8.50 - 9.00 reading and registration
9.00 - 10.00 - I.T lesson
10.00 - 11.15 Mathematics lesson
11.15 - 11.30 break
11.30 - 12.40 literacy
12.40 - 13.30 lunch
13.30 - 13.45 Reading
13.45 - Art lesson
14.40 - 15.00 Assembly
W.O.W:
As part of the walk on wednesdays initiative, children who walk to school were given badges to congratulate them on taking part.
Learning Journals:
a record of each pupils best work throughout the year, it aims to show their progression in the curriculum.
House points:
Each pupil is a member of a house team, these are named after famous people:
King,
Ghandi,
Mandela,
Seacole.
Each house has a colour and these are warn as badges on their schooluniform.
Mathematics:
Finding the radius and diameter of a circle ( see examples)
Drawing flowers using a circle and a compass ( see examples)
Art:
S took the lesson and explained to the class she wanted them to find photos from magazines showing figures moving or in action. There were various examples e.g footballers, dancers etc. they were asked to cut around each figure and make an A4 collage.
Due to bad behaviour and neglect of instructions the class was terminated and the children who had not completed the task properly were asked to throw away their work. They were then asked to get on with other work in silence.
Assembly:
2 past pupils came in to talk to year 6 about their highschool experiences. Mrs M welcomed them and talked about how they had been nominated for this years oscars ( a prize giving service in the evening in a couple of weeks). Other nominations were given out to current pupils for various achievements:
good work and presentation,
continuous improvement in work,
improvement in attitude and behaviour,
The oscars are an annual event where nominees are asked to attend in smart dress with parents/ guardians to celebrate their success. Pupils are nominated for awards by their teachers and winners will be selected by governers having looked at the information put forward about them.
Behaviour:
Child J sent himself home when abusing the warning system. The warnfoling strategy states that if a pupil has been given 4 warnings they need to make a phonecall home to exlain what they have done wrong. J however told office staff he had been asked to call home when in fact he was fed up of being at school. When his mother answered he annonced he was unhappy withe the way he was being diciplined. She promptly arrived to pick him up and did not support teaching staff following the incident.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
4th Day Week 1
8.50 reading
9.00 - 9.50 maths
9.50 - 10.00 change for dance
10.00 - 11.15 dance
11.15 - 11.30 break
11.30 - 11.45 reading
11.45 - 12.40 literacy or phonics
12.40 - lunch
13.30 - second dance performance
note: South African teachers on exchange will be arriving next week as part of the schools international schools link.
Reading:
Child S forgot to bring in his reading book and as a punishment was made to read the dictionary during the reading session and at break, this will hopefully encourage him to remember to bring it next lesson. Child N completed a reading quiz on the computer and achieved 100 %, he was rewarded with a good choices sticker.
Good choices reward sheets:
Children who make 'good choices' are rewarded by collecting stickers for a chart. Once they have received 40 they will claim a certificate. Reasons why children receive these vary. One child collected stickers for bringing glasses and putting them on without being asked when reading, others will get points for making suitable suggestions in class or working/reading quietly without being told to do so.
Mathematics:
The introduction to this lesson consisted of a review of the previous lesson. B asked questions about the process of segmenting lines with a compass. She repeated how to use a compass properly and accurately and the key points for making a line segment:
the infinity line - a continuous line until it is broken by intersection.
intersection - where one line crosses another.
labeling - capital letters should be used.
We reviewed how to check for accuracy against a ruler when measuring, remembering to start at 0 and how to line up the pencil with the point of the compass.
W.A.L.T - we are learning today WILF - what I'm looking for
use a compass to draw line segments of given lengths. ( see examples)
W.A.L.T
use a compass to draw triangles with sides of given lengths. (see examples)
instructions given:
8. create the arc AC (the first letter of the line e.g A is where you need to place the compass to draw the arc).
9. create BC arc in the same way.
10.label where the arcs intersect as C
11. join AC and CB
The children were then asked to make the triangle below using the working example to help them:
AB = 7
AC = 5
BC = 8
B instructed children to turn their chairs towards the board so that they could see and were not twisting to read what was on the board. They were also expected to put down any pens and compasses when she was speaking.
