught within a SoW on China for year 9 but could be adapted for all secondary years. Although this lesson contains lots of information and key vocab, all activities are visually stimulating and engaging. Works very well with groups that loathe writing or when you need to mix up your teaching but you still need your students to learn what many may find a boring topic. This is a discovery based lesson and will require you to demonstrate very clearly how to use the living graph and mind map effectively. The living graph is an excellent activity as it encourages visual and kinaesthetic students to engage and the mind map allows artistic but perhaps not academic students to design and scribe with their peers. Homework task at the end works well as I made sure they understood that they would not be able to engage well in the next lesson if not completed. I had them hand it in before the next lesson so I could chase any missing cards and by the day of the lesson, I had them all back. Hope you enjoy, please REVIEW if you download! :)

Template for the Three Gorges Dam, with extension evaluation task at the bottom and scaffolded tasks. With LA groups, I use a video and pause and demonstrate answers on the board, they usually have a lot of questions about the dam and how they work. Equally, it could be set as homework or for pairs to complete in a computer room and then put on display.

SEN Y6 Science- could be used in Ks3 and Ks1/2 also. I used this during the introductory lesson about the heart and found the combination of firstly labelling togather and then independently filling in the gaps worked really well.

The students always love this lesson as it involves them taking on Tourists or Resident roles in 5 different countries. The students get to explore how tourism impacts different people across the world using coloured role cards ( that you must laminate!) and discussing the various types of tourism and positive/negative effects that the industry has. All the cards have been made specifically for this lesson and are differentiated so that you may choose to give the higher ability students the resident cards and the lower ability the tourist cards as they contain slightly less complicated vocabulary and you can target your questions much more easily. The lesson contains a variety of assessment techniques and the student assessor roles always work particularly well- if you have a large group then use 4/5 student assessors. The exit cards only take 2/3 mins and I always insist on complete silence so the students can leave what was a high energy lesson very calmly. Ignore the homework slide at the end! Was made for a low ability group that couldn't cope with any more demanding homework. Enjoy!

This lesson was a follow on from the Economy of China lesson, and incorporates homework students completed before the lesson on Acid Rain. It involves dividing the class into two, with one half focused on rural Linfen and the rest on urban Shanghai. Each group of 3/4 will then fill in the worksheet or create their own presentation using the timelines and their own research and previous lesson knowledge. Once completed- the students can then present their information so that each student has knowledge on either place. Lesson could be adapted really easily if you wanted to use it as a card sort or carousel activity, the lesson if focused on the students attaining the various environmental impacts of industry for those living and working in the factories and those using the materials and living in the cities. The live wind current link works especially well and I sometimes leave it on the board whilst the students are working as it is very calming. There is a HA question for those who complete everything, but I usually give this to everyone at the end and those who have completed it are used as examples and then I give them verbal improvements to complete alongside the rest of the class. Could be used over two lessons if required, enjoy.

I created this for my students as a more engaging alternative to textbook activities. It introduces the coast, key vocab, types of waves, true/false quiz, and discusses pebble vs sans beaches using beaches in the UK. The tasks are extremely diverse and tackle a range of geography skills. Every task is differentiated with a challenge task and examples. Should be printed on A3 in colour and given 1 per pair. Will take at least one full hour, if not two! The second worksheet is matched to the video which is about the South Australian coastline and contains a series of questions matched to the video and the tasks slowly get more difficult, ending with a persuasive exercise about species management. -FULL LESSON Please review if you download!

I used this to finish the cryptography topic with SEN students- once they were practised in decoding and used staff members and humour to engage them in the mystery. I cannot stress how much fun the students had and I just watched them scramble around the room decoding and then moving on the the next clue I’d hidden. Easily adaptable to be longer/more difficult. Please review if you download :)

I created this resource for a KS5 Functional Skills maths lesson, but it could easily be used for various ages/abilities. I started by handing each student a real foreign note and getting them to guess where the note was from and then we went round the room and shared our notes and use the map on the worksheet to locate our currency. They really enjoyed this exercise and were well engaged. Then we went through each task with lots of reflection and discussion surrounding my adventures in those places, which again, helped them to stay on task and complete the calculations. They all reflected that this lesson helped to prepare them, if they ever travelled abroad and needed to know how much British currency they had. Please review if you download! Enjoy!

