Teaching new knowledge ideas

1. Lesson ideas for teaching new knowledge to students
Idea Explanation
Back to
Back
• Students are given a passage of text with missing words.
• Within each pair, each student has different words missing.
• They sit back to back and must talk to each other to get all of their answers.
• Students could then take this further by distilling the information into key points e.g. bullet
point list or they could identify key words and define them using the border space. Or they
could identify literacy issues and improve on the SPaG of the text by upgrading the language
used to include more key terms.
This can also be used to introduce new diagrams e.g. DTM, spit formation, plate boundaries etc..
• With diagram tasks students would have a whiteboard or piece of paper in their pairs and as
one person describes the other person would draw.
• They then swap roles and continue to add to their diagram.
• Students could have 4 rounds of this.
• They then compare their diagram to the example they were looking at and give themselves
points for completion.
• They could then do an activity with the diagram and then at the end of the lesson be asked to
complete a partially completed one or label a copy of the diagram or draw it from memory
again.
You could go large with this and do it as a chalk activity in the playground and students run up to
the image individually rather than one of them having their backs to the image on the board.
Facebook
Profile
• Give students textbook pages for case studies and they then fill in the face book profile for the
case study as to make the information engaging and in an easier format to learn.
OR
• Give students a completed face book profile for a case study and students then work back from
the face book profile to work out the case study details and record the key points in the
categories of location, causes, effects and responses (traditional Think like a Geographer
structure).
Speed
Dating
• Give students information cards about a topic that they are responsible for.
• Students move around and talk to each other to find out the other persons information.
• Then they summarise their learning in a table or give out a partially completed table of the
information and students add the titles or missing pieces of information to the table.
• This works well with management strategies for river flooding, coastal defences and hazard
responses.
Quiz Quiz
Trade
• Students complete a quiz at the start of the lesson.
• They then do something to find the answers e.g. read the page in the textbook or watch a
video clip and they mark their own answers with a simple tick or cross. This gives them their
starting score.
• Students are then given responsibility for a question and its answer on a piece of paper / or
they record the question and answer onto their whiteboards. They then move around the
classroom and trade questions and answers with each other. Give them about 5 minutes with
the aim being that they ask and hear each question at least twice.
• Students re-do the quiz (it should be in a different order).
• Go through the answers and students score their work.
• Then students work out their progress (how many marks have they increased by).
You could then get students to use the answers to the quiz to write their own summary of the topic
or you could get them to write different questions to go with the answers e.g. the answer is
destructive plate boundary. The original question was ‘What is the name given to the plate
boundary where the oceanic plate subducts beneath the oceanic plate?’ and the students
alternative question could be ‘At what plate boundary are fold mountains, composite volcanoes
and oceanic trenches found?’. Students could then swap and check their questions with their
partners.

