Top 10 active learning ideas

I don't know about you, but I struggle to sit still and listen for 15 minutes... so imagine what it must feel like for students who have to sit for an hour's lesson - before moving on to the next one to sit for the same amount of time again!

Here are some ways that you can easily wake up your students and engage them with minimal preparation and make your lessons more memorable and enjoyable...

1. Find someone who...

Originally used as an ice breaker activity, this task can be adapted to suit any topic. First model how to ask a question on the board, then students walk around the classroom asking their classmates. I have used this task many times successfully when teaching modes of transport in French, modal verbs in German and erosion and transportation processes in Geography and it always goes down very well!

2. Quiz Quiz Trade

This activity can be adapted for all subjects and topics. Each student is given a card with a question and answer, and must walk around the room and find a partner. Student A asks the question that they have on their card, and student B tries to answer it correctly. Student B then asks their question and Student A tries to answer it correctly. They then reveal their correct answers to each other and swap their cards, then find a different partner. This activity allows lots of information to be shared quickly, but in a more engaging way. I find this one great for topic revision!

3. Running Dictation

This activity enables students to practise reading, listening, speaking and writing all at once. You can adapt the text length and difficulty to suit the students. Using blu-tack or tape, stick print outs of the text around the room, or even in the corridor. Students work in pairs. One student is the 'runner', and must walk up to the text, read and memorise as much as they can at once. They then return to their partner and repeat verbally what they can remember. Their partner is the 'scribe' and must write down what they hear. The most accurate copy is the winner.

4. Trapdoor

Trapdoor, or clouds, is a great activity to repeat vocabulary and commit it to memory. Students work in pairs and have to guess which word their partner is thinking of in the next box or cloud. If they guess correctly, they can proceed, however if they get it wrong, they have to go back to the beginning which is great for repeating vocabulary and pronunciation practice. This can also be tailored to any topic.

5. Loop game/ Loop of fury

This game works really well when a time limit is included! Each student is given a strip with a phrase in English on the left, and a phrase in German/French on the right. Students must listen for the German equivalent of what they have written in English, then stand up and say the English, then the German phrase that they have on the right. Another student in the class will then have the strip with the English translation - so it works as a chain reaction. I have found this activity engages a class really well.

6. Dice

Students are given two dice, and a sheet with the dice numbers written both horizontally and vertically. Students work in pairs or small groups rolling the dice and the first to say what is in the corresponding box correctly wins a point. At the end, reward the students who have gained the most points. A really good one for getting students to speak in the target language!

This can easily be adapted for all subjects.

7. Speed Dating/Kaleidoscope

This activity is great for getting students moving and speaking. Instruct the students to face each other, and use either a time limit or a reception bell so that the students who are on the outside know when to move on. Model the questions and possible answers that you want them to practice on the board first and stand back and enjoy!

8. Diamond 9

I have found this activity very good when teaching A level. Students are given 9 cards with statements written on them and they must arrange them into a diamond shape - the statement that they agree with the most being at the top, and the statement that they agree with the least being at the bottom. This works well as either a group task or individual activity.

9. Unjumble the sentences

Students enjoy this kinasthetic activity. Cut up words and put them into envelopes. Give each pair an envelope and give the students 5 minutes to familiarise themselves with the words inside and the possibilities of the phrases they could make. You say a sentence, for example 'I want to go to France' and students then race to arrange the sentence correctly. The first pair to arrange it accurately wins a point. This works particularly well with modal verbs and 'weil' in German. You can easily adapt the length and difficulty of the sentences that you want them to construct.

10. 4 corners

This activity is great when practising opinions and vocabulary. Put up a poster in each corner of the room with either 'I love/I like/I don't like/I hate' or for more advanced students you can also use 'I strongly agree' 'I agree' 'I disagree' 'I strongly disagree'. You then read a statement, for example, 'eating cakes' and students move to the poster to show their opinion. With GCSE/ A level students, your statement could be something more advanced, such as 'obese people should lose the right to public healthcare' and students have to also justify their opinion.