Interactive Amplify sits at the Interactive row and the Amplify column of the PICRAT grid. Students are interactive; the technology is amplifying what would otherwise be possible.
Art
Live polling on visual choices with debate
The teacher posts three versions of the same composition (different focal point placement, different colour balance, different cropping). Students vote on Mentimeter for the strongest version, defend in pairs, debate, re-vote.
Tools: Mentimeter
Pair sketch critique via shared annotation
Each student photographs their sketch from the previous lesson and posts to a class Padlet. Three named peers comment on each sketch, identifying one strong technique and one area to develop. Students revise their sketch the following lesson based on three pieces of feedback.
Tools: Padlet
Painting interpretation on a class wall
The teacher posts a single painting (e.g. Picasso's Guernica, Hokusai's Great Wave, Kahlo's The Two Fridas). Each student posts a one-line interpretation of what the painting is doing emotionally and one detail that supports their reading. The class scrolls and the teacher draws out the variety of readings.
Tools: Padlet
Computing
Algorithm interpretation on a class Padlet
The teacher posts three pseudocode snippets on a class Padlet (a sorting algorithm, a search algorithm, a counting loop). Each student picks one and posts a one-paragraph plain-English description of what it does and what kind of input it works on. The class scrolls and the teacher highlights any snippet where students disagreed about behaviour, drawing out the difference.
Tools: Padlet
Annotated debugging screencast
The teacher shares a screencast of a programmer debugging a real bug (about 10 minutes). Each student annotates a shared Doc with timestamped notes on what the programmer did at each step and what they could have done differently. The class compares notes and pulls out the three most useful strategies.
Tools: Google Docs
Live algorithm efficiency vote with debate
The teacher presents three different algorithms that solve the same problem (e.g. find the largest number in a list). Each student votes on Mentimeter for the most efficient. The class sees the live spread, then in pairs writes a 30-second defence. The teacher calls pairs from each side to argue. The class re-votes at the end.
Tools: Mentimeter
Pseudocode-to-Python translation race
Students translate three pseudocode snippets into Python at their own pace, posting each translation to a Replit gallery. Quizizz tracks completion. After each round, the teacher pulls out the two most efficient and two most error-prone translations and asks the contributing students to walk through their reasoning.
Code-bug spotting on a shared Padlet
The teacher posts a piece of buggy Python code in a class Padlet. Each student posts one bug they spot with a one-line explanation of why it would cause a problem. The class scrolls all bug reports, the teacher draws out the most useful debugging strategies, and the class collaboratively fixes each bug.
Tools: Padlet
Network diagram critique on a class wall
The teacher posts a network diagram (small office LAN) on a class Padlet. Each student posts one structural critique (e.g. single point of failure, security weakness, scalability limit) with reasoning. The class scrolls, the teacher draws out the most defensible critiques, and pairs propose one architectural fix.
Tools: Padlet
Database normalisation tradeoff analysis
The teacher posts an unnormalised database schema in a shared class Doc. Each student annotates one normalisation step they would apply (1NF, 2NF, 3NF, BCNF) with reasoning about the tradeoff in performance and complexity. The class plenary draws out where students propose different sequences.
Tools: Google Docs
Algorithm complexity debate (A-Level)
The teacher posts three different algorithms that solve the same problem (e.g. find a value in a list: linear scan, binary search on sorted, hash lookup). Each student votes on Mentimeter for the most efficient at scale, defends in pairs, debates, re-votes.
Tools: Mentimeter
Code review workshop with peer critique
Each student posts a 50-line excerpt of their A-Level NEA project code to a class Replit gallery. Two named peers per excerpt write a code-review comment focusing on structure, naming, and edge cases. Students revise based on the two reviews.
Tools: Replit
Drama
Live poll on character motivation with debate
The teacher posts a key dramatic moment from a class play. Students vote on Mentimeter for the strongest interpretation of the character's motivation among three options. The class sees the spread, defends in pairs, debates, re-votes.
