ACfE In Action

This is already week 2 and so much has been done ! I am working with Mark Woods and his very friendly class.They have been enthusiastic and open to new thinking and ideas-Successful learners!In Primary 4 they are looking at light.

Monday 24th September-As in introduction we carried out an Engine Room with the class.When asked what an engine room was one boy said it was where the engine on the train was! Another said it would be full of steam !After an explanation was given lollipop sticks were used to pick pairs.(formative assessment tecnique).The children said this would be the fairest way and no-one would be left out.In pairs they had to record sources of light and then join up with another pair and so on.The groups of four were a challenge to some children as they all wanted to talk first or record ‘their’ idea.One group worked very well and appointed a recorder and another member of the group read out the information on the sheets.At this stage one or two children began to get restless and took a back seat.When the 2 groups of 4 joined together to make an 8 it became very noisy and some became frustrated as the group was too big to be heard. For a first time the class did very well to maintain it to the end.We had a great discussion to collate their ideas and all children were actively engaged sharing results.

As our main idea is shadow puppets we wanted to get the children to look at what makes a good clear shape.They collected leaves at palytime and we discussed their shapes, some being very clear and sharp ,others not so clear.We explained that they were going to create a simple basic photograph using photo paper and light and that the outline was the most important part as no detail would be seen.It was interesting that a lot of the children actually added detail. After the shapes were cut out and stuck onto the photo paper we went outside and held them up to the light for 2 minutes.The results were good and the children then realised that it was pointless adding detail !

Tuesday 25th September- The afternoon kicked of with an excellent discussion about what makes an effective team.Again we set high expectations of the children and used a ‘no hands’policy,expecting and answer from every child.We used lollipop sticks to ask.The answers the children gave were brilliant so it is obvious the children know how to work like this .They only need a chance to show it ! I think we are often reluctant to’ let go ‘ and lose some control but the results can be amazing. Here are some of the answers they gave- working together,talking and listening,helping each other,being a good example to your team mates,concentrating,cooperation(no arguing),sharing ideas,working hard,generating ideas,being active,making decisions(vote)

Now to put all these ideas into practise!

After looking on the internet at shadow puppets they went into groups of four.The learning intention was to plan and design a shadow puppet suitable for nursery children.(RELEVANCE)

Success criteria- everyone must be involved,decide on a theme,complete planning sheet,elect a team leader(CHALLENGE)

At the beginning the children all started to talk at once but after they had settled the noise level dropped quite dramatically as each group discussed ideas and came up with an idea .(PERSONALISATION AND CHOICE))All children were actively engaged in their group planning session.All ideas were suitable for the audience. A very successful afternoon.At the end of the session we talked with the children about the four capacities and some of the children could offer suggestions as to how they fit into their learning.