Blue Plaques
My daughter (not a teacher at all!) spotted this idea in Cambridge. As part of a local history project, children had researched, using Census returns, families living in a particular area - possibly their own homes - and made their own versions of London's blue plaques, which told passers-by who had lived in the house at a particular time, what their occupations were etc. Brilliant! Here's a link to the official 1911 Census website for the UK. And this link will take you to the official London Blue Plaque site, for more information on them.
Using a photograph across the curriculum
Telling the time
With digital times being so much a part of everyday life, it's even harder for many children to learn to tell the time on a standard analogue clock. Then when they have to translate between the two they can often get confused. One simple rule might help: when reading digital times we say the hour first, (ten twenty-three, eight fifty-two); with analogue times we say the minutes first (ten past six; quarter to two).
They're playing my song...
An interesting and fun way for children to interpret characters in a story is for them to create a piece of music that represents them. You could play short extracts from Peter and the Wolf or Saint-Saens' The Carnival of the Animals to give them the idea. Or maybe watch bits of Disney's Fantasia. The first time you'll probably have to talk about key character traits and try out different instruments - tuned and untuned - played in different ways - quickly, slowly, loud, soft, etc. - basically the same idea as shared writing. Then let the children have a go themselves. Characters could be specific or generic. It's always good if you can record the music the children have composed. It could then be used as an accompaniment to a dance sequence that they can create, also based on the character, or even bits of the narrative.
Big numbers? Easy Peasy!
To help children learn how to read big numbers: HTU - always say 'and' after the hundreds, then just read the TU number, e.g. one hundred AND twenty three. When into the thousands, use the commas to help you, so all you need to do is break it up into what you already know about how to read HTU numbers - then when you see the comma, you say the word 'thousands', or if it's a really big number, the sort with TWO commas (WOW!) the first one is where you say 'millions', e.g. 123,123,123 = one hundred and twenty-three MILLION, one hundred and twenty-three THOUSAND, one hundred and twenty-three. Build up to it and after a bit of practise they'll have it sorted!
Music lessons anyone?
It's noticeable that many schools bring in specialists to teach music, often to cover PPA time. This can lead to de-skilling of teachers, as they neither teach music, nor see it being taught. One of the knock-on effects of this is that many teachers don't think to include music as part of their cross-curricular teaching, which I think is a great shame and certainly opportunities lost. I know that music can seem to be a bit scary for the non-specialist, but it really shouldn't - as long as you can either sing, bang a percussion instrument or press the play button you'll have lots to work with. For example -
More MFL
Whilst all schools will have their own schemes for MFL, I'd highly recommend at the very least, squeezing in some of the method devised by Michel Thomas. (Ignore the dodgy hair!) He covers French, German, Spanish and Italian. I'm familiar with the French course, and it's brilliant. He starts by telling you that in fact you already know thousands of French words, because so much of English is derived from French (and the other languages too) - which explains why we are often better at listening and understanding rather than speaking in a different language.
And the way he teaches immediately has you speaking in meaningful, useful sentences. So much better than the usual school fare. And far more useful to learn about everyday life than what goes on in the classroom. How many children going to another country will have conversations about pencils and rulers?!
If you can borrow a set of the CDs from your library, do so, and test it out for yourself.
20 Blank Circles
This idea is adapted from an article in the New Scientist reporting on investigations into the brain and creativity. So - make a sheet with 20 identical circles arrnaged in 4 x 5 rows (you can change the number if you want). Give them say 5-10 minutes to create something different from each circle - the most obvious is a smiley face, I suppose. Encourage creative thinking - nothing can be wrong!
Multiplication Tables
To liven up learning tables, link them to an appropriate visual, e.g.
Tale of Two Teddies
My daughter (not a teacher at all!) spotted this idea in Cambridge. As part of a local history project, children had researched, using Census returns, families living in a particular area - possibly their own homes - and made their own versions of London's blue plaques, which told passers-by who had lived in the house at a particular time, what their occupations were etc. Brilliant! Here's a link to the official 1911 Census website for the UK. And this link will take you to the official London Blue Plaque site, for more information on them.