Tools: Mentimeter
Pairs film and post 30-second monologue performances
Each student records a 30-second target-text monologue performance and posts the video to a class Padlet column. Three classmates watch each performance and post a one-line note on a specific delivery technique (pace, pause, projection, intention). The class samples and the teacher draws out the strongest techniques.
Tools: Padlet
Class annotation of stage directions on a script
The teacher posts a single page from a play script in a shared class Doc. Each student adds suggesting-mode comments on what they would do as a director for one specific stage direction or beat. The class scrolls comments and the teacher draws out where directorial choices diverge most sharply.
Tools: Google Docs
English
Class adds phonics words to a shared word wall
The teacher names a target phoneme (e.g. /ai/ as in rain). Each child takes a turn (in small groups, on a shared tablet) to add one word containing that phoneme to a class Padlet. The IWB displays the wall growing in real time. The teacher highlights phonemes within each word as the class scrolls.
Sound-to-picture matching on shared whiteboard
Each small group has a Jamboard frame with a row of pictures (cat, hat, mat, sun, fan, cap) and a row of phoneme cards. Children drag each phoneme card to the picture it matches. The teacher displays all groups' frames on the IWB and the class compares choices, with the teacher correcting any mismatches as a class.
Tools: Jamboard
Story-retelling voice memos to a class library
The teacher reads a short story to the class. In small groups, children take turns recording a voice memo of one sentence retelling the story in sequence. The class then plays back all sentences in order, listening to themselves tell the whole story. The teacher draws out which moments different children chose to emphasise.
Tools: Seesaw
Class posts main idea to a Padlet column
The class reads a short story together. Each student then posts what they think the main idea is, in their own words, to a class Padlet. The teacher scrolls the wall, picks four notably different responses and asks the contributing students to defend.
Tools: Padlet
Emotion labels dragged onto poem lines
Each student gets their own Jamboard frame with the same poem displayed and a row of emotion-word stickers (joyful, anxious, hopeful, weary, defiant). They drag the stickers onto specific lines. The class scrolls all thirty frames and the teacher highlights any line where students placed contrasting emotions, asking three students to explain.
Tools: Jamboard
Predicting next chapter on a class wall
After reading the latest chapter of a class book, each student posts a one-sentence prediction for what happens next to a class Padlet. The class votes on the most likely. The teacher then reads the next chapter aloud and the class compares predictions to what actually happened. Students post a one-line reflection on what their prediction missed.
Tools: Padlet
Climate persuasive paragraphs with structured peer review
Each student writes a 150-word persuasive paragraph on a climate change action they want their school to take, in their own page of a shared class Doc. After 25 minutes, three named peers comment on each paragraph using a fixed prompt frame: one rhetorical strength, one rhetorical weakness, one suggested rewrite. Students revise their paragraph in the final 15 minutes based on the three comments.
Tools: Google Docs
Pairs annotate a persuasive speech for rhetorical devices
Each student receives a copy of a famous persuasive speech (one of Greta Thunberg at the UN 2019, Malala at the UN 2013, JFK 1961 inaugural). Their copy lives in a shared Google Doc. Using the suggesting-mode comment tool, each student highlights three rhetorical devices (e.g. tricolon, anaphora, contrast) and writes a one-line note explaining the effect on the listener. The class scrolls a master view of all three speeches; the teacher calls out two strong annotations.
Tools: Google Docs
Three short story openings, classified by structure
Each student gets one of three short story openings (an in medias res start, a frame narrative start, a slow descriptive start), allocated by the teacher so the class is roughly evenly split. They identify two structural choices the writer made and two effects on the reader, posting each as a sticky note on a shared Padlet column for that opening type. The class then scrolls all three columns and the teacher leads a comparison of how each opening shapes reader expectation.