2. Teach a
partner
• Put students into pairs.
• Give the students two different paragraphs/pieces of information and give them time to read
through the information.
• Students then teach each other the paragraphs / information (not just recall) without having
access to the resource. You could allow them to record 5 key points or draw a diagram as a
resource to help them teach their partner (depends on students and the topic).
• You can then extend this by having a collaborative question or task and moving students
around.
• Teacher picks several students to summarise the two paragraphs/pieces of information back to
class.
Jigsaw
• Set up ‘expert groups’ of information.
• Assign pupils a number e.g. 1-4.
• All of the 1s will then go and work together, all of the 2s etc.
• After 10 minutes students are told to return to their home group’s.
• Each member of the group then takes it in turn to feedback what they have been doing as a
‘Round Robin’ or ‘question the expert’.
• Can extend by coming to a group decision about an agreed outcome.
Question the
expert
• Class split into 4 or 5 groups
• Students select one student to be the ‘expert’. Other students are given a paragraph to read.
• The teacher then gives a short explanation to the ‘experts’ who go back to their groups and
teach the same explanation.
• Extend by including a collaborative task.
Carousel
• Set up tables with information sources on. These could be in various forms e.g. textbook pages,
information sheets, card sorts or newspaper articles.
• Students rotate around the information sources and collect information from reading the
resources or the activities.
• They record this information into a summary sheet e.g. table, gap fill, flow diagram, pyramid
etc…
KIM charts
• This technique helps to define and illustrate important vocabulary.
• Students divide their notebook into three columns, like this:
• Write the term or key idea (K) in the left column, the information/definition (I) that goes along
with it in the centre column and draw a picture of the idea, a memory clue, (M) in the right
column.
Clustering
• Give each student an information slip/ statement. Ideally there should be a different piece of
information for every pupil.
• Pupils read their information slip/ statement.
• Pupils move around and compare their statement with other pupils’ cards.
• If two pupils decide that there is a link between their statements they form a cluster.
• Another pupil might join the cluster if their statement is connected to other statements in the
cluster.
• Pupils might decide to break into sub-clusters if they see patterns within the connections.
• Pupils might want to give their cluster a name.
• Pupils might introduce their cluster and explain why they have formed a group and/ or sub-
group.
• Main findings might be written on a board or flip chart whilst pupils are presenting their
formations.
This would work well with case study details e.g. location, causes, effects, responses for developed
and developing case studies.
Market place
• Students work in groups of 3 or 4.
• Each group is given a different area of the topic to research. These might be structured by a
specific question, or a series of questions.
• When sufficient time has passed, groups set up a market stall (a classroom table) from where
they will ‘sell’ their learning.
• One member of each group remains at their stall. The rest of go off into the market to learn
about all the different areas which have been researched. They should make notes as they go.
• Finally, groups re-form and the student who remained at the stall is taught by their peers.

3. Get one give
one /
Chocolate bar
• Students divide an A4 sheet into 8 squares or more (depends on topic). This will be what they
record the information on.
• A slip of paper with a particular fact or statistic is distributed to every student. Ideally there
should be a different statement for every student.
• Student’s read their statement to ensure that they understand its meaning.
• Student’s move around and share their statement with other students. They should aim to
explain their fact or figure with as many people as possible. They record what they learn from
their conversations with other students onto the piece of paper (chocolate bar).
• After adequate time for communicating their facts, students come back to their group tables
and try to work out the topic / case study / landform and try to use the information to make a
summary / explanation of the topic.
• Students could ‘Magpie’ by visiting other group tables and looking at what their finished
summary is like and then return to their groups and add to their attempts.
• Teacher to then show key facts / terms on the board and use these to outline the topic /
landform / process / case study etc… and students can add further to their summaries.
This would work well with case study facts and figures. Could break up into location, causes,
effects and responses nice and easily.
Quick of the
draw
• Organise students into groups and give them a copy of a resource or direct them to textbook
pages.
• One student from each group comes up to the front and is given the first question. They
remember this and return to their group and tell them what the question is and they work as a
team to find the answer in the resource. This develops skimming, scanning and key term
recognition skills.
• They record their answer on the whiteboard and return to the teacher. If correct they get the
next question, if not correct they have to return to their group and make corrections to their
answer.
• Repeat for the remaining questions (about 10 questions is a good number – more than this and
students lose interest. Also the questions should start easy allowing the students to grasp the
main facts and figures and the last few questions should be synthesis and evaluative in style.
• First team to complete all the questions wins.
• You could then give them the quiz without the resource to complete individually or collectively
based on what they have learned.
OR
You could then get the students to interact with the resource and colour code key terms, key
facts
OR
Students could annotate the resource with the questions that were asked and link the
questions to the knowledge
OR
Students complete a distillation task where they summarise the information into 5 sentences, 5
words and then 1 word.
Ready Steady
Teach
• Students are given a specific area of the topic to
focus upon and are provided with information on
this, either by using textbook pages, video clips of
information sheets.
• They are given access to materials e.g. play dough,
straws, tissue paper, cups etc… and given a time limit
of using the materials to make a teaching aid.
• They turn the information into a model to teach
about the area of the topic.
• Groups present to the class and students then return
to desks and complete summary sheet on what has
been learned or they write down the key points into
a table format or they could be provided with the
Cornell notes framework (see right) with the notes
section completed for each group and they then
complete the key words, key points and questions
column.