Using a photograph across the curriculum
How to use this image
The photograph of the preserved ruins of Coventry Cathedral can be used to support work in Literacy, Philosophy, ICT, History and Art.
Looking at the image
Begin by showing the children the photograph of the ruins of Coventry Cathedral on the IWB. Ask them to look closely, and in silence, jotting down anything they notice, and writing any questions they have, or anything that puzzles them. Ask ‘What do you see? What do you wonder?’ If they are unfamiliar with the setting, they will probably recognise it as a church, but may wonder what has happened to the building and why it has no roof but does not look like a ruin because it is tidy and has benches for people to sit on. The use of red sandstone as a building material may be new to them. They may notice the sculpture in the corner or the new-looking roofscape in the top left. They may spot the bases of the original pillars or the red lights on the left-hand wall. They may see the rainbow as significant.
Developing thinking
After a few minutes, ask the children to share and compare their observations and questions in small groups, and see what answers they can suggest to their own questions. Each group should then choose one person to feedback the main points to the class. From this some common questions will emerge that can be the basis for further discussion. They might include
· What happened to the church?
· Why hasn’t it been repaired and rebuilt?
· Why does it look so well cared-for?
· What is the new building nearby and why is it there?
· If this is still a church, do people use it?
· Where is it?
At this point you have three choices –
- to ask the children ‘What do you think?’
- to guide the discussion, to share the information, answering the questions yourself, about what happened to Coventry Cathedral during World War II, and why the building has been preserved in this way, with the new cathedral being built adjacent to it
- to scaffold the children whilst they find out this information for themselves. This will depend upon the context within which you are working, your learning intentions and the age and abilities of the children. The following table offers some suggestions for activities that can result.
Activities
The activities below can be used independently, but can also be used cross-curricularly, using a theme such as War, Britain since the 1930s, Cities, Change or Buildings.
AREA OF LEARNING
|
Beginner
|
Intermediate
|
Expert
|
Literacy
|
Annotate the image on an A3 sheet, describing what you see.
|
Write a poem describing the setting, perhaps at a certain time of day or in a particular season.
|
Write in role as someone visiting the site, describing what you see but also what you are feeling and thinking.
|
Art
|
Draw or paint a large version of one section of the image.
|
Use an enlarged version of the photograph as the basis for a collage, where you add features to the bare scene, creating a scenario of your own.
|
Draw or paint a picture of how the cathedral might have looked during or immediately after the air raid which destroyed it.
|
Philosophy – questions for discussion
|
Does it matter if places of worship are destroyed? After all, nobody lives there.
(Children at all levels may well have an opinion on this, with more articulate learners being able to express themselves more coherently).
| ||
History
|
Imagine you had some association with the cathedral and write in role about how you would have felt the morning after the air raid.
|
What can you find out about how the bombing raids affected other parts of Coventry? List other buildings or streets that were destroyed and plot them on a large scale map of the city. Can you find out what those areas look like now?
|
Investigate the bombing raids carried out during World War II, and write a report to be shared orally with the class.
|
ICT
|
Use the internet to find different photographs of this part of the cathedral, taken from other angles. Can you find a close-up picture of the sculpture? Print off four or five and make a booklet about the preserved building.
|
Use the internet to find photographs of the new Coventry Cathedral, and prepare a powerpoint presentation to show how the new building differs from the old one which it replaced.
|
Use the internet to find images of the cathedral before and after the raids. Create a powerpoint presentation to share. Include sound files of sound effects, or record extracts of oral history, retrieved online.
|
Useful websites
With digital times being so much a part of everyday life, it's even harder for many children to learn to tell the time on a standard analogue clock. Then when they have to translate between the two they can often get confused. One simple rule might help: when reading digital times we say the hour first, (ten twenty-three, eight fifty-two); with analogue times we say the minutes first (ten past six; quarter to two).
They're playing my song...