Tools: Padlet
Lady Macbeth across two scenes, annotated
Each student receives the texts of Act 1 Scene 5 and Act 5 Scene 1 of Macbeth in a shared Google Doc, one document per student. Using suggesting-mode comments, each student highlights three lines per scene that show Lady Macbeth's psychological arc, with a one-line note on what each line reveals. The class scrolls a master view in plenary; the teacher pulls out the cleanest before-and-after pairs and asks the contributing students to defend.
Tools: Google Docs
Two short stories, narrative voice posted to a class wall
Half the class reads Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour; the other half reads Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. Each student posts to one of two columns on a class Padlet: a label for the narrative voice (intrusive, unreliable, third-limited, etc.) and one quoted line that justifies the label. The class scrolls both columns and discusses which voice is more controlled by the writer and which leaves more to the reader.
Tools: Padlet
Live polling on a poem with class debate
The class reads a poem together (e.g. Carol Ann Duffy's Education for Leisure or Jackie Kay's Old Tongue). After the read, the teacher posts a Mentimeter poll with three competing readings of the central theme. Each student commits to one. The class sees the live spread, then in pairs writes a 30-second defence of their choice. The teacher calls three pairs from each side to argue; the class re-polls at the end to see who shifted.
Tools: Mentimeter, Google Docs
Critical lens panel on a literary text
The teacher posts a single short extract from a class text (e.g. the opening of Mrs Dalloway, a sonnet from Shakespeare). Each student is assigned one critical lens (feminist, Marxist, postcolonial, psychoanalytic, ecocritical) and posts a 100-word reading of the extract through that lens to a class Padlet. The class scrolls all readings and the teacher draws out where lenses agree, disagree and illuminate different aspects of the text.
Tools: Padlet
Stanza-by-stanza poetry close reading
The teacher allocates one stanza of a long poem (e.g. The Waste Land) per student. Each student writes a 200-word close reading of their assigned stanza in their own page of a shared class Doc. The class scrolls the full annotated poem in plenary; the teacher pulls together themes that recur across stanzas and students whose readings illuminate adjacent stanzas.
Tools: Google Docs
Editorial comparison of published criticism
The teacher posts three published critical essays on the same text in a shared class Doc, each on its own page. Students read all three, then add suggesting-mode comments on lines they find most or least convincing, with reasoning. The class plenary scrolls comments, the teacher highlights critical disagreements between students and lines that drew the most attention.
Tools: Google Docs
Geography
Map skills with shared digital map pins
The teacher posts a shared Google Map with no pins. Students are each given a country plus a case study (e.g. earthquake, flood, drought, urbanisation). They drop a pin on the right country, label it with the case study type, and add a one-line summary. The class scrolls the populated map; the teacher highlights any pins on the wrong continent and asks the contributing student to explain.
Tools: Google Earth
Climate data analysis for two cities
Each student receives a shared spreadsheet with monthly mean temperature and rainfall data for two cities at similar latitudes (e.g. Lisbon and Boston, or Cape Town and Buenos Aires). They produce a comparison chart, identify three differences, and post the differences to a class Padlet column. The class discusses why two cities at the same latitude can have very different climates.
Tools: Google Sheets, Padlet
Population pyramid sorting on a class wall
Each student is given an unlabelled population pyramid for a country. They have to (a) classify the country's stage in the demographic transition model and (b) post their pyramid to the class Padlet under the right stage column. The class scrolls and the teacher highlights any country placed in a contested column for class discussion.
Tools: Padlet
Coastal management decision vote
The teacher presents a real-world coastal management dilemma (e.g. should the village of Happisburgh be defended or abandoned?). Each student votes on Mentimeter for one of three options. The class sees the live spread, then in pairs writes a 30-second defence on a class Padlet. The teacher calls pairs from each side to argue. The class re-votes.
Tools: Mentimeter, Padlet
Climate evidence reliability sorting
The teacher posts ten pieces of evidence on climate change (from sources ranging from peer-reviewed papers to op-eds to social-media posts). Each student sorts each piece into one of three reliability columns on a shared Padlet (high, medium, low) with a one-line justification. The class scrolls the populated columns and the teacher highlights any piece sorted into different columns by different students.
