Starter or Plenary for Hot Deserts

Here is an easy starter or plenary for hot deserts (which you can also do with any topic). I come up with 3 sets of questions and colour-code them according to how difficult they are. I then fold them, put them in a container and students take turns to pick one out; they can decide whether to go for something easy or a bit more challenging. 

They can either answer it themselves or they can nominate a friend (to save any embarrassment of not being able to answer).

I also sometimes do it in teams with different points awarded for each colour/level, and a wrong answer means all the points go to the other team, so the harder the question the more risky it is.

Let me know if you have any other easy, flexible, differentiated starters and plenaries!

Easy

Name one process of aeolian transportation

What do salt pans look like?

How long do salt pans take to form?

What is exfoliation?

What is freeze-thaw?

What causes a star dune to form?

Medium

Explain why flash floods happen in deserts

Name and define 2 processes of aeolian erosion

Why are salt pans covered in a thick layer of salt?

Define the term ‘saltation’

How tall is a barchan dune on average?

What type of river is the Nile?

Difficult

Name and spell the name of the big salt pan in Botswana

What type of landform may a salt lake start to form in?

What causes a salt lake to dry up and become a salt pan?

What shape are the windward and leeward slopes of a barchan?

Name the 6 processes of desert weathering

What type of river is the River Jordan? Can you spell and define the term?