Tried and tested ideas from the classroom
MAKING RESOLUTIONS
by Sarah Batstone, Deputy Headteacher, Rounds Green Primary School, Sandwell, Birmingham
Able, gifted and talented children are a vulnerable and at risk group! Their needs are just as great as those with SEN, EAL or other barriers, yet far less likely to be met. Their ability to work independently whilst the teacher supports others can result in talent being overlooked, coasting and under-achievement, or more active disengagement and behavioural difficulties. On this premise and the concept of the rising tide lifting all ships, I believe one of the best teaching methods is to present rich tasks which offer all pupils challenge, choice and opportunities for creativity, with the potential for more able children to take their learning to a deeper level. Activities which are open-ended, especially in their recording requirements, will be accessible, enjoyable and engaging, while encouraging learners to use their strengths and enabling the teacher to focus on the more able.
As Christmas approaches and thoughts begin to turn to the new term and the start of a new year, the theme of making resolutions presents opportunities for fresh and challenging activities based around the idea of goal-setting. (This could link with the SEAL unit ‘Going for goals!’) Start by wishing everyone Happy New Year; talk about how you say this in different languages and involve everyone in greeting each other. Briefly discuss a range of New Year traditions, using websites such as www.fathertimes.net/traditions.htm as a source of information. This is an ideal way to celebrate diversity and promote inclusion and cohesion, enabling bilingual and minority ethnic pupils to shine.
Introduce the concept of New Year’s resolutions, inviting children to share with the class any they have made. Use examples of goal-setting to encourage the children to think of a personal goal of their own. Describing the idea of a timeline stretching to a fixed point in the future, invite everyone to close their eyes, think about their goal and fast-forward in time to imagine that it has been achieved. Lead a visualisation in the ‘now’ where they explore how it looks and feels, and what they can hear; then guide them to enhance the sensory experience, e.g. by making it larger, brighter, louder, faster. This visualisation will offer motivation and help pupils commit to their goal, as well as providing them with relevant ideas for their work. The majority can be asked to record their work creatively on templates of either a football or a footprint (using both left and right feet and coloured paper in skin tones), making an instant display! This will help to keep the goals in mind and facilitate future reference.
With the more able, you can explore the timeline idea further, breaking goals into steps and developing thinking through rich dialogue. This can include questioning and coaching by peers and the teacher. Encourage searching thought and consideration of possible consequences and challenges through questions such as: ‘What if you did …?’ ‘What would that achieve?’ ‘What would/wouldn’t happen?’ To help with breaking down goals into steps, each child could place four footprints on the floor and step on them as they explain the sequence of actions using time connectives such as ‘first’, ‘next’, ‘after that’ and ‘finally’. They can choose whether to record their work on the footprints, in a paragraphed report or on an Individual Education Plan, sharing it in the plenary.
Work on making resolutions can be enriched or expanded through the use of story. Choose a story based around a quest, in which a hero overcomes challenges to achieve a goal, e.g. the Native American story Grandmother Spider. The story can be told as a stimulus for goal-setting or as a foundation for storytelling and writing. For this, tell the story and ask everyone to create story maps. The majority can then act the story in pairs, tell it orally and write it in their own words, whilst the more able develop their learning through shared writing activities. By innovating the story, changing it to make it their own, they gain an appreciation of the plot type and learn to craft quality writing.
For more information on this process visit www.storymuseum.org.uk. The ‘Talk for writing’ resources in the Literacy section at www.devonldp.org also offer useful guidelines for these activities.