Tools: Padlet
Migration evidence on a shared map
The teacher posts a shared Google Map. Each student is given one country pair (origin and destination) representing a real migration flow (e.g. Syria to Germany, Mexico to USA, Bangladesh to UK). They drop two pins on the map (origin and destination), label each with one push or pull factor, and post a one-line caption. The class scrolls the populated map and discusses dominant push-pull patterns.
Tools: Google Earth, Padlet
Critical globalisation case-study annotation
The teacher posts a globalisation case-study text in a shared class Doc. Students add suggesting-mode comments on lines they find most or least convincing, with reasoning. The class plenary scrolls comments, drawing out where critical thinking converges and diverges.
Tools: Google Docs
NEA hypothesis option workshop on shared wall
Each student posts three potential hypotheses for their A-Level NEA fieldwork investigation to a class Padlet. Three named peers comment on each post: one strongest, one weakest, one suggested refinement. Students then revise their preferred hypothesis based on the feedback.
Tools: Padlet
Live fieldwork data analysis across class
Each student brings their A-Level NEA fieldwork data to a shared class spreadsheet. The class collectively scrolls all data sets, with the teacher highlighting students whose data shows interesting patterns and asking them to explain. Pairs then write a one-line interpretation of one classmate's data.
Tools: Google Sheets
History
Artefact era sorting with class debate
The teacher posts twelve artefact pictures (mixing modern, Roman, Egyptian, medieval, prehistoric). Each pair sorts each artefact into one of four era columns on a class Padlet. The class scrolls the columns and the teacher highlights any artefact placed differently across pairs, asking those pairs to defend.
Tools: Padlet
Ancient civilisation pins on a shared map
Each pair is assigned one ancient civilisation (Egypt, Greece, Rome, Maya, Indus Valley, China). They drop two pins on a shared class map: one on the heartland of the civilisation, one on a place it traded with or influenced. They label each pin. The class scrolls the populated map and discusses how civilisations connected.
Tools: Google Earth
Mystery artefact prediction wall
The teacher posts a photo of one mystery artefact (e.g. a Roman strigil, a medieval thumb-shaped lock, an Anglo-Saxon brooch). Each pair posts a prediction of what it was used for, with reasoning, to a class Padlet. The class scrolls all predictions, the teacher reveals the artefact's actual use, and pairs reflect on which clues they noticed and missed.
Tools: Padlet
Source-pairing on the Magna Carta
Pairs receive two contemporary sources on the Magna Carta, one from a baron and one from a royal scribe. They highlight one fact and one bias in each, post both to a class Padlet, and in the plenary the teacher pulls out three contradictions between the sources for whole-class discussion.
Tools: Padlet
Interactive timeline of the Industrial Revolution
Each pair takes one decade between 1760 and 1840 and adds three events to a shared timeline (Padlet, Sutori, or a shared Google Doc with a date column). The class scrolls the resulting full timeline together; the teacher calls on three pairs to defend why their events mattered for the trajectory of industrialisation.
Tools: Sutori, Padlet, Google Docs
Voice-recorded source analysis on the Treaty of Versailles
Students listen to a 60-second extract from a contemporary German politician’s reaction to the Treaty. In pairs, they record a 60-second voice memo identifying two emotions in the speaker’s tone and the historical context for each. They submit the recording to the teacher.
Source-reliability vote with debate
The teacher posts a single primary source (e.g. a propaganda poster, a witness account, a speech extract). Students vote on Mentimeter for how reliable they think it is on a five-point scale. The class sees the spread, then in pairs writes a 30-second defence. The teacher calls one pair from each end of the spread to argue. The class re-votes.
Tools: Mentimeter
Causation factor weights on a shared diagram
Each student gets their own Jamboard frame with five named factors that contributed to a historical event (e.g. for the outbreak of WWI: militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism, the assassination). They drag each factor onto a 1-to-5 weight scale on the frame, justifying with a one-line note. The class scrolls all thirty frames and the teacher highlights factors that students weighted very differently.