Dance:
4 children were chosen to read opening introduction to the dance. 2 for the morning and 2 for the afternoon.
The performances were a success with each year providing a dance from a different culture or country: India, Ghana, England(contemporary), Africa.
The dance had allowe the pupils to express themselves through movement, work as a team, understand rhythm and a musical beat and keep fit. They enjoyed the performance on the wholeand were excited to see the other year groups attempts.
Parents, relatives and friends showed up to watch and support their children. The deputy head gave a speech regarding the schools interational school award.
Phonics:
As it was the last phonics lesson before half term the children were instructed to organise their files. They complete 4 books every half term and then review how they think they have improved or what improvements they could make in order to progress. Each child set themselves targets for after half term relating to their spelling, handwriting and learning of articular graphemes e.g. vowel sounds, 3 letter graphemes.
Some of the key areas suggested were:
grapheme rhythm,
root words,
sentence construction,
spelling,
the past tense,
complex speed sounds: vowels and consonants,
one letter graphemes,
two letter graphemes,
three letter graphemes,
simple speed sounds.
The pupils then practiced their speed words from the previous session.When learning spellings, pupils spell out words in terms of graphemes, they are encouraged to listen carefully and write down every one they can hear. Any words written incorrectly should be repeated until memorised.
9.00 - 9.50 maths
9.50 - 10.00 change for dance
10.00 - 11.15 dance
11.15 - 11.30 break
11.30 - 11.45 reading
11.45 - 12.40 literacy or phonics
12.40 - lunch
13.30 - second dance performance
note: South African teachers on exchange will be arriving next week as part of the schools international schools link.
Reading:
Child S forgot to bring in his reading book and as a punishment was made to read the dictionary during the reading session and at break, this will hopefully encourage him to remember to bring it next lesson. Child N completed a reading quiz on the computer and achieved 100 %, he was rewarded with a good choices sticker.
Good choices reward sheets:
Children who make 'good choices' are rewarded by collecting stickers for a chart. Once they have received 40 they will claim a certificate. Reasons why children receive these vary. One child collected stickers for bringing glasses and putting them on without being asked when reading, others will get points for making suitable suggestions in class or working/reading quietly without being told to do so.
Mathematics:
The introduction to this lesson consisted of a review of the previous lesson. B asked questions about the process of segmenting lines with a compass. She repeated how to use a compass properly and accurately and the key points for making a line segment:
the infinity line - a continuous line until it is broken by intersection.
intersection - where one line crosses another.
labeling - capital letters should be used.
We reviewed how to check for accuracy against a ruler when measuring, remembering to start at 0 and how to line up the pencil with the point of the compass.
W.A.L.T - we are learning today WILF - what I'm looking for
use a compass to draw line segments of given lengths. ( see examples)
W.A.L.T
use a compass to draw triangles with sides of given lengths. (see examples)
instructions given:
- draw an infinity line
- place the letter A on the infinity line and draw a short line with a ruler where it intersects.
- open compass
- measure from 0 to 9cm
- place point of compass on A
- create arc on infinity line to make a line segment.
(never hold the pencil, hold compass from the top and twiddle) - where the arc meets the line label this B
8. create the arc AC (the first letter of the line e.g A is where you need to place the compass to draw the arc).
9. create BC arc in the same way.
10.label where the arcs intersect as C
11. join AC and CB
The children were then asked to make the triangle below using the working example to help them:
AB = 7
AC = 5
BC = 8
B instructed children to turn their chairs towards the board so that they could see and were not twisting to read what was on the board. They were also expected to put down any pens and compasses when she was speaking.
Dance:
4 children were chosen to read opening introduction to the dance. 2 for the morning and 2 for the afternoon.
The performances were a success with each year providing a dance from a different culture or country: India, Ghana, England(contemporary), Africa.