4. Think Tax
Poster
• Students work in groups to produce a poster on the specific topic. This could be the same topic
as a class or different topics for each group.
• This works well as a revision / summary activity. If using for new learning you could set the
students a homework before the lesson to read through the textbook page or provided
information resource e.g. information sheet or video clip / documentary on the topic.
OR
The first part of the lesson could be a jigsaw type activity where members of the group go off to
different resources spread around the room and have 5 minutes to remember as much as
possible about their area of responsibility. They then come back together as a group and
combine their gained information into a poster.
• Students are provided with a large sheet of paper, some pens and £10 in monopoly money.
• The winning team is the one that makes the most money BUT has the most informative and
engaging summary poster.
The rules:
• If you want access to more information you can – but it will cost you money:
Textbooks = £5 for 5 minutes
• Teacher expert information sheets = £5 for 5 minutes
• Website = £3 for 3 minutes
• Use the display= £ 3 for 3 minutes
• Asking someone else in the class a question = give them a £1 (presuming they answer it
correctly)
You can also earn money for your team in the question rounds.
Drip feed
• Provide students with stages of information collection. Could be used for landform
development or processes e.g. rainfall formation or rates of coastal erosion case studies
• Stage 1 – an unlabelled diagram or photograph. Students use the diagram / photograph
and previous knowledge to record what they can about the topic.
• Stage 2 – Hand out key terms linked to the diagram / photograph and topic. Students
use these key terms to add to their initial ideas.
• Stage 3 – Students then complete a card sort sequencing the information.
• Stage 4 – Students watch a video clip / animation and check their card sort is correctly
sequenced.
• Stage 5 – Students use all resources to complete a write up on the topic
• Stage 6 – Hand out model example / summary sheet / textbook page and students
identify missing elements from their answer and add in the detail.
Encyclo links
• Give students an information sheet/ newspaper article for the new topic. They read through it
individually and identify any key terms that they think they need to be able to define and
understand for the topic.
• Then review this together as a class and ensure that all the important terms have been
identified and underlined.
• Students then research these and add an explanation / definition of them around the borders
of the information.
• As a class go through the terms and students offer their definitions.
• This could be done using ICT and having it as a shared google document. The comment function
could be used to complete the definitions.
• You could then provide students with just the terms in a future lesson or in the plenary and
they have to rewrite the information sheet / newspaper article just using the words. They then
compare their attempt against the original and identify any key missing points and terms that
they missed out.

5. A topic in *
ways…
• Students are provided with a resource e.g. information sheet on the topic or case study. They
are going to do a series of tasks to help them learn the information on the resource. The
activities can be a mixture of different approaches but the idea is that they are using the one
source or information in multiple ways as to consolidate their understanding of it fully and
make the most out of the resource.
• Stage A – Comprehension and interrogation of the resource. Students read it through
and then answer a series of comprehension, skimming and scanning based questions.
• Stage B – Redaction. Students use a black/ dark pen to remove any words in the text
that are not vital to understanding the topic e.g. and, the, whilst etc…Students need to
be careful not to remove too much as they will be using the remaining words / facts in
stage C, convert it.
• Stage C – Convert it. Students use the remaining key terms from the redaction activity
(Stage B) and the answers to the comprehension questions (Stage A) to convert the
information into a different format. This could be completing a table (structure
provided by the teacher) or it could be to draw a diagram or it could be to use the
information to answer an exam question.
An alternative ‘Topic in * ways’ could be…
• Stage A - Watch and hear about it. Students watch a video clip or listen to a podcast on
the topic.
• Stage B - Study the diagrams of it. Students are presented with detailed and well
labelled diagrams associated with the topic.
• Stage C - Animate it. Students see an animation or sequence of the topic.
• Stage D - Complete it. Using the knowledge gained from the stages A – C, students
complete a summary task e.g. gap fill model answer or add annotations to a diagram,
make a flow diagram or spot the mistakes in an exam answer and add in the correct
answers.
What is the
significance…?
• Students are provided with a grid of key terms / facts / figures related to the topic / case study
being learned.
• They are provided with a resource e.g. textbook page, newspaper report, diagram or video clip.
• Students use the resource to identify the significance of the words / facts / figures on grid.
They annotate the grid with what the key term / fact or figures means in relation to the topic
being studied.
• In pairs students then test each other – one student turns over their grid and the other asks
them about the facts or key terms and they answer without looking at their answers.
• Students can then…
• Be given a question to answer and they answer it without using their annotated grid.
• Be given a question to answer and only use their annotated grid to help them answer
it.
• Be given an answer to a question but it has missing words and facts and students use
the annotated grid to complete the model answer. They the self-assess their answer
against the completed example. This could be taken further and SPaG looked at and
improved upon.
Alternatively, the students could be provided with a model answer and they have to produce the
grid themselves so that they are selecting the important facts and figures that make the answer a
good answer. Some crucial facts could be deliberately left out and as the final task students are
directed to the text book page and asked to select two further points that should be included in
the model answer and they add these to their grid too.