Tools: Jamboard
Historians' interpretations comparison
The teacher posts three short extracts from different historians on the same event (e.g. the causes of the First World War as analysed by Fischer, Joll and Clark). Each student picks the interpretation they find most convincing and posts to a shared Padlet column with a two-sentence justification. The class scrolls the columns and the teacher draws out the contested points.
Tools: Padlet
Historiographical interpretations panel
The teacher posts three short extracts from named historians on the same A-Level event (e.g. for the origins of the Cold War: Kennedy, Gaddis, Lefler). Each student picks the interpretation they find most convincing, posts a 150-word defence on a class Padlet with citation, and reads three peers' defences before the plenary debate.
Tools: Padlet
Source-reliability vote with debate (A-Level)
The teacher posts a single primary source from the A-Level period. Students vote on Mentimeter for how reliable they find it on a five-point scale, plus a free-text reason. The class sees the spread, defends in pairs, debates, and re-votes after.
Tools: Mentimeter
Synoptic essay-plan peer feedback
Each student posts a 300-word essay plan for a synoptic A-Level question on their own page of a shared class Doc. Three named peers comment per plan, focusing on the strongest argument and the most arguable thesis. Students then revise based on three sets of feedback.
Tools: Google Docs
Maths
Fractions equivalence sorting on a shared whiteboard
Each student gets a stack of digital fraction cards (e.g. 2/4, 3/6, 4/8, 1/3, 2/6) on their own frame of a shared class Jamboard. They drag each card into one of three equivalence groups. In the plenary, the class scrolls all thirty frames; the teacher highlights any student who placed a card differently from the rest, asking them to explain their reasoning.
Tools: Jamboard
Times-tables timed challenge with shared scoreboard
Each student answers rounds of three random times-tables questions. After each round, the live class scoreboard updates automatically. The class watches the scoreboard between rounds, with the teacher pointing out which students are improving and which tables tend to slow the class down. After five rounds, the class identifies the two times-tables to drill again next week.
Tools: Google Sheets, Quizizz
Word problem matching to equations on a class wall
The teacher posts twelve word problems and twelve algebraic expressions on a Padlet. Each student links each word problem to its matching expression by dragging a connector on their own copy. Some problems intentionally have similar-looking equations that solve a different question. The class reviews mismatches together and the teacher draws out the difference.
Tools: Padlet
Coordinates plotting on a shared whiteboard
Each student gets their own frame of a shared class Jamboard with an empty four-quadrant grid. The teacher dictates the vertices of a shape one at a time (e.g. (3,2), (-1,4), (-2,-3), (5,-1)). Students plot and connect on their own frame. The class scrolls all thirty frames in plenary; the teacher highlights any frame where a vertex landed in the wrong quadrant and asks the student to re-state the rule.
Tools: Jamboard
Algebra equation race with class scoreboard
Students answer randomly-generated linear equations at their own pace through a Quizizz set. The class scoreboard projects on the front display, updating live. Every five minutes the teacher pauses, points out the two equation types causing the most class-wide misses, and asks two students to walk through their reasoning out loud.
Tools: Quizizz, Google Sheets
Probability prediction game with simulator
The teacher poses three probability scenarios (e.g. five coin flips in a row, two dice rolling double sixes, drawing two aces from a shuffled deck). Each student commits to a prediction on a class Padlet before the simulator runs. The PhET probability simulator runs each scenario one thousand times. Students compare their predictions to the empirical results and post a one-line revision of their intuition.
Tools: PhET Simulations, Padlet
Quadratic-solver race with class scoreboard
Students solve randomly-generated quadratics at their own pace through Quizizz. The live class scoreboard shows progress and accuracy. Every five minutes the teacher pauses on the two equation types causing most class-wide misses and asks two students to walk through their reasoning.