The dance had allowe the pupils to express themselves through movement, work as a team, understand rhythm and a musical beat and keep fit. They enjoyed the performance on the wholeand were excited to see the other year groups attempts.
Parents, relatives and friends showed up to watch and support their children. The deputy head gave a speech regarding the schools interational school award.
Phonics:
As it was the last phonics lesson before half term the children were instructed to organise their files. They complete 4 books every half term and then review how they think they have improved or what improvements they could make in order to progress. Each child set themselves targets for after half term relating to their spelling, handwriting and learning of articular graphemes e.g. vowel sounds, 3 letter graphemes.
Some of the key areas suggested were:
grapheme rhythm,
root words,
sentence construction,
spelling,
the past tense,
complex speed sounds: vowels and consonants,
one letter graphemes,
two letter graphemes,
three letter graphemes,
simple speed sounds.
The pupils then practiced their speed words from the previous session.When learning spellings, pupils spell out words in terms of graphemes, they are encouraged to listen carefully and write down every one they can hear. Any words written incorrectly should be repeated until memorised.
3rd Day Week 1
8.50 Children arrive read until 9.00
9.00 - 11.15 mathematics - line segments
11.15 break
11.30 literacy - continued autobiographies
12:00 phonics or circle time
12.45 lunch
1.30 return read and register
1.30 - 3.00 dance practice
3.00 children go home
3.15 - 3.30 briefing
Registration:
Children gave in secondary school application forms signed by their parents before the deadline later in the week. Praise was given to tables who set up quickly and for improvements in literacy work. Stickers and biscuits were given to particular pupils who had worked particularly hard. Extracts of work were read out and strong points were aknowledged. One child wrote a humerous extract which gave a positive desciption of his dad and another suggested he cried so much that he could have flooded the world.
B discussed different pupils strengths: neat joined up handwriting, effective use of similies, lively and entertaining storytelling.
As a class their writing was greatly improved and they were asked to give themselves a pat on the back.
Appearance:
Children are praised on good appearance it is important to be well dressed while in school, school shoes and jumpers must be worn and shirts need to be tucked in.
Mathematics:
interpreting data:
Children work in two books, one for geometry - a problem solving book, and one for mathematics. This separates the diciplines at an early age which helps their understanding. The problem solving book is plain paper and allows room for drawing shapes, lines and showing working out.
Pupils were given past sats paper questions to test their knowledge of interpreting data. Sheets were given according to ability, some were level three, others level four papers. Children worked in pairs to solve the problems given.
Line segments:
Compasses were kept in a tin before needed for health and safety reasons. B explained to the children the meaning of an infinity line, and how through intersection and labeling it A and B it becomes a line segment. B noted the importance of of using capital letters in geometry to distinguish it from the written word.
B showed the pupils how to make the line segment AB using a compass, letting them practice 'twiddleing' the compassess to make arcs and circles. They practiced adjusting the compass size with a ruler to provide accurate, presise and exact measurements. Children were told to use separate pencils for drawing and writing so as not to disturb the accuracy of measurements and to keep the pencils in the compass sharp.
Children began work in their books, starting with the date and W.A.L.T ( learning objective)
W.A.L.T - What We Are Learning Today
To draw a line segment using a compass
Whie B was talking children were made to cross arms so that they didn't play with the compasses and hurt themselves and were concentrating on her instructions. She told a story from her childhood about learning to use a compass, she expressed that she found it hard and showed them that they were not the only ones who found it challenging. The children could then identify with her experience.
'can't' and 'won't' are strongly discouraged
Following the lesson children gave themselves a clap for working well.
Literacy:
Grammer, tenses and punctuation was touched on at the beginning of the lesson, particularly full stops and capital letters. Other than this, feedback was very positive. The class are encouraged to be positive about each others work and support each other to resolve mistakes. Rubbing out is not allowed, this allows B to see where pupils are struggling and help them, she aknowledges the need for mistakes in order to learn. Children are aware of this rule and were asked if they had rubbed out any of their work. Those who admitted they had were thanked for their honesty but told not to do it in future.
'mistakes mean you are learning, errors tell adults what you need for your learning'.
