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For KS3 I have a speaking starter activity, to be used at least once a week. Give kids a sheet with a list of questions related to the topics they do, stick in front of books. Ask the questions (or get a pupil to ask them), and get one pupil in the class to be the "secrétaire" - basically have a sheet with the names of all pupils, give one tick per answered question. So many ticks produces a reward (sticker, sweet, merit, etc). With certain classes it was so well practised that I could leave them to it for 3 or 4 minutes whilst opening my files and powerpoints for the lesson: the "secrétaire" would ask the questions, record the points, etc. The advantage is that you constantly review topics, you get pupils used to the idea of answering questions and pupils can elect to speak or not, so even shy ones can choose an easy question to put their hand up for. You also have evidence to present to parents if pupils don't participate in class. Downside is that it sometimes feels a little forced (unless pupils like the question and then volunteer more content; my Y7 love telling me about the weather in French as soon as they walk in for instance!) and you need to use it regularly for pupils to be excited about it, so it can be time-consuming.
I like surveys - pupils research a chosen topic - such as what time everyone gets up in the morning - and present the results as a bar chart or similar. That way you're keeping Ofsted happy by including numeracy. If everyone asks a different question it doesn't get so repetitive.
I like all guessing activities or games. Pupils guess what pets I have at home or what instruments I play or what languages I speak. And then they do something similar in pairs - pupils write down an animal and partner guesses.
You could play some music and everyone could walk around the room, and when the music stops they have to speak on a given topic with the person closest to them.
musiclover1You could play some music and everyone could walk around the room, and when the music stops they have to speak on a given topic with the person closest to them.
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