An interesting and fun way for children to interpret characters in a story is for them to create a piece of music that represents them. You could play short extracts from Peter and the Wolf or Saint-Saens' The Carnival of the Animals to give them the idea. Or maybe watch bits of Disney's Fantasia. The first time you'll probably have to talk about key character traits and try out different instruments - tuned and untuned - played in different ways - quickly, slowly, loud, soft, etc. - basically the same idea as shared writing. Then let the children have a go themselves. Characters could be specific or generic. It's always good if you can record the music the children have composed. It could then be used as an accompaniment to a dance sequence that they can create, also based on the character, or even bits of the narrative.
Big numbers? Easy Peasy!
To help children learn how to read big numbers: HTU - always say 'and' after the hundreds, then just read the TU number, e.g. one hundred AND twenty three. When into the thousands, use the commas to help you, so all you need to do is break it up into what you already know about how to read HTU numbers - then when you see the comma, you say the word 'thousands', or if it's a really big number, the sort with TWO commas (WOW!) the first one is where you say 'millions', e.g. 123,123,123 = one hundred and twenty-three MILLION, one hundred and twenty-three THOUSAND, one hundred and twenty-three. Build up to it and after a bit of practise they'll have it sorted!
Music lessons anyone?
It's noticeable that many schools bring in specialists to teach music, often to cover PPA time. This can lead to de-skilling of teachers, as they neither teach music, nor see it being taught. One of the knock-on effects of this is that many teachers don't think to include music as part of their cross-curricular teaching, which I think is a great shame and certainly opportunities lost. I know that music can seem to be a bit scary for the non-specialist, but it really shouldn't - as long as you can either sing, bang a percussion instrument or press the play button you'll have lots to work with. For example -
- you can listen to music from countries you're studying in geography, or where current stories are located.
- you can use both tuned and untuned percussion for the children to create sound effects for stories
- you can sing songs when teaching a foreign language.
- you can use the lyrics of songs instead of poems to look at language, etc.
- you can use music as a stimulus for art.
- there are very user-friendly computer programs to create musical pieces.
More MFL
Whilst all schools will have their own schemes for MFL, I'd highly recommend at the very least, squeezing in some of the method devised by Michel Thomas. (Ignore the dodgy hair!) He covers French, German, Spanish and Italian. I'm familiar with the French course, and it's brilliant. He starts by telling you that in fact you already know thousands of French words, because so much of English is derived from French (and the other languages too) - which explains why we are often better at listening and understanding rather than speaking in a different language.
And the way he teaches immediately has you speaking in meaningful, useful sentences. So much better than the usual school fare. And far more useful to learn about everyday life than what goes on in the classroom. How many children going to another country will have conversations about pencils and rulers?!
If you can borrow a set of the CDs from your library, do so, and test it out for yourself.
MFL tip
Do you know about Google Translate? It's one of the options from the standard drop-down menu. Not only does it translate between many languages (pretty well so far as I can tell), but you can also listen to how the words should be pronounced. Quite useful for chidren to use, but also for you if you're not an expert and you have MFL to teach!20 Blank Circles
This idea is adapted from an article in the New Scientist reporting on investigations into the brain and creativity. So - make a sheet with 20 identical circles arrnaged in 4 x 5 rows (you can change the number if you want). Give them say 5-10 minutes to create something different from each circle - the most obvious is a smiley face, I suppose. Encourage creative thinking - nothing can be wrong!
What you do with them then is up to you - you could just use them as part of an interesting comparison and discussion; you could tally the ten most common interpretations, or you could ask the children to select one of their images to be the basis for writing a story. Try it yourself first to see how easy or difficult it is and how you felt when you were doing it. Pressure? Enjoyment? Challenge?
To liven up learning tables, link them to an appropriate visual, e.g.
- 2 x table - shoes
- 3 x table - tricycles
- 4 x table - anything with four legs or wheels
- 5 x table - starfish or stars
- 6 x table - insects
- 7 x table - sets of dwarves, colours of the rainbow, days of the week (this is a tough one!) - you could always use the trusty spots on ladybirds!
- 8 x table - spiders' legs or octupuses arms
- Add the digits in each answer and they all come to 9
- List the answers vertically and they run in numerical order in both columns, one way forwards, one back:
- 09
- 18
- 27
- 36
- 54 etc
Tale of Two Teddies
This is Passepartout
He started his travels many years ago - 1996 to be exact, when a child in my class moved to South Africa. Since then, the idea of having a travelling teddy has become fairly common, but if it's not something that happens in your school, you might like to consider starting it.