The class continued their work on autobiographies, thinking of different ways to start sentences, improving description and attempting to include varied ages and events. When they had written it and had it checked over, they used post it notes to separate events and set them out chronologically.
I.C.T:
Small groups went to the I.C.T room to write up their autobiography booklets one their drafts had been checked through.
Phonics:
The school uses easily accessible modular books by spellboaund for use in phonics. They are each separated into sections:
phonic sounds,
graphemes,
new vocabulary,
a story including the new vocabulary,
comprehension questions on the story,
a writing task e.g write a play script
Children read out words through recognising graphemes, they work out the number of graphemes in each word and learn graphemes used in word roots and endings.
Circle time:
This is a chance for the children to express how they are feeling and any worries that they have. The most popular worries surrounded upcoming S.A.Ts and moving to highschool. B held a discussion to help ease the stress and worry they were feeling. Some children even highlighted that they were scared about travelling to and from their new school due to stories they had heard about attacks on buses e.t.c in the media and from older relatives and friends.
Art Project:
B gave me and Minty an art project for the next art lesson, featuring collages of moving figures.
Extension class:
These are children who have english as a second language or hold a different dialect to standard english. They focused on the past tence and using the ending ...ed.
with the exceptions e.g.
draw - drew not draw - drawed
Behaviour:
Four children were sent to a lower year as punishment, due to an argument the day before.
9.00 - 11.15 mathematics - line segments
11.15 break
11.30 literacy - continued autobiographies
12:00 phonics or circle time
12.45 lunch
1.30 return read and register
1.30 - 3.00 dance practice
3.00 children go home
3.15 - 3.30 briefing
Registration:
Children gave in secondary school application forms signed by their parents before the deadline later in the week. Praise was given to tables who set up quickly and for improvements in literacy work. Stickers and biscuits were given to particular pupils who had worked particularly hard. Extracts of work were read out and strong points were aknowledged. One child wrote a humerous extract which gave a positive desciption of his dad and another suggested he cried so much that he could have flooded the world.
B discussed different pupils strengths: neat joined up handwriting, effective use of similies, lively and entertaining storytelling.
As a class their writing was greatly improved and they were asked to give themselves a pat on the back.
Appearance:
Children are praised on good appearance it is important to be well dressed while in school, school shoes and jumpers must be worn and shirts need to be tucked in.
Mathematics:
interpreting data:
Children work in two books, one for geometry - a problem solving book, and one for mathematics. This separates the diciplines at an early age which helps their understanding. The problem solving book is plain paper and allows room for drawing shapes, lines and showing working out.
Pupils were given past sats paper questions to test their knowledge of interpreting data. Sheets were given according to ability, some were level three, others level four papers. Children worked in pairs to solve the problems given.
Line segments:
Compasses were kept in a tin before needed for health and safety reasons. B explained to the children the meaning of an infinity line, and how through intersection and labeling it A and B it becomes a line segment. B noted the importance of of using capital letters in geometry to distinguish it from the written word.
B showed the pupils how to make the line segment AB using a compass, letting them practice 'twiddleing' the compassess to make arcs and circles. They practiced adjusting the compass size with a ruler to provide accurate, presise and exact measurements. Children were told to use separate pencils for drawing and writing so as not to disturb the accuracy of measurements and to keep the pencils in the compass sharp.
Children began work in their books, starting with the date and W.A.L.T ( learning objective)
W.A.L.T - What We Are Learning Today
To draw a line segment using a compass
Whie B was talking children were made to cross arms so that they didn't play with the compasses and hurt themselves and were concentrating on her instructions. She told a story from her childhood about learning to use a compass, she expressed that she found it hard and showed them that they were not the only ones who found it challenging. The children could then identify with her experience.
'can't' and 'won't' are strongly discouraged
Following the lesson children gave themselves a clap for working well.
