Call My Bluff

By B. Kenwright, teacher of Design Technology

 

It's important to set the pace and tone of the lesson as soon as possible. To achieve this, the students need to be engaged right away, brains in gear, hence the importance of starter activities

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This example of a starter could be adapted for any subject/topic.

 

It is based on the T.V. panel game show CALL MY BLUFF.

It works like this;

 

A word is shown to the class,(either related to the topic or not. This is about getting the students thinking) then the teacher defines the word in 3 different ways. Of course only 1 definition is correct. The more elaborate the descriptions the better. After all 3 definitions, a very brief summary of each word is shown to the class, then 30 seconds of thinking time for the class to decide which is the correct one.

 

The class then vote either as small groups or individually (only one vote) on which is the correct definition.

 

That's it short, sharp and engaging.

 

Good luck on choosing unusual words.