What is a starter?

Starters fulfil three primary functions at the beginning of a lesson. They are designed to help the teacher:

• settle the class and ensure that students are on-task from the outset of the lesson
• go over learning from the previous lesson
• introduce the current lesson’s learning objectives and key words.

Starters should always have the following characteristics. They should be:

pacey

A starter should be a short, engaging activity.

focused

Rather than just a means of ‘buying some time’ to take the register, the starter activity should develop specific, planned key words and concepts.

linked to the lesson

The starter should reinforce the main objectives and activities of the lesson. It should not be independent of them.

The DfES provides the following advice on starters:

‘Starters are about purposeful, interactive teaching which involves all pupils.

Starters should be planned as a discrete element of the lesson which contributes to the achievement of the lesson’s objectives.

Starters are most effective when they:

• have a clear purpose
• inject a sense of pace
• challenge pupils to think.

Teachers can select from a wide variety of different types of starter so as to reflect the objectives of the lesson and address pupils’ needs.’

Key Stage 3 Strategy, Foundation Subjects: ‘Key Messages About Structuring Learning’, DfES 0044/2003