Literacy:
Grammer, tenses and punctuation was touched on at the beginning of the lesson, particularly full stops and capital letters. Other than this, feedback was very positive. The class are encouraged to be positive about each others work and support each other to resolve mistakes. Rubbing out is not allowed, this allows B to see where pupils are struggling and help them, she aknowledges the need for mistakes in order to learn. Children are aware of this rule and were asked if they had rubbed out any of their work. Those who admitted they had were thanked for their honesty but told not to do it in future.
'mistakes mean you are learning, errors tell adults what you need for your learning'.
The class continued their work on autobiographies, thinking of different ways to start sentences, improving description and attempting to include varied ages and events. When they had written it and had it checked over, they used post it notes to separate events and set them out chronologically.
I.C.T:
Small groups went to the I.C.T room to write up their autobiography booklets one their drafts had been checked through.
Phonics:
The school uses easily accessible modular books by spellboaund for use in phonics. They are each separated into sections:
phonic sounds,
graphemes,
new vocabulary,
a story including the new vocabulary,
comprehension questions on the story,
a writing task e.g write a play script
Children read out words through recognising graphemes, they work out the number of graphemes in each word and learn graphemes used in word roots and endings.
Circle time:
This is a chance for the children to express how they are feeling and any worries that they have. The most popular worries surrounded upcoming S.A.Ts and moving to highschool. B held a discussion to help ease the stress and worry they were feeling. Some children even highlighted that they were scared about travelling to and from their new school due to stories they had heard about attacks on buses e.t.c in the media and from older relatives and friends.
Art Project:
B gave me and Minty an art project for the next art lesson, featuring collages of moving figures.
Extension class:
These are children who have english as a second language or hold a different dialect to standard english. They focused on the past tence and using the ending ...ed.
with the exceptions e.g.
draw - drew not draw - drawed
Behaviour:
Four children were sent to a lower year as punishment, due to an argument the day before.
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
2nd day week 1
timetable for day:
8.50 - children arrive
8.50 - 9.00 registration and children read chosen books.
9.00 - 9.30 mental maths test
9.30 - 10.00 mathematics - bar charts/ interpreting data/ data problems
10.00 - 10.20 school council assembly
10.20 - 11.15 literacy - autobiographies
11.15 - 11.30 PLAY
11.30 - 12.45 literacy continued
12.45 - 1.30 LUNCH
1.30 - 2.45 Dance practice
2.45 End of day
Class jobs:
Class management:
Entering and Leaving the classroom:
Pupils line up quietly in single file when entering and leaving the form to go out to break or assembly. When pupils are dismissed at the end of the day they are picked by table, usually for those that have cleared away the quickest or are the quietest.
Toilets:
There are two sashes hanging by the door to the class, these are for children leaving to go to the toilet. This way it is not necessary to disrupt the class to ask and it is always known how many people have left the room.
Talking in class:
Children are taught to respect others when talking and listening in class. Interruption and talking over the teacher or another pupil is not tolerated and they can often be issued with a warning.
Behaviour management:
In addition to individual warnings (recorded on a warning sheet), the class may be issued with class punishments if they have been particularly rowdy or uncooperative in class. Their morning break is 15 minutes long, but will have time taken off it according to behaviour. 2 minutes are taken off at a time and usually by the second warning the class are willing to work quietly and listen in order to keep their break, or if they are especially good, win it back. Table points are also given for enthusiadm in lessons, so good behaviour and interest are encouraged.
Uniform:
Pupils are regularly checked for tucked in shirts and proper shoes instead of trainers. The school believes pupils should dress respectably to show they are ready to learn and raise self esteem and the school image.
Jewellery/personal belongings:
Jewellery is not allowed in the classroom at any time and any personal items such as phones, keys, money is kept in a class tin until the end of the day when children can collect it to go home. This ensures concentration in class, security and secures against inevitable loss or theft.
W.O.W
Walk on Wednesday posters are displayed within the classroom suggesting their support of children walking to school for their health, exercise and social well being.
Class setup:
8.50 - children arrive
8.50 - 9.00 registration and children read chosen books.