6. Teach to the
exam
questions
• Start the lesson by showing a series of exam questions related to the new topic using different
command words e.g. Define… On figure 3 label…Describe…Outline…Give reasons for
…Explain…Assess…
• Students use the exam questions to work out what they need to know exactly about the topic
and produce a checklist of what they need to find out about the topic or case study example.
• Students could then simply use the textbooks, information sheets or suggested websites and
video clips to find out the information and record the key points under the sections of their
devised checklists.
OR
They could work in groups and share out the responsibility for the different sections. They then
use the suggested resources to find out about the section they are responsible for. They then
feed back to their group and make notes from each other’s teaching.
• Complete the activity by returning to the exam questions from the start of the lesson and
students could have a grid with the questions in and record key facts, key words etc that they
would put in the answer OR they could colour code the questions and then colour code the
sections of their notes that match the questions.
Question the
diagram
• Students are presented each with a diagram (e.g. formation of a hurricane or a destructive
plate boundary). They sit in a circle and have a whiteboard or piece of paper to record notes
on.
• Have a series of questions printed onto slips of paper. Each student is given a question e.g.
What, where, why etc. and they have to study the diagram and use it to answer the question
(e.g. what direction are the tectonic plates moving in? OR what is the centre of a hurricane
called?) Students record the answer to the question on their slip onto their whiteboard / piece
of paper and then they pass their question on.
• Once the students have received all of the questions and written down their answers, discuss
the answers to the questions as a class.
• Students could then be given a copy of the diagram to label and annotate using their answers
from the task. They then use these answers to write a summary explanation below.
• This could be taken further by then looking at the use of key terms. Make a list of key terms
together as a class and students then look at their summary and substitute in key terms in
where they have everyday language e.g. sinks to subducts.
Magenta
Principles
Students are provided with a resource e.g. teacher produced hand out , newspaper article or
textbook and they have to use the idea of the ‘Magenta Principles’ and do something with the
information to make it their own. The table here gives some suggested ideas of how to change the
information.
Reduce it Index cheat cards
Change it Drawing/ flow diagram/animations
Assemble it Card sort
Search for it Word puzzle
Connect it Concept map
Arrange it Recipe
Enlarge it Posters / models
Make links between it Mind map
Simplify it Bullet points / pictures
Classify it Categorise information / colour coding
Compare and contrast it Double bubble framework / table
Deconstruct it Break it into key terms / words
Apply it Use the information to answer exam questions
Prioritise it Hierarchy diagram/ annotate
Organise it Put information into sections / flow diagram/ table
Act it out Play dough / actions / role play

7. Read, listen,
recall activity
Provide students with a paragraph / series of paragraphs on the topic being studied. This is
information that they need to learn and will include facts and figures on it. E.g. An account of the
economic importance of tourism to countries at different levels of development (rich and poor
world countries)
Students do the following…
1. Organise themselves into pairs. Label themselves as A and B.
2. Each student in the pair need a worksheet and they read through the information on the sheet
once.
3. Student A then has to recall as much information as they can from memory and student B ticks
off what they remember using the grid on the worksheet.
4. Student B then has their attempt and student A ticks off on the grid the points that student B
mentions.
5. Repeat twice more.
6. By the end of activity students should be able to state the ideas to include in an answer to a
question that uses the information.