Here's how it works: anyone who's going anywhere, near or far, for a short or long time, volunteers to take the teddy with them, look after it, take its photo at the location and, of possible, send a postcard from him/her back to school. Passepartout travelled the world, from Great Yarmouth and Blackpool to Brazil, Australia, Russia and many other places. Some of his carers were children in the class, others were staff, parents or friends. Back in school, we tracked his journeys on a map and kept his postcards and photos in large scrapbooks that lived in the class library. He had his own teddy passport and - as you can see - suitcase. Sometimes he'd bring things back with him, like a sleep mask from a plane, a mummified lizard in a matchbox and coins of various countries, all of which we kept in his case. He collected a lot of badges too!
Now then - here's Teddy Two - this is Charlie:
He didn't travel quite so far. Every two or three days, I would choose a child to take Charlie home with them. Rarely did anyone say no thanks! There were three rules:
- They must look after him.
- They must bring him back to school on the designated day.
- They must write something in his diary.
Using Local Museums
Most of us are within reasonable distance of a local museum, but do you make the most of yours? They're often run by volunteers, many of whom are ex-teachers, so know where you're starting from! Advice from the Museums and Archives Council is to use your local museum in a range of ways - not always just the obvious visit linked to your current history topic.
So...try to use them once each term - one can be a visit to the museum, but maybe with a different purpose in mind - maths, or art, or DT or writing maybe. Another term, arrange a visit to the school from one of the museum staff, again be creative in how you work with them - maybe have a storytelling session that could lead to drama or art. The third term could be to make use of a loan item. Many museums put together loan boxes that may be history resources but again could be used to stimulate writing or drama. Make friends with the museum staff and reap the benefits!
Florence and pies
Did you know that Florence Nightingale was the inventor of the pie chart? She was a gifted mathematician, and developed the idea to show the government information related to deaths, nursing and hospitals in the Crimean War. An interesting fact, and one you could make use of when studying Florence in history - link it to maths. Blanket Dig
When you're doing the Romans or the Greeks or the Egyptians, etc. etc. have fun with a Blanket Dig. Arrange blankets (or similar) each with various artefacts between the layers - the most recent nearest the surface. Reveal each layer with the class, to show them how archaeologists rediscover the past. If you choose your artefacts carefully, you can investigate what they show about the people to whom they belonged, showing how what we leave behind can tell us about our society - and also that we can jump to wrong conclusions if we're not careful.
History timeline
The BBC have this fantastic online resource that you can use to show any aspect of British history as a searchable, interactive timeline:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_tl_british.shtml
You can use it at a basic level, or click on any of the events for further information.
Another timeline is avialble from the British Library:
http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/timeline/historytimeline.html
This has downloadable images of documents and artefacts linked to times on the timeline. Some even have audio downloads. It comes right up to the 21st century with the destruction of the Twin Towers.
How to Teach !!!
I haven't read this book, but from what you can see, hear and read on Amazon, it looks to be extremely good! Go to Phil Beadle, How to Teach
Puzzles
Here's a link to a great site where you can create your own puzzles:
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/?CFID=9981917&CFTOKEN=44253622
It's really easy to make word searches, number puzzles, crosswords etc, which you can tailor to your current work, at the levels you need. Just print off what you make and photocopy!
The 6 Thinking Hats
If you don't know (or have forgotten about) Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats,check out his website:
http://www.debonogroup.com/six_thinking_hats.php
or here:
http://debonoforschools.com/asp/six_hats.asp
The basic idea is to give children different ways of approaching thinking about problems, or discussion points. Wearing a different coloured hat (which can be literally that - start collecting now!) - allows them the opportunity to consider things from varied points of view. The website explains each hat's role clearly, so best check them out there.
What's the point? Well, it helps develop an objective way of thinking, aids speaking & listening and can help develop group discussion. All this can lead to improved information writing too. You'll need to introduce the idea gradually, starting maybe with just the black, yellow and white hats (some people prefer to re-label the black hat as purple - that's up to you). So the white hats presents the facts of the issue, the yellow hat the positive aspects and the black/purple hat the potential difficulties. The blue hat has the role of summing up before a decision is made - if indeed, it can be made. For very young children, this may be as far as you can go, but it's a start and well worth doing.