9.00 - 9.30 mental maths test
9.30 - 10.00 mathematics - bar charts/ interpreting data/ data problems
10.00 - 10.20 school council assembly
10.20 - 11.15 literacy - autobiographies
11.15 - 11.30 PLAY
11.30 - 12.45 literacy continued
12.45 - 1.30 LUNCH
1.30 - 2.45 Dance practice
2.45 End of day
Class jobs:
- Every student in the school is given a water bottle to encourage them to drink more during the day. children volunteer to fill them in the morning before the lesson ready for start of lessons. These are kept next to the sink for easy access(note pupils are given a water bottle and a book bag which they are responsible for. If they lose or damage them they are expected to replace them with their own money from the school shop.)
- Books are handed out before the lesson and pencils given out.
- A pupil collects the register.
- The computers are turned on.
- (later) school council team set up the hall for assembly - benches
- A pupil brings the lunch bag trolley at the beginning of the day to the classroom to collect packed lunches and at the end of the day. This keeps food out f the classroom.
- Follow instructions given by all school adults.
- Keep hands, feet and objects to myself.
- Never name call, tease or use bad language.
- Keep these rules at all times during the day.
Class management:
Entering and Leaving the classroom:
Pupils line up quietly in single file when entering and leaving the form to go out to break or assembly. When pupils are dismissed at the end of the day they are picked by table, usually for those that have cleared away the quickest or are the quietest.
Toilets:
There are two sashes hanging by the door to the class, these are for children leaving to go to the toilet. This way it is not necessary to disrupt the class to ask and it is always known how many people have left the room.
Talking in class:
Children are taught to respect others when talking and listening in class. Interruption and talking over the teacher or another pupil is not tolerated and they can often be issued with a warning.
Behaviour management:
In addition to individual warnings (recorded on a warning sheet), the class may be issued with class punishments if they have been particularly rowdy or uncooperative in class. Their morning break is 15 minutes long, but will have time taken off it according to behaviour. 2 minutes are taken off at a time and usually by the second warning the class are willing to work quietly and listen in order to keep their break, or if they are especially good, win it back. Table points are also given for enthusiadm in lessons, so good behaviour and interest are encouraged.
Uniform:
Pupils are regularly checked for tucked in shirts and proper shoes instead of trainers. The school believes pupils should dress respectably to show they are ready to learn and raise self esteem and the school image.
Jewellery/personal belongings:
Jewellery is not allowed in the classroom at any time and any personal items such as phones, keys, money is kept in a class tin until the end of the day when children can collect it to go home. This ensures concentration in class, security and secures against inevitable loss or theft.
W.O.W
Walk on Wednesday posters are displayed within the classroom suggesting their support of children walking to school for their health, exercise and social well being.
Class setup:
- Number lines and rulers are stuck onto edge of every desk to help children with their maths, particularly adding and subtracting minus numbers.
- A working wall displays current projects and relevant vocabualary for the topic, it is an evolving and changing display and is not used to display children's work.
- The children's reading books, pencils, pens, rulers e.t.c are kept in the middle of each table in a box, there they are accesible to the children when they enter the classroom and can be easily cleared away at the end of each day.
Absence/ sickness/ lateness:
A pupil arrived in school who had been vomiting the day before in school. He was informed that technically he should have stayed home as the policy for illness states that children who have been sick should leave at least 24 hours before rejoining the class.
Pupils are expected to justify their lateness and this is monitored.
Reading:
Personal Reading:
Children read their chosen books (or one chosen for them) at the start and end of the day, this encourages frequent reading of varied texts which increases vocabulary, reading ability and hopefully enjoyment. This is particularly important for those who are not engaged with reading at home, alone or with parents.
Reading Comprehension:
Once pupils finish a book they fill in a multiple choice ICT quiz/ comprehension to test their ability to understand the content. They are expected to score between 80% and 100 %. There are 10 questions relating to the plot and characters.
The system logs the pupils progress and shows previous book quizzes and scores, targets and points. After completing the quiz a report is printed stating their score which is stored by B.