Tools: Quizizz
Geometry proof comparison on a class wall
The teacher posts a single theorem to prove (e.g. the angle subtended by a diameter is a right angle). Each student writes out their proof on their own Jamboard frame, using GeoGebra to construct supporting diagrams. They post a screenshot to a shared Padlet column. The class scrolls all proofs; the teacher highlights two structurally different valid approaches and asks the contributing students to defend.
Real-data statistical investigation on shared sheet
Each student picks a question from a posted list (e.g. is there a relationship between hours of homework and exam grade in our cohort?), and records their three closest classmates' values into a shared class spreadsheet. The class scrolls all rows; the teacher highlights distributions, anomalies and surface correlations; pairs then write a one-line interpretation.
Tools: Google Sheets
Calculus proof comparison on shared workspace
The teacher posts a function (e.g. find the derivative of x sin x). Each student writes their working in their own Jamboard frame using GeoGebra to verify and posts a screenshot to a shared Padlet column. The class scrolls and the teacher highlights two structurally different approaches (e.g. product rule with one student's substitution choice versus another's), asking the contributing students to defend.
Vector problem-solving with shared approaches
The teacher posts a 3D vector problem (e.g. find the angle between two vectors; show that three points are collinear). Each student works on their own GeoGebra frame and posts a screenshot of their solution method to a class Padlet. The class scrolls and the teacher highlights three structurally different valid approaches.
Hypothesis test interpretation lab
The teacher posts a real-world hypothesis test scenario (e.g. is a coin biased?, is the mean grade in this cohort different from the national average?). Students vote on Mentimeter for the strongest interpretation of the test result among three options. The class sees the spread, then in pairs writes a defence on a shared Sheet. The teacher calls pairs to argue and the class re-votes.
Tools: Mentimeter, Google Sheets
Mfl
Vocab clusters on a Jamboard
Each student gets a stack of digital flashcards on their own Jamboard frame, with target-language words on one side and English on the other. They drag each card into one of four theme columns (food, family, school, hobbies). The class scrolls all frames; the teacher highlights any word that landed in different columns across students and asks for justification.
Tools: Jamboard
Target-language short answers in shared Doc
The teacher posts ten target-language questions in a shared class Doc. Each student writes their answer to each question on their own line. The teacher highlights live as students submit, calling out common error patterns and asking two students to revise their answers based on the feedback.
Tools: Google Docs
Voice memos in target language to class wall
The teacher posts five short prompts in target language. Each student records a 20-second voice memo answering each prompt in target language and posts to a class Padlet. The class listens to a sample of each prompt's responses and labels strongest pronunciation features (stress, intonation, vowel quality).
Tools: Padlet
Translation comparison on a class wall
The teacher posts a single short target-language passage (about 60 words, with two ambiguous phrases). Each student translates the full passage into English and posts to a class Padlet. The class scrolls and the teacher highlights two ambiguous phrases where students made notably different choices, asking three students to defend their decision.
Tools: Padlet
Listening comprehension with class-wide annotation
The teacher plays a 90-second target-language audio clip three times. As the class listens, each student types one observation per listen on a shared Padlet (first listen: gist; second: tone; third: inference). The teacher pauses after each listen, projects the wall, and discusses common observations and any outliers.
Tools: Padlet
Photo-card description with peer audio reactions
The teacher posts five GCSE-style photo cards. Each student records a 60-second target-language description of one card and posts the audio to a class Padlet column for that card. Three classmates listen to each student's recording and post a single-word target-language reaction (clear, slow, hesitant, fluent, etc.) as a comment. The teacher samples reactions and identifies common pronunciation patterns.
Tools: Padlet
Music
Class soundscape construction with shared timeline
The class collaboratively builds a 90-second soundscape on one shared Soundtrap session. Each student adds one sound to a designated time-window of the timeline (e.g. forest morning sounds: birds, wind, footsteps). The class plays back the full composition together and discusses what could be tightened.
