Free resources

• Lesson plans: providing support for teaching QCA Schemes of Work.
• Literacy hour activities: bringing research and writing skills to all subject areas.
• Clip art: images to brighten up school projects and classroom walls!
• Resource packs: offering an ideal basis for project work.
• Project support: ideas and resources to support project work in the classroom.
• Useful links: list of websites including educations sites, campaigning groups and subject societies.

• Direct class teaching and responsive feedback in whole-class situations.
• Collaborative group activities.
• Independent learning.
• Making cross-curricular links.

Introductory section

• Establishes existing knowledge.
• Enables rehearsal of topic-specific vocabulary.
• Sets tone and expectations for the task.

Whole class activity

• Promotes active listening.
• Encourages all children to be included.
• Enables you to identify opportunities for differentiated learning.

Group and guided work

• Promotes co-operative group work as a tool for deepening understanding.
• Develops skills of listening and responding to differing points of view.
• Enables pupils to discuss and solve problems, explore concepts, events and evidence, and build learning relationships beyond friendship groups.
• Establishes opportunities for peer-assisted learning, peer-mentoring, paired reading, writing and research.

Independent work

• Develops pupils’ initiative and strategies for extending knowledge, enquiry and exploration.
• Gives pupils the satisfaction of creating their own piece of work.
• Enables you to see whether the activity has been effective in developing skills and/or knowledge.

Extension activity

• Builds further opportunities for differentiated activities.
• Develops further cross-curricular links.
• Practises transferability of understanding by applying knowledge and techniques across subject areas.