Class Reading:
At some point every day B reads to the class from a fiction novel. This proves effective for their listening and comprehension skills and helps them become more creative in their own work. B asks questions about the text which relate to the characters and situations, often these link with P.S.H.E issues such as bullying and friendship/relationships. It is an alternative method for introducing behaviour morals to the children without them coming across as rules.
Mental maths:
Answer sheets were handed out to the pupils (in the mental math S.A.T.S format) and the children were clearly instructed where to answer and the rules of the test.
Rules:
'If you let someone see your answers 10 marks are deducted'
'If you copy someone else's work you get no marks.'
Every question had a time limit of 5, 10 or 15 seconds and was repeated twice. Throughout the test pupils visualised shapes (particularly 3D) and jotted notes to help them. Once finished the answers were read out and the children marked their own work in another colour. One boy found to be changing his answers had 10 marks deducted from the total.
Mathematics:
Pupils have been studying bar charts and today moved on to interprating data. Through class discussion and worksheets they read of bar and pie charts. They are developing their knowledge of how to set out results and a firmer understanding of the X and Y axis. Through paired working, they worked together to answer questions relating to results presented in different formats.
School Council assembly:
Today assembly was taken by the school council, a range of students from the higher junior years. The 'councilors' sat at the front of the hall to adress their fellow students and to bring news and questions on current school issues. Tchicovsky played as everone entered the hall. The meeting began with greeting the headmistress and the councillors. The assembly was run by the pupils, with the headmistress working as a mediator. She explained expected proceedures and the manner which others should be adressed.
The children sat quietly and listened attentivly to their colleagues, they were encouraged to speak up and ask quieter ones to project to the group to build their confidence of public speaking.
The topics covered were as follows:
Book sale - The pupils were introduced to the plan to hold a sale of old, donated books in the hall. They would be expected to contribute to the collection. Pupils were asked to take a vote as to where the proceeds would go. The options given were: to the school for new resources, to charity or split between the two. The vote was a unanimous and humbling decision to give the profits to charity. Pupils stood up to explain their choices and prefered charities, two suggested were Shelter and Cancer research. Many of the children expressed the need to help those less well off than themselves.
Football rota- This was an attempt to allocate fair times for play. A schedule had been drawn up to gve every year the opportunity to play at some point during the week.
Literacy:
In literacy the children were asked to carry on writing extracts from their own autobiographies. They aimed to focus on three or four experiences which were particularly memorable. B told them a story from her own life giving emphasis to detail, feelings and excitement. The pupils will present their autobiographies in word processed booklets using publisher, with each paragraph detaling a different event.
Pupils were encouraged to use different starters for each sentence to keep the reader engaged and the story interesting. They were expected to arrange instances chronologically and give a varied range of events from birth until the present.
When B recalled a story from her own childhood, the class took turns to repeat the story back in as much detail and in the most interesting way possible. Story starters were offered and B explained how structure should be used to present information.
The children read through their work before continuing writing to ensure fluency in their writing style, it also gave them a chance to proof read.
Marking:
We looked through a few of the 'red' english books during and following the literacy lesson. B talked about the importance of focused writing and marking. She writes three or four tasks for improvement after every piece of work and allows the children to read them through at the beginning of the following lesson so that they can assimilate them into their future writing.
Dance:
The dance from yesterday was continued, with four particularly able children taking the lead and tutoring their peers through demonstration. The two groups worked alternately so that they could partake and watch to internalize the movements. They all worked as a team to synchronize their movements, give constructive criticism and discuss improvements which were then incorporated. Although not all of them achieved the full routine by the end, their were significant improvements and on the whole they tried hard.
There was practice with and without the music and some pupils found working with the music easier as they could 'feel the beat'.
One pupil created a wordprocessed invitation for the class to give to their parents to share all their hard work with their family.
Monday, 19 October 2009
First Day on Placement
After looking over school policies and safety regulations I sat in on my first lesson. The children were expected to walk in to the classroom quietly and continue reading while the register was taken. They appeared to be well behaved as this must be a daily routine which they have become accustomed to.