I have used this resource for years 7 and 8 many times. They absolutely love it! Depending on your students, this can be completed in one lesson but is better to use two so that they have time to be more creative and you can set up sound effects and background images for their scenes. The lesson can be part of a Rivers/Flooding topic and relies on the students having already been taught about the water cycle. It leads into comparing flooding in Bangladesh with flooding in a more economically developed country and to climate change/rising sea levels/global impacts of CC. The lesson includes peer assessment and and exit card which is differentiated. You will need Atlases and may need to adapt certain points of the ppt for your students needs. There are a range of video links included which I usually show a few mins of each to give the students as much visual information as possible before they create their scenes. The groupings are of 4 and the roles should be differentiated and chosen carefully by you- I wouldn’t advise letting them choose! 1/2- Actor roles- Best reserved for the outgoing and confident students- (can be 3 actors) 3- Narrator- Best reserved for students who are fairly shy but also want to participate in the scene but not act, has worked well with Autistic students who want to deliver the important factual information. 4- Director- Best reserved for the quiet/creative/highly academic students who understand the task very well but would never consider acting or narrating in front of the class. Teacher must ensure the rest of the group are listening well to the director and they know it’s their job to combine the rest of the groups ideas into one scene. I usually give out positive rewards for the groups working the best together. Due to the nature of the play structure, it is important that the groups do not kill off the main characters before the end!! The students will insist they need so much more time on this task so is important you are very strict on whatever timings you want them to achieve it in. 1 lesson to plan/rehearse, 1 lesson to rehearse and perform. I hope you enjoy what they come up with!

This ppt and activities usually spread over two lessons so that the students have a better chance of understanding the complicated reasons the OCP was introduced and then can lead into the consequences of it. The storyboard activity worked really well as I said they would be copied and gives to the yr 11s to help them revise. You will need to provide a differentiated storyboard for lower ability/SEN students ( I can't find mine currently!) The only trouble with it is some students wanting to take a lot of time completing it. Usually I allow them to plan and start the first couple of boxes and then it must be completed in the first half of the second lesson, or they can complete for homework. I found the mystery online- it is very useful and it creates a lot of discussion. The post it note activity worked really well as a plenary to the second lesson as by this time the students had built their knowledge significantly and it can be drawn out and turned into a debate activity. I photocopy and use previous post its as examples for everyone to guide them and as an extension activity for HA students-to peer assess previous answers for SPaG and argument- depending on the student. The final slides I sometimes have up around the room printed on A3 for students who prefer to be a bit more active and those who need some extra facts for their storyboard/post its. I hope you enjoy :)

I absolutely love teaching the OCP through this drama activity I created last year when I had a small but very unmotivated group who had been subjected to far too much on China and were quite bored. The lessons involve you first setting the context of the OCP and discussing the use of propaganda and explaining the political context. Then the students complete the mystery activity which I found on here and the students discussing and making notes on the possible impacts of the OCP. Then the students are put into groups of 4 MAX and you designate the roles depending on their ability- i.e- director roles usually given to the most creative but possibly quiet students. Actors- outgoing LA students. Narrators- HA- outgoing students. Don't let them decide who is who unless you really trust them! Each group is given one scene of the play to create using the script help sheets and other videos and previous work. It is very important you explain the play will run in order as it follow the characters lives from childhood and also they musn't confer with their friends in other groups. It usually takes 2 lessons but can run into three if you think they require it, the success criteria tables should be stuck into their books before they begin working on their scenes so they are focused on how to produce a 'glorious' scene. If possible- let them cue up music/sound effects to be heard during the final play. This lesson has been observed and graded outstanding a few times due to it's inclusive activities and strong geographical focus. The students may not be up for it at first but if you get the groups/roles right it will be a lesson where you can sit back and listen to the students working really hard. The post its at the end are important for you to gauge how many of the students really understood the OCP and can be drawn out into a debate style plenary very easily or used to peer assess for SPaG/quality of argument. If your school has ipads- get students to video and put the play together electronically. Enjoy!

