20 engaging plenaries

Author: Teachit's editorial team
Published: 11/08/2020
  1. Memory game. Students collaboratively write all the key words from your lesson on the board. They then have two minutes to remember them all. Remove the words from the board. How many words can students remember? Encourage students to work in groups if you prefer.

  2. Quiz master. Select a popular game show or quiz format (Blockbusters, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Trivial Pursuit, bingo, etc.) and ask students to test each other with questions they have written.

  3. Visualising. Ask students to create a visual summary of the lesson – a mind map, a flowchart, a Venn diagram, a timeline, infographic, etc.

  4. Teacher challenge. Get students to compose three questions to ask you.

  5. Five features. Ask students to summarise the lesson in five sentences or five (key) words. 

  6. Word mats. Students create a word mat based on the lesson.  

  7. Card questions. Students write a list of questions based on today’s lesson (with the answers on the reverse of the card) to ask themselves as a starter at the beginning of the next lesson.

  8. Emoji exits. Using emojis, students reflect on the lesson in terms of their understanding/learning. Happy? Sad? Bored? Confused? Ask for an explanation to accompany the emoji/s. 

  9. Just a minute. Can students talk convincingly on the topic of today’s lesson for a minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation?

  10. Reflection cards. Use the Reflection mat cards (search Teachit for Reflection mat cards) to get students to review their learning, with no planning!

Download all 20 plenary ideas.

Teachit's editorial team