Attendance and absence:
Attendance and absence are taken very seriously and children are closely monitored. Through positive reinforcement they are rewarded for arriving on time and attending all lessons. The school uses a teddy bear and rabbit as a symbol for the least absentees or tardiness. If the class have these in their possession for the greatest amount of time in a half term/term they will be rewarded by being allowed to wear their own clothes in for a day.
Reading:
Children are expected to read books that they have chosen at the beginning of their afternoon session. The room has a library corner and a selection of books displayed from varied backgrounds and cultures. B shows her interest in what the children are reading and asks questions to prompt thought and to give encouragement. To keep track of what is being read by who a system is in place to sign for books.
Dance:
Each year is putting on a performance for the rest of the school and any parents who would like to attend. Every year has been asked to produce a different genre of dance - thinking particularly about dance from different cultures. Earlier in the week dancers came into the school to teach routines choreographed to suit their age group. These performances were recorded so they can easily be watched back via the electronic whiteboard, allowing pupils to dance along to practice and memorize routines.
The class worked as a team ( following clear, repeated instructions) moving tables and chairs to prepare the room for the session and returning it at the end, thinking about health and safety (not blocking exits, leaving furniture where it would be obstructive or tripped over).
They class were split into two groups to practice, chosen by B so that they were fairy evenly distributed in ability.
Behavior:
Behavior is taken very seriously and treated with a firm approach. Bad behavior is not tolerated
but good behavior is rewarded and praised. Individual children have star charts and each table collects table points. A 4 step warning and discipline strategy is in place which is echoed throughout the school for consistency and maximum effect.
Class Jobs:
Children assist with collecting and returning registers and the trolley with the lunch bags.
Homework:
If homework is not completed, children are expected to attent 'homework club' to finish where a teacher will be present to assist.
Staff Meeting:
These are held every Monday and Wednesday to discuss any recent news and school developments. This week teachers had visited a maths make sence school, to learn about different techniques for maths education. Value Added results were presented much to the delight of contributing teachers for achieving a value added score of 130. An international school award was also mentioned.
Attendance and absence:
Attendance and absence are taken very seriously and children are closely monitored. Through positive reinforcement they are rewarded for arriving on time and attending all lessons. The school uses a teddy bear and rabbit as a symbol for the least absentees or tardiness. If the class have these in their possession for the greatest amount of time in a half term/term they will be rewarded by being allowed to wear their own clothes in for a day.
Reading:
Children are expected to read books that they have chosen at the beginning of their afternoon session. The room has a library corner and a selection of books displayed from varied backgrounds and cultures. B shows her interest in what the children are reading and asks questions to prompt thought and to give encouragement. To keep track of what is being read by who a system is in place to sign for books.
Dance:
Each year is putting on a performance for the rest of the school and any parents who would like to attend. Every year has been asked to produce a different genre of dance - thinking particularly about dance from different cultures. Earlier in the week dancers came into the school to teach routines choreographed to suit their age group. These performances were recorded so they can easily be watched back via the electronic whiteboard, allowing pupils to dance along to practice and memorize routines.
The class worked as a team ( following clear, repeated instructions) moving tables and chairs to prepare the room for the session and returning it at the end, thinking about health and safety (not blocking exits, leaving furniture where it would be obstructive or tripped over).
They class were split into two groups to practice, chosen by B so that they were fairy evenly distributed in ability.
Behavior:
Behavior is taken very seriously and treated with a firm approach. Bad behavior is not tolerated
but good behavior is rewarded and praised. Individual children have star charts and each table collects table points. A 4 step warning and discipline strategy is in place which is echoed throughout the school for consistency and maximum effect.
Class Jobs:
Children assist with collecting and returning registers and the trolley with the lunch bags.
Homework:
If homework is not completed, children are expected to attent 'homework club' to finish where a teacher will be present to assist.
Staff Meeting:
These are held every Monday and Wednesday to discuss any recent news and school developments. This week teachers had visited a maths make sence school, to learn about different techniques for maths education. Value Added results were presented much to the delight of contributing teachers for achieving a value added score of 130. An international school award was also mentioned.
Friday, 16 October 2009
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