For this lesson I wanted to use student’s work for display so we completed this task on paper and over the whole lesson so students could produce work they were proud of and everyone had an opportunity to contribute to the year 7 display. We watched an introductory youtube video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c_ADqshdSA&index=7&list=PLRc_0Mp9wmwgKyaMFYbCusDhzVRpDr_9f&t=0s And I mind mapped their thoughts and descriptions on the white board and then modelled the task using samples from previous classes. I print the worksheet in A3 and colour as the text is small and hare 1 between 2. The LA sheets are to be written on and everyone should complete the superstar extension, which I use as an exit plenary.

An independent entire lesson that I set as cover work. The students engage well with this activity and enjoy learning about the Panda’s and the vocabulary which is varied to challenge G+T students. There are 3 separate tasks, which have potential to be peer assessed and shared, the last task is arguing against a quote and with sentence starters success criteria. Please review if downloaded! Thanks!

Students consistently enjoy this lesson and enjoy learning about the unique animals and plants of each region. Depending on the class, this carousel could last 1-2 lessons and involves each student travelling to different habitats and completing a range of diverse and engaging tasks indepedently. You will need to set up the classroom into 4 large tables which can seat 1/4 of the class. I usually blue tack the sheets to the desks and surrounding walls and double print so that everyone can choose which tasks they’d like to complete at each station. Lots of potential for PA of answers and I usually put this work on display and talk through the IUCN red list/show them videos of the animals in China.

Used as a joiner lesson between introduction to secondary industry and Nike Sweatshops. The student learn about what Ethical Shopping is and how they as consumers have the power to change industry. They really enjoyed designing their adverts and were very proud when I put them on display. They produced them on computers but some did them on paper, both work as long as it is heavily sampled as many struggle at first with an adverts purpose and layout. The students will have lots of questions and I usually spend 3 lessons on this in total- 1st- introduce term and explain and assess sample ads/start designing. 2nd- Complete design and finish for homework. 3rd- Peer assess each other’s and link it to the environment. They then go on to learn about Nike and their understanding of ethical examples really helped them engage and progress. Please review if you download, thanks :)

Originally made for Edexcel B GCSE Geog- Batte for the Biosphere topic but can be applied to any syllabus teaching about the causes of deforestation. The students really enjoyed the lesson as it is very balanced between discussion and exam prep- suits a mixed ability group well and there's lots of room for creative higher level thinking. The lesson gets students to first of all think about the connection between a beef burger and the rainforest and then gets the students to discuss the various causes of deforestation through peer teaching of 3 different articles. There is a describe/explain answer builder sheet which worked well with low ability students and the articles can be differentiated when they are initially given out. There is also an exam question and sample answer for the students to then use to create their own. There's discussion of indigenous tribes living sustainably in the TRF through a brillian TED talk and ends with a quick MEAT the facts video which gets students to understand the links between deforestation and our meat appetite in economically developed nations.

A lesson I used as an introductory lesson about migration and the different types of migrant and as a way of highlighting biases present in the media and our individual world view. Best used with new groups of students of any year 7-11 as most of the tasks are reflective and discussion based and involve random pairings and a main carousel activity. Very engaging and easy to manage lesson. Could definitely be used in a Tutor time/Citzenship lesson also and possibly for English to alert students to journalistic bias and to help them read texts more critically.

This assessment was created to enable the students to use all of their China lessons/knowledge and combine it into an opinion piece about living in China. Length spent on it will be determined by your students but I wouldn't allow more than 45minutes as it is not about them writing everything they know about China. It is out of 21, and I usually get the students to set what the boundaries should be for certain grades which can be an interesting conversation! If you don't want to do that just set the marks in line with whatever assessment style you school is using, obviously top marks on this will not equate to an A/A* as this was written for year 9. I always put the writing frame between each pair so that everyone can see it and no one feels targeted. If students want one to write on I print separate A4 size ones on coloured paper. Is a very easy assessment for them to peer assess/improve in the next lesson. Hope it works as well for you as it does for me :) The ppt also contains a link to a China video to end the topic and stop and discuss if required.