Talkabout!! Politics Starter/ Plenary

Quiz shows are always a massive source of inspiration when it comes to starters and plenaries. Here’s one I used regularly in my teaching which was based on a popular quiz show around 1990.The show was called Talkabout and was hosted by then popular light entertainer, Andrew O’ Connor. A very simple format which involved two teams of people talking about a topic and trying to hit 10 key words. This is perfect for politics and can be played in two key ways.Firstly, you can think of 10 key words on a topic that has just been covered, for example, electoral systems. The words can be on the board but hidden from view. The teacher then asks for a volunteer to come to the front and face the class. The words are revealed to the rest of the group and the volunteer has to talkabout that topic (in this case, electoral systems) with the aim of hitting as many key words as possible. The time allowed is 60 seconds. Every time a word is 'hit' the students applaud the student.However, a far more inclusive way to play is to ask for a volunteer and then send him/ her out of the room. The rest of the group then discusses what the 10 key words should be and these are then put on the board. Volunteer comes in and then talkabout is played in the usual wayIt’s a really fun and engaging way of recapping a topic you have just taught and at the end you can question the students on each of the key terms. Talkabout can be used for virtually any politics topic, for example:Pressure groupsRole of parliamentThe European UnionThe applications are endless!!!!