Phonics Week

For our second week-long placement, I was placed in a Reception class to focus on Phonics teaching. I was a little wary, as I'd never considered teaching in Early Years before, but I found the whole experience really positive, and really enjoyed the week!

Each morning, there were 7 activities laid out. The children were put into 7 groups, and each group would rotate every day to do a new activity. These activities were related to phonics and spelling, numeracy, fine motor skills etc. 

The children responded really well to these activities, and remained focused until the teacher rang the wind chimes, signalling carpet time. 

Independent Learning was a new experience for me. From an outside glance, it seemed like it was simply play, but the teacher and TA's were constantly assisting the children with their own learning. For example, if a child was drawing a picture, we would ask what shapes they were using, could they label their pictures etc. If they were looking at a book in the reading area, we would ask them to blend phonemes together.

After Independent Learning, it was Teacher-Led Learning, where the theme for the week was the teddy bear's picnic we would be having at the end of the week. Again, each group rotated activities every day. These activities included writing an invitation for their teddy bears, creating party hats, and writing lists of what they would need for the party. Giving the children a focus of excitement (the teddy bear's picnic), really engaged them in the activities and encouraged their learning.

I read a number of stories to the class during the week at Snack Time, which was a really fun experience for me. It was lovely to see all of the children so engaged in the story and really listening to the words. 

After Snack Time, it was Phonics. Every couple of days, a new phoneme would be introduced. Repetition played a huge part in the childrens' learning' they would repeat the phonemes five times each, before moving on to the next letter. Once they had learnt the new phoneme, it would be added to the outside of the board as a constant reminder. The teacher would encourage their curiosity by asking questions such as, "what do you notice about 'c', 'k' and 'ck'?"

After the Phonic overview, the children would recite their "secret words" - I shouldn't even be mentioning this! They were high frequency words in a box that the children would recite as "word detectives". They responded brilliantly to this, as they were put in role, rather than just reciting words on a board.

Throughout the week, I was able to teach the lower ability phonics group. I found it really difficult for my first session, as the children found it hard to concentrate with the other children reciting phonics on the carpet. However, in my second session, I used a game method to engage them, and got a brilliant response. I drew a race track on some paper, and separated the track into squares, with a phoneme on each square. The children were given a racing car each and a dice, and had to navigate themselves around the board, only being able to move on if they could sound out the phoneme. Making the learning relevant to the children is key in engaging their learning. 

I was also able to see the levels of differentiation in the class. For example, there was a boy who found it extremely difficult to focus on each activity. The teacher placed a velcro board in the corner of the room with a visual timetable for the day. He was then able to take off each lesson as they ended so that he could focus on them one at a time. There was also a girl with behavioural problems, who also struggled to concentrate for long periods of time. At carpet time, the teacher gave her a sand timer, so that the child could focus on concentrating. Once the timer ran out, she was allowed to pick up a book and read to me so that she wasn't creating distractions for the other children.

I really loved my time in the class, and had such a helpful, friendly teacher, who encouraged me to do as much or as little as I wanted to. 

Observing Over Time

This week's Science lessons was all about observations over time, and how we can use experiments to engage the children in Science. For one of our directed tasks, we had to create a pitfall trap to catch mini-beasts. We used a clean yoghurt pot, and punched 3 small holes in the bottom to drain rainwater, then added a couple of vegetable leaves to attract the mini-beasts. 

We made a hole in the ground and placed the pot at ground level to make it easy for the mini-beasts to access it. 

We covered the pot with a piece of cardboard, and placed some stones around the outside to stop larger creatures from accessing the pot. 

When we returned to it the next day, we found a small slug and a couple of small insects inside. As the bugs were so small, they didn't show up very well in the pictures. 

If I was doing this experiment with a class, I would use multiple pots, and changing the variables. For example, we could place them in different spots, or use different foods in each pot.

In our Science workshop, we created tabletop displays in groups. Our group focused on mould growth, and used bread as an example of this. At home, we placed slices of bread in the house, changing the variables; we used clean hands to touch one slice, dirty hands to touch another etc. 

If this were in a classroom, we would allow the children to make predictions as to which slice would have the fastest/slowest growth mould. We presented this planning sheet, where the children could add their own variables, and move them around to make their predictions. 

We printed out pictures of each slice, so the children would be able to move the pictures around according to which day they thought each slice belonged to. They could then change the variables on the "slices" below the pictures to display their findings.

To encourage their curiosity, we created a question sheet, where there were multiple questions that the children could answer on a post-it note. We made sure that the questions were worded in a way that meant there were no right or wrong answers. 

I am very happy with how are display ended up, and it as given me plenty of ideas for my own classroom.

Special School Placement

I didn't know what to expect before my special school placement, but honestly, I couldn't have had a better experience. The head teacher was so friendly and inviting, and the entire school was so welcoming to us all. 

I was placed in a through school with children with moderate learning difficulties, and my class was a group of 12 truly lovely 12-14 year olds. The class was laid out with one big table in the centre of the room, where the children, teacher and TA sat together, creating more of a community feel than rows of seats. There were a few comfy seats on the other side of the room, facing away from the main table to act as an escape for children who needed a break, and a table in the far corner for one of the boys who hated to work in groups. 