Another Christmas card idea...
If you're not keeping old cards to use for art next year, encourage your class to bring them in for recycling. You can take them to Marks & Spencer, who recycle for the Woodland Trust, or Oxfam. Go to www.oxfam.org.uk/hereandnow
Click on 'Recycle' for more information,.
Sshh...don't tell...
Now don't get me wrong - I'm not advocating this on a large scale, but... have you ever considered the eductional benefits of the little white lie? It works wonderfully...children love to think they're doing something they're not really allowed to do, and you can use this to your advantage (and theirs!). Here's how it works:
- The Lie: 'How did you know that? Only chldren in Year x' (at least a year ahead of where they currently are)'should know that!' The reality :you expect them to know it now!
- The Lie: 'I'm not actually supposed to tell you about this'. The reality: You are actually supposed to tell them about it.
- The Lie: 'Most grown-ups don't know this'. The reality: Some grown-ups may not know this.
- The Lie: 'This is something you don't really need to know until you are in Year x'. The reality: This is something they'll be doing next term.
- The Lie: 'I shouldn't really tell you this.' 'Oh! please! '. 'Oh well,all right then...' The reality: It's your Learning Objective.
Excellent website
For many years the website of Ambleside Primary school has been a favourite with many teachers. If you've never had a look around it, or if you've forgotten about it, do take a look:http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/index.htm
There are lots of ideas, interactive games and quizzes - you'll need a while to browse!
Children as photographers
Cameras are common in schools today, used by both adults and children, but here's an idea that you may not have tried. I did this as a voluntary home activity, and it required that children had access to a digital camera. The children were asked to take up to 6 photographs of either things that were important to them, or of things that showed their view of the town they lived in. The last idea came from the photographically illustrated books of Prodeepta Das - I is for India; P is for Pakistan, etc.
This was a real learning curve for me - I became aware of specific things that individuals found important that I was previously unaware of - one boy was a very keen fisherman for instance. This kind of information can be really helpful in motivating children. It was also obvious how important pets were to many children. When a pet dies we are of course always sympathetic, but this experiment showed me that maybe I'd been less sympathetic and understanding in the past that I probably should have been - the effect of the loss of a pet is probably greater than I'd supposed.
My eyes were opened too by one 'interesting' boy in the class. Most children who'd taken photographs of the locality had gone for standard postcard-type views, or their own home. But this boy had taken pictures of rubbish and rubbish bins - an equally honest perspective of the town, which led to very interesting discussion. He went on to take his observations further however, by creating a school rubbish-collecting group who spent their playtimes keeping the school grounds tidy - and reporting on progress at assemblies.
UKLA publications
For lots of ideas linked to Literacy in all its facets you can't do better than get hold of some of the very reasonably priced UKLA publications. They're written by top experts in the field and cover every aspect of Literacy teaching. Do check out the website for details:
http://www.ukla.org/publications/shop/
Dinosaur Dig
This could be in History or Arty Ideas, I suppose, but it's here! I saw this idea at the top of an Austrian mountain where a play area had been created for children at the ski-lift station. Dinosaur skeletons had been made, in cement, then the whole area covered in deep sand. So children could be archaeologists and uncover their own dinosaur bones. Fantastic! Obviously something of a major project for the school grounds, but one well worth fundraising for,and maybe there's a clever parent who could make the skeletons for you. It would make for uears of pleasure!
Cardboard Hide
This is a great way to get children interested in watching wildlife, ideally for real in an outdoor area, but it could also be used for indoor role play. Open up a very large cardboard box, lay it flat and let the children paint one side of it in some sort of camouflage - maybe sponge painting of 'flowers' along the bottom, with green plants and/or brown tree trunks above, maybe a bit of sky at the top. Cut two or three window flaps at different heights, that the children can look through when they're standing or sitting behind the screen. Position it vertically, supported on each side by a couple of wooden posts banged into the ground. (Obviously by some other means if you're using it indoors!) Don't leave it out in the rain!
