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Just a Minute

Based on the Radio 4 game, learners attempt to talk for sixty seconds on a topic without hesitation, repetition or deviation, developing fluency and quick thinking.

Discussion
Just a Minute diagram

What is just a minute?

  • Give a learner a topic related to current learning
  • They attempt to speak for one minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation
  • Other learners listen for rule breaks and challenge when they spot one
  • The challenger takes over and continues on the same topic

How it works

Just a minute borrows its format from the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme. A learner is given a topic and must speak about it for sixty seconds. The rules are simple: no hesitation (long pauses or "um"), no repetition (of any word or phrase beyond basic connectors), and no deviation (straying off topic).

The rest of the class listens carefully and challenges when they spot a rule break. If the challenge is valid, the challenger takes over and continues speaking on the same topic for the remaining time. The person speaking when the sixty seconds ends wins the round.

The competitive element makes this engaging, but the real value is cognitive. Speaking fluently for a full minute about a topic requires genuine understanding. You cannot bluff your way through sixty seconds. Learners must recall information, organise it quickly, and communicate it coherently under pressure.

Just a minute works brilliantly for revision and consolidation. It also develops the oracy skills that underpin the cross-curricular literacy framework. Listening skills are developed too, since the audience must pay close attention to spot rule breaks.

Classroom example

A Year 7 Science and Technology class in a Ceredigion school is revising the topic of cells. The teacher gives Aled the topic "animal cells." He begins: "Animal cells have a cell membrane that controls what goes in and out. Inside the cell there is cytoplasm where chemical reactions happen. The nucleus contains the genetic information..." After thirty seconds he hesitates. Bethan challenges and takes over: "The nucleus controls the cell and contains DNA..." The class is engaged, reviewing key knowledge, and practising speaking skills simultaneously.

Curriculum for Wales connection

Just a minute develops the "Reflect" strand of thinking skills through rapid retrieval and organisation of knowledge. It builds cross-curricular literacy through extended speaking and active listening, and supports the Four Purposes by developing "ambitious, capable learners" who can communicate their understanding confidently.

Rainbow Curriculum's Thinking Tools lens helps you plan where oracy and revision activities appear across your curriculum, ensuring speaking skills are developed across all AoLEs.

Tips

  • Start with thirty seconds for younger or less confident learners and build up to sixty.
  • Choose topics that learners have recently studied. This is a retrieval tool, not a research task.
  • A common pitfall: only the most confident learners volunteering. Use random selection so everyone has a turn over time.
  • Allow learners to prepare briefly (two minutes) before their turn. This builds confidence and improves quality.
  • Keep score across a half term to add a competitive element that motivates participation.

Source: Adapted from "How to develop thinking and assessment for learning in the classroom", Welsh Assembly Government, Guidance 044/2010.