Tools: Soundtrap
Live polling on melodic choice with debate
The teacher plays three different melodic versions of the same opening (e.g. three different ways to harmonise a folk-song chorus). Students vote on Mentimeter for which they prefer, defend in pairs, debate, re-vote.
Tools: Mentimeter
Pair composition critique with shared annotations
Each student posts their 30-second composition to a class Padlet column with a one-line description of their compositional choice. Three named peers listen to each composition and post a one-line critique focused on harmony, rhythm or texture. Students revise based on three pieces of feedback.
Pe
Peer video review of athletic technique
In pairs, students film each other performing a chosen athletic technique (e.g. a tennis serve, a netball pass, a high jump approach). They each post their own video to a class Padlet column for that technique. Students then watch three classmates' videos and post a one-line annotation about technique on each. The teacher samples annotations and identifies common patterns.
Tools: Padlet
Pulse-rate data collection across class
Each student records their resting pulse rate, then their pulse after 30 seconds of jumping jacks, then again after one minute of recovery. They post all three values to a shared class spreadsheet. The class scrolls and the teacher discusses class-wide patterns (range of resting rates, recovery rate variability).
Tools: Google Sheets
Tactics analysis on shared formation diagrams
Each student gets a Jamboard frame with the same blank pitch diagram (e.g. football, basketball or netball). They draw a formation that they think is most effective for a particular game scenario the teacher poses (e.g. defending a one-goal lead with five minutes to go). The class scrolls all formations and the teacher highlights the strongest tactical reasoning.
Tools: Jamboard
Pshe
Live polling on bullying scenarios with debate
The teacher poses a bullying scenario where a friend witnesses unkind behaviour. Students vote on Mentimeter for the most likely friend response among three options. The class sees the spread, then in pairs writes a 30-second defence of what the right response would be. The teacher facilitates discussion. The class re-votes.
Tools: Mentimeter
Moral dilemma reasoning on a shared wall
The teacher posts a moral dilemma scenario (e.g. you find a wallet with cash and an ID; what do you do?). Each student posts their reasoning on a class Padlet, including what factors they weighed. The class scrolls and the teacher highlights where reasoning converges and diverges.
Tools: Padlet
Pairs analyse conflicting health advice
The teacher posts three contrasting pieces of advice on a health topic (e.g. sleep duration, screen time, sugar intake) drawn from different sources (NHS, social media, a celebrity). Each student picks one piece, evaluates its credibility on a class Padlet, and posts their judgement. The class compares evaluations.
Tools: Padlet
Re
Pairs interpret a religious text on a class wall
The teacher posts a single short extract from a religious text (e.g. the Sermon on the Mount, a verse from the Quran, a Buddhist sutra). Each student posts their interpretation in their own words to a class Padlet. The class scrolls all interpretations and the teacher draws out where readings agree, diverge, and reflect the student's own context.
Tools: Padlet
Comparative prayer practice annotation
Each student gets a Jamboard frame with descriptions of three different prayer or meditation practices (e.g. Islamic salah, Christian Lord's Prayer, Buddhist meditation). They annotate similarities and differences across the three. The class scrolls all frames and the teacher highlights patterns in what students notice.
Tools: Jamboard
Live ethics polling with class debate
The teacher posts a contested ethical scenario (e.g. is it ever right to break a promise?, should we forgive someone who has not apologised?). Students vote on Mentimeter for one of three positions. The class sees the live spread, then in pairs writes a 30-second defence. The teacher calls one pair from each side to argue, including one religious-perspective position. The class re-votes.
Tools: Mentimeter
Science
Magnetic vs non-magnetic sorting on a class wall
Each pair gets a tray of mixed objects (paperclip, plastic spoon, eraser, key, coin, button). They test each with a magnet, then post a photo of each object to one of two Padlet columns: magnetic or non-magnetic. The class scrolls and the teacher asks any pair whose classification differed from others to demonstrate.