Music and Architecture
The SAW project
I became aware of this project in a Norwich primary school, where a display of interesting drawings along with fabulous descriptive poetry caught my eye. S is for Science, A is for Art and W is for Writing, and this project combines all three in an innovative way, resulting in great work in all subejct areas. Go the their website to find out more about it at: http://www.sawtrust.org/
The Co-operative
The Co-operative group, as an ethical trader, works to involve schools and children in green living. One of their initiatives - 'From Farm to Fork' -can include visits to Co-operative farms, but also has lots to do online. Visit this part of their website for information and ideas, which includes a link to a children's page:
http://www.co-operative.coop/farms/from-farm-to-fork/
Bio Blitz
A Bio Blitz is a field survey of all the natural history and wildlife in a particular area and is something it would be great to do in your school grounds - even if there's not much greenery around you - insects and plants can survive in the harshest of conditions, and birds are found everywhere.
To find out more go to:
http://www.bnhc.org.uk/home/bioblitz.html
For help in identifying what you find, you could enlist the help of your local Natural History Society or Wildlife Trust, who often have knowlegeable volunteers or education officers.
Pasta or pizza?
I came across this great idea whilst staying at a hotel in Manchester. The hotel's retaurant had linked up with a local primary school, inviting the children to design either a pasta or pizza dish as part of a competition. The winning dish was later included on the restaurant menu, with some of the profits being donated to the school. It would be a great thing to do even without receiving the money! Maybe a local cafe or restaurant would be willing to do the same for your school.
Post an egg
For a really challenging DT task, ask teams of children to design the packaging for sending an egg through the post (if this is too potentialy messy for you, substitute a large crisp!)They'll need to plan and test materials first, then you need to decide whether you're going to post them for real, or just pop them through the school letter-box yourself!
An alternative would be to design some kind of protection for the egg which is then thrown over a 'wall' to find out how effective the portection actually was.
Florence and pies
Did you know that Florence Nightingale was the inventor of the pie chart? She was a gifted mathematician, and developed the idea to show the government information related to deaths, nursing and hospitals in the Crimean War. Just an interesting fact to share with your children when you're using pie charts! And of course, a good history link.
Real Money
Do you use real 1p and 2p coins when teaching money to younger children? If not - why not? After all, 100 1p coins only costs £1! And it makes handling money REAL for children just getting used to handling coins - makes no sense to give them plastic coins!Did you know that Florence Nightingale was the inventor of the pie chart? She was a gifted mathematician, and developed the idea to show the government information related to deaths, nursing and hospitals in the Crimean War. Just an interesting fact to share with your children when you're using pie charts! And of course, a good history link.
Real Money
Maths Trail
If you've never used one, why not set up a maths trail around the school and school grounds? You can focus on one element, say shape, or have a mixed maths approach. Give the children age-appropriate clue sheets that will guide them around the trail, where they have to find particular maths-related stuff, such as examples of where rectangles or squares can be found, or how many windows they can count on one wall, or how many places can they find numbers displayed. One school I know has what look like cells for lunchbox storage - perfect for data handling. Once children have got the idea, they can construct trails of their own for others in the class to try.
French Maths
Do an easy bit of cross-curricular learning by saying numbers in French (or Spanish, German etc) whilst teaching number in Maths. Try asking simple maths questions whilst teaching your modern foreign language, asking for answers in the chosen language.
Digiblues in PE
Ever thought of using child-friendly video cameras such as Digiblues to record PE? They're particularly useful for self-assessment of sequences in gymnastics - the children can watch themselves in order to identify where they're doing a good job and also for spotting areas for development.
Food chains
For a thoroughly absorbing way for children to investigate food chains, try to get hold of some owl pellets - sometimes you can get them from wildlife associations. Soak them for a little while in a small amount of water,in a plastic tray, then you pull them carefully to pieces using tweezers (and wearing latex gloves for health & safety). You'll discover lots of bones of the small creatures that the owl has digested. It's possible to identify these, if you can get hold of an identification guide. It'll take all morning! The bones can be sorted and glued onto black sugar paper.
