Silent starters are tasks students complete independently at the beginning of lessons to allow the teacher time to circulate and ensure high expectations are being met. A range of subject-specific silent starter tasks are presented, including criticizing headlines, improving responses to questions, annotating images, answering exam-style questions highlighting keywords, and creating quizzes. The silent starters encourage independent work while allowing the teacher to provide early feedback and support.

1. Sharing Teaching and Learning Ideas
Half Term Six Focus: Key Stage Three
Key Idea: Silent Starters
Silent starter tasks encourage students to work independently at the beginning of a lesson,
allowing time for you to circulate the room from the outset to ensure all students are
meeting your high expectations.
Ways you can do this in your classroom:
There are a range of different tasks on the following slides, all of which can be
adapted to make them subject specific.

2. SILENT STARTER:
Criticise this headline:
What evidence is available that means some people might agree with the headline?
Key Words Title:
Think about the learning you may have explored in the past or what you’ve seen on
the news.
Struggling?
Say why you
disagree with the
headline.
I disagree with…
because…
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
In your argument include (4 sentences):
A point to say why you disagree.
Some evidence that backs up that point. This could be
something you’ve explored in the past or something you’ve
seen in the news.
A point that considers why some people might agree.
A sentence to state why you think they are wrong.

3. SILENT STARTER:
Edit and improve the response to the question
below:
QUESTION:
Why is it important that you know the answer to the question above.
Key Words Title:
Think about how the knowledge will help you in life and learning.
Struggling?
Edit the answer
already given.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
Type response here

4. SILENT STARTER:
Read the response to the question below.
Highlight the information you want to keep
(orange), edit (purple) and bin (blue).
Now edit the information that you highlighted in purple.
Key Words Title:
Remember to use full sentences.
Struggling?
Highlight the key
words and define
them.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
Question:
Type response here

5. SILENT STARTER:
Use pages _______ in the text books or revision guides to
complete the 3 thinking activities in this lesson’s ‘10
minutes with’.
Create an addition task based around the title of your ‘10 minutes with’.
Key Words Title:
Think about what you need to know for success at the end of this unit of work.
Struggling?
Spend 5 minutes
with the first
task.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018

6. SILENT STARTER:
Label and annotate the image.
What does the image mean to you/your learning so far?
What is the most important aspect of the image?
Key Words Title:
Think about any aspect of the photo that prompted further labels or annotations.
Struggling?
Label the image.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018

7. SILENT STARTER:
Can you help save Nemo?
You must answer the question he is behind, by taking the
specified route.
Key Words Title:
Struggling?
Answer the
question Dory is
behind.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018

8. SILENT STARTER:
Bob has attempted to answer the following question:
‘ ’
He hasn’t got full marks. Help Wendy fix it by writing your own answer to the question which
includes some of Bob’s answer but extends it to get full marks.
Key Words Title:
Think of the command word in the question.
Struggling?
Answer the
question by
yourself.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
This is Bob’s answer:

9. SILENT STARTER:
Answer these questions in your books.
Fish – 1 point
Monkey – 2 points
Elephant – 5 points
Key Words Title:
Struggling?
Answer the fish
question.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018

10. SILENT STARTER:
You have 10 minutes to sketch this photograph as best you
can. No longer! You will be expected to have a finished
sketch.
How did you decide what you must include in your sketch from the photograph?
Key Words Title:
Think about what you needed to have for a peer to recognise the sketch.
Struggling?
Draw an outline
of the
photograph.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018

11. SILENT STARTER:
An answer to a mystery question has been written in the space
below. Can you help Scooby and the gang figure out the mystery
question? Write a possible question in your book.
How did you come up with the mystery question?
Key Words Title:
Think about what you already knew.
Struggling?
Define three key
words in the
answer to the
mystery question.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
[Type the answer here]

12. SILENT STARTER:
Using the information given.
Answer the exam question below.
Highlight the keywords you have used in your answer.
Key Words Title:
Remember, keywords are subject specific and count towards SPaG.
Struggling?
Define the key
words in the
question.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
Question:

13. SILENT STARTER:
Transform the information below into a series of drawings.
Your drawings must be able to support you in explaining the
information to a peer without seeing the information again.
Write an explanation of your drawings.
Key Words Title:
Think about what your drawings represent.
Struggling?
Draw the first
two sentences.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
Information:

14. SILENT STARTER:
Can you answer the questions required to get from A to B?
Answer all the questions you haven’t answered on your way from A to B or A to C.
Key Words Title:
Use a textbook or revision guide to help you.
Struggling?
Answer the
questions to get
from A to C.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
A
BC

15. SILENT STARTER:
Where’s Wally?
Wally is behind the question to Odlaw’s
answer.
Write your own answer to the question.
Key Words Title:
Think about what Odlaw has included, as well as what he hasn’t included.
Struggling?
Answer one of
the questions.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
Odlaw’s Answer:
Q1 - Q2 - Q3 -
Which question is Wally behind?
How do you know?
[Type the answer here]

16. SILENT STARTER:
Write an 8 question quiz on what everybody
should know about… so far.
Answer any two questions you have created.
Key Words Title:
Make sure you write in full sentences.
Struggling?
Create a 4
question quiz.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A name will be picked
at random at the end
of the lesson.
They will be the quiz
master and everybody
else will complete
their quiz at the end
of the lesson.

17. SILENT STARTER:
Can you answer enough questions to get from A to B?
You can take any route, but you cannot jump a triangle.
Extend the route by adding a question and writing an answer to it.
Key Words Title:
Think about what else you should know about this unit or theme.
Struggling?
Answer any 3
questions.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018
A
B

18. SILENT STARTER:
You’ve opened a business. In order to be successful, your
business needs £5,000 000. For every question you answer
correctly you earn £1, 000 000.
Create another golden £ question and answer it.
Key Words Title:
Think about what you have covered so far during this scheme of work and something
one of your peers may have forgotten.
Struggling?
Earn £5, 000 000
by answering the
two golden £
questions.
Date: Tuesday, 03 July 2018