Tools: Padlet
Class plant growth measurements on shared sheet
Each pair plants two seeds (one in dark, one in light) and measures shoot height daily. Pairs enter measurements into a shared class spreadsheet. After two weeks, the class scrolls all pairs' data and identifies fastest-growing plants, slowest, and discusses likely reasons (tied to the dark/light condition).
Tools: Google Sheets
Forces investigation prediction wall
Before the teacher demonstrates a forces experiment (e.g. pulling a heavy box with rollers vs without), each pair posts a prediction on a class Padlet about what will happen and why. The class votes on Mentimeter. The teacher then runs the demo and the class compares predictions to outcome, posting one-line reflections on a shared sheet.
Tools: Padlet, Mentimeter
Ecosystem food web building, class merge
Each student is given five organisms from a shared habitat (e.g. a temperate woodland). They build a partial food web on their own Jamboard frame. In the second half of the lesson, the class merges all frames into a single class web; the teacher highlights cross-web species (those that appear in multiple students' webs) and asks the class what role they likely play.
Tools: Jamboard
Forces investigation with shared spreadsheet
Students conduct a basic spring extension experiment at their bench. Each student enters their three measurements into a shared class spreadsheet. The class scrolls all thirty rows; the teacher highlights outliers and asks the contributing student to explain whether the outlier reveals a measurement error or a real effect. Pairs then plot the class average against load.
Tools: Google Sheets
Periodic table sorting on a shared Padlet
Each student is assigned three elements (e.g. by row in a register list). They post each element to one of three Padlet columns (metal, non-metal, metalloid) with a one-line property justification. The class scrolls and the teacher pulls out any element that landed in the wrong column, asking the contributing student to defend before the class corrects.
Tools: Padlet
Virtual circuit lab with shared results
Each student designs and tests three circuits in a PhET circuit simulator (a series circuit with two bulbs, a parallel circuit with two bulbs, a circuit with mixed series and parallel). They post current and voltage readings into a shared class spreadsheet. The class scrolls all rows and the teacher highlights anomalies, asking the contributing student to debug their circuit.
Tools: PhET Simulations, Google Sheets
Mock-exam multi-choice debate on a wall
The teacher posts five GCSE-style multi-choice questions where the wrong answers are designed to be plausible. Each student votes on Mentimeter. The class sees the spread, then in pairs writes a 30-second defence of their answer. The teacher calls one pair from each side. The class re-votes. The teacher reveals the official answer and explains why each distractor sounds reasonable.
Tools: Mentimeter
Required-practical method comparison
The teacher names a required practical (e.g. measuring the rate of a reaction, investigating temperature change with concentration). Each student posts on a class Padlet the one method choice they would make differently from the standard mark scheme, with a one-line justification. The class scrolls and the teacher pulls out the three most defensible alternative choices for whole-class discussion.
Tools: Padlet
Required-practical method crowd-sourcing
The teacher names an A-Level required practical (e.g. determining specific heat capacity, investigating enzyme kinetics). Each student posts to a shared spreadsheet one method choice they would optimise (variable to control more tightly, repetition strategy, equipment substitution) with a one-line justification. The class scrolls the spreadsheet and the teacher pulls out the three most defensible optimisations for whole-class discussion.
Tools: Google Sheets
Mark scheme inference workshop
The teacher posts an A-Level question with two anonymised student answers (one strong, one weak) and the official mark scheme. Each student posts to a shared Padlet column one inference about why the mark scheme rewards what it rewards. The class scrolls all inferences and the teacher draws out the most useful patterns for revision.
Tools: Padlet
Spec-point question debate
The teacher posts an A-Level question with a deliberately ambiguous wording. Each student votes on Mentimeter for one of three valid interpretations. The class sees the spread, then in pairs writes a 30-second defence. The teacher calls one pair from each interpretation to argue. The class re-votes.
Tools: Mentimeter
Lessons that look IA but are not
Useful counter-examples when you are checking your own lesson placement on the PICRAT grid.
This page is one of a growing set of PICRAT examples by cell, subject and key stage. Page maintained by Andy Perryer.