Starters and Plenaries for AQA GCSE Psychology

What do teachers say about this resource? (10494)

I think the range of activities and approaches not only helps students learn about Psychology but also uses research-based methods to get the information to ‘stick’ in students head. The activities are engaging, clear, and well thought through. I think students of this target age would find these activities manageable, and they could also be used as a bridge into more challenging courses too. This is partly because the resource avoids clipart that is targeted at a specific age group. I appreciate the coverage and the way the topics are clearly focused on specific aspects of the course. The templates leave enough space for students to respond, and the instructions are clear. This is brilliant for a teacher in a hurry who is looking for her next starter activity. The tasks here ask students to recall important information from the course. By having them do this in different ways, the resource uses what we know about how the brain learns to really encourage students’ understanding and recall. These tasks could be used in many ways including as independent learning, depending on how long it takes to complete each one.
The answer key is particularly helpful for teachers unfamiliar with the course (and maybe even Psychology!). It’s clear and easy to follow. By having a clutter-free layout, there is more space for responses and fewer distractions. I think the resource is excellent.

Good range of activities, and linked to each area of the assessment criteria. Clear structure towards questions and use of extension activities built-in. Allows students to apply the knowledge they have learnt in a range of ways, builds upon prior learning, good to use during lessons or revision packs. Very good match to specification, good use of language that supports the language used in exam questions.

What do teachers say about this resource? (10317)

The resource is very useful and can be used for a range of activities (despite being branded as starters and plenaries). It follows the specification closely and matches the papers too. It is easier for both teachers and students alike to navigate. There is a range of different activity types to keep it interesting - gap fills, models, questions, table. I liked the range of different resources which will keep it interesting to complete and to use in lessons. I like the fact most resources have a time frame (e.g. you have 6 mins to complete the task below). Contents page is useful. I like that each activity comes with instructions for students to follow. It is useful to have the answers too. It could also be used for Afl tasks within the lesson or for smaller revision style homework activities. It is useful as it follows the same wording as the specification which will help with learning.

I think the range of activities is excellent and will be very useful for regular recall activities in the Psychology classroom. I could see myself using almost every activity in this resource. It addresses key psychological concepts in a straightforward way. Providing feedback on these activities would be clear and simple.

Good resource with a range of different activities for a range of different abilities in the classroom. These activities could then be further adapted for different classes. I liked the fact each task is different, as well as easy for a teacher to adapt the resource for their students such as adding more fill-in-the-blanks, adding pictures based on how they teach to try and improve recall etc. I think it could be a good resource for the lower ability students getting up to a grade 5 in GCSE psychology. The layout and presentation was easy to follow. Key terminology and key aspects of the specification are very evident.