5-Minute Starter Activities to Kick Off Your Lessons

A purposeful starter can do more than simply fill lesson time. It gets your students into a learning mindset from the moment they walk in. Starters can activate prior knowledge and boost focus for the learning ahead. But to be truly effective, starters must be linked to learning objectives, not just chosen for entertainment.

We’ve drawn on best practice, classroom research and teaching experience to provide these short, effective lesson starter ideas to help you start your secondary school lessons with real impact.

Starter Activities That Work for Any Subject

1.Quiz Challenge

Use mini whiteboards or quiz apps like Kahoot to run 5 rapid-fire questions. You can include multiple-choice questions, true or false statements, or one-word answers. Mix it up by playing bingo with key words or by basing your quiz on popular TV game shows.

Starter games such as recap quizzes are proven to boost long-term recall for any subject.

2.Think - Pair - Share

Pose a question for students to think about and note down their answer individually, then discuss in pairs. Finally, they can share with the whole class.

This activity is excellent for involving everyone and building confidence.

3.Free Recall

Ask students to write down everything they remember from the previous lesson, with no prompts. 

It strengthens retrieval and reveals what needs reteaching.

4.Keyword Connections

Give three topic-related words. Students explain how they link together. 

This builds schema and encourages deeper thinking about topic relationships.

5.3 - 2 - 1 Review

Students note down:

• 3 things they remember about a topic

• 2 things they’re unsure about

• 1 question they have

This activity is great for metacognition and guiding your formative teaching.

6.What’s the Question?

Give an answer which is a key word for your topic and ask students to write possible questions.

Starter Activities for Maths Lessons

1.Countdown challenge

Put five numbers on the board and a target number. Ask students to reach the target using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division.

This is great for making students start thinking mathematically as soon as they enter your lessons and helps with number fluency. 

2.True or False?

Write a maths statement on the board. 
For example: “The angles in a triangle always add up to 260°.”
Students decide if the statement is true or false and justify their answers. 

It promotes reasoning and classroom talk.

3.Retrieval Grid

Create a 3x3 grid with questions from last lesson, last week, and last term. 
Students answer a question from each row.

This promotes long-term memory and helps with links between topics.

4.Estimation Station

Give students a visual or real-life problem to estimate. Ask them to justify their response.
For example, show a swimming pool and ask: "How many litres of water are in this pool?"

This builds number sense and curiosity before you “dive into” the core content of your lesson!

5.Number Talks

Show a calculation (e.g. 58 x 32) and ask students to share different mental strategies to solve it. No calculators allowed. 

This encourages reasoning and flexibility with numbers.

Starter Activities for English Lessons

1.Quick Quote Analysis

Show students a short quote from a novel or poem. Ask some questions to encourage active reading and analysis with the text. 
For example: What technique is used? What does this passage suggest? What’s the impact? 
This encourages close reading and active engagement with literature.

2.Grammar Grab

Show a sentence and ask students to spot as many grammatical features as possible: subject, verb, clauses, punctuation use. 

This takes next to no preparation, and is great for grammar fluency.

3. Sentence Surgery

Show students a ‘broken’ sentence. They must identify and fix the issue. For example, a sentence with a tense shift.

This is a great way to embed grammar using practical examples.

4.Word of the Day

Present a ‘word of the day’ and ask students to use it in a sentence, provide a definition, find synonyms and antonyms. Even better if the single word has several different meanings or potential uses.

You can have lots of fun with language here, while expanding your students’ vocabulary and semantic awareness.

5.Title Tease

Show the title of a story or poem to students. Don’t share any other context. Ask them to predict what the piece might be about in one or two sentences. This can be done via writing or paired discussion.

This starter sparks imaginations, making it a great lead-in to descriptive and creative writing. It could be a real piece of writing that you then reveal to students, or the title of a piece you want them to work on in the main lesson. 

Starter Activities for Science Lessons

1.Diagram Recall

Show a labelled diagram from a previous lesson, but with the labels covered or removed. Ask students to label it from memory, or even to reproduce the diagram themselves.

2.Concept Cartoon

Show a visual with characters making different scientific claims. 
Ask students: “Who do you agree with and why?” 

Great for addressing scientific misconceptions at the start of a new topic.

3.Retrieval Relay

Ask a quick-fire set of questions covering past topic content. You could take one question from each unit of study covered so far on the course. Students work individually or in pairs to answer the questions. 

This task builds recall and reinforces long-term learning. It can also reinforce curriculum connections.

4.What Am I?

Give students a set of clues about a scientific object, element, or process. For example, you could use the following statements about a nucleus:

• “I am found in all living cells.”

• “I control the cell’s activities.”

• “I contain DNA.”

This builds student recall and engages curiosity.

5.Odd One Out

List three scientific terms. For example: evaporation, condensation, respiration.
Ask students to choose the odd one out and explain their reasoning. 

This task encourages classification and deeper thinking from students.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of a lesson starter?

Lesson starters serve several purposes, but chiefly they set the tone for learning right from the start of your lesson.

• They settle students immediately

• They enable learning to start as soon as students enter the classroom

• They can activate and reinforce prior learning

• They can introduce new ideas or a new topic

• They establish a ‘learning climate’ that sets up the rest of your lesson for success

• They are part of a successful approach to lessons, involving several different activities (‘chunking’) to provide a variety of learning approaches

What makes a good starter activity?

A good starter activity is short, focused and low-stakes, so that every student can get involved in learning immediately.

Effective starters share these key features:

• Short and focused: Starters should be pacy, brief activities, usually 5-10 minutes in length.

• Purposeful: They can revisit previous learning or introduce new ideas, but should always be linked to learning objectives.

• Inclusive: Everyone can access them. No student should be left out.

• Low-stakes: They boost confidence and allow students to ‘settle in’ to learning.

• Diagnostic: They can help you identify gaps in student understanding.

How do I choose the best starter for my lesson?

The best starter for your lesson is any short, focused activity that links to your learning objective. 

If you’re revisiting prior knowledge, use a quiz or free recall. If you’re introducing something new, try an image prompt or discussion task. Keep it concise, inclusive, and purposeful.

How do I transition from a starter to the main lesson content?

Signal the shift from a starter activity to the main lesson content clearly to your students. 

Summarise what they have just done, link it to the new learning, and explain what’s coming next. Using a simple phrase like, “That reminds us why today’s topic is so important” will allow you to introduce the main lesson content and keep momentum flowing.

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References

Ensuring a smooth and successful start to the lesson - Evidence Based Education

Starters – what are they good for? | Norfolk Research School