This term's topic was castles, so a lot of their learning revolved around that particular theme. For their literacy lessons during the week, the children first had to think of a well known story, and describe the beginning, middle and end of it, to create a timeline of events. I worked with a girl with Down's Syndrome, as she described to me the story of Frozen. It was strange to be working with children who were of secondary school age, who could not read or write properly, but they were so keen to learn, I adapted pretty quickly. Once they had set out the three parts of a known story, they had to come up with their own. So to start with, they drew their own castle and labelled it, to act as their setting. They then drew and described four characters before writing their own beginning, middle and end. This was a lot easier for them to focus on than writing the whole story, as it segmented the process into more manageable chunks, and it was really interesting to see the stories they came out with. 

In numeracy, the children were learning about the value of money. As the head teacher explained at the start of the week, they put a lot of emphasis on real life experiences so that the children find it easier to live independently in the future. This was put into practice in numeracy. We used plastic coins so that the children had a visual representation to follow. We started simply by reciting the number bonds of ten, and then asking "how many 1ps are in a 5p/10p/20p coin" etc. Some of the children responded better than others, but the teacher and TA were fantastic in supporting the lower attainers. We then gave the children a plastic wallet each with a mixture of coins adding to the value of 20p. This was their bank balance. We explained that they can earn money to add to their balance by doing "jobs" around the classroom, such as tidying up and cooperating with each other well. We then turned the classroom into a tuck shop, allowing the children to buy items such as fruit, crisps and chocolate with their money. Every item was worth a different amount, and it was up to them whether they wanted to spend or save their money. The tuck shop ran every day in the week I was there. This is the perfect example of using every day experiences to show the children how to spend and save money. 

I found that the lessons were a lot more "hands on" than I've seen previously. For example, they have a gardening lesson once a week, where they grow their own vegetables. Those same vegetables are then used to make food in their cooking lessons! The children responded brilliantly to this, as they got to see the process of their vegetables growing, and then cook and eat them afterwards. In Science, they cut open their vegetables to observe the seeds, which aligned with their lesson about reproduction.

I absolutely loved my special school experience, and has completely opened my mind to the possibility of working in a special school. 

Addition & Subtraction

Another week of Maths seminars is another week my mind's been blown open with ways of how I wish I was taught how to learn when I was in school. 

This week was all about addition and subtraction, something I thought I was pretty comfortable with. I didn't realise that there were two types of addition; aggregation and augmentation. Although the children wouldn't be aware of the two methods, it's helpful for a teacher to know the difference. If a child is struggling, it may be that one method will be easier for them to understand than the other. 

Aggregation is when there are two sets that come together - altogether would be the keyword.

Augmentation is when you start with something, and make it bigger - the keyword here would be more.

Other key phrases we were taught is partitioning and compensating. 

Partitioning is the splitting and recombining of numbers,

eg. 24 = 20 + 4

Compensating is when you add too much/little, then adjust it.

eg. 36 + 38

36 + 30 (-2)

As I didn't have much previous school experience, and the experience I did have was with older children, I was introduced to different resources we could use so the children could visualise the calculations. 

Multilink cubes are great for younger children in the enactive stage, as they can physically move around, add to or take away the individual cubes. 

Numicon is also great for those still in the enactive stage, as no only allows them to visualise the holes, but it also allows them to link a number to a colour. 

I had never seen Dienes blocks before, but they are an amazing resource to use to discuss place value. The children can visually see that ten 1s blocks are the same as one 10s block, and ten 10s blocks are equal to one 100s block. 

I particularly liked arrow cards, as this is a visual representation of partitioning. In this example, the children can see that 823 is the same as 800 + 20 + 3, and in turn, can see that 803 - 20 = 803 etc. 

One of the important messages was that we need to teach children that addition and subtraction are inverse processes. If they know one calculation, they also know the inverse. By introducing this link from the beginning, it makes it less scary to the children when it comes up later on. 

Another method to teach them is buy 1 get 3 free. For example, if you know 6 + 4 = 10, you also know 10 - 6 = 4, 10 - 4 = 6 and 4 + 6 = 10. 

When it comes to subtraction, the methods are similar, with partitioning and compensating being the inverse to the addition methods ie. partitioning is when you start with a number and split it into parts, and compensating is when you change a number and adjust it. 

Two new methods we were introduced to are reduction and difference. 

Reduction... if I have 10 cubes and I take away 4, how many do I have left?

Difference... what is the difference between 10 and 4?

It's interesting that these processes come as second nature to us as adults, but we may have struggled to grasp this concept as children. As teachers, it is our job to find which methods work best for each individual child. 

Story Boxes

We were introduced to the idea of Story Boxes in our English seminar, and it's a concept that I will definitely be using in my own classroom. 

Each group was given their own box, each with its own theme. Ours was The Three Billy Goats Gruff. The box contained three different versions of the book, aimed at children with different reading abilities, three toy goat figures, a troll doll, and a bridge.

Story boxes are a great way for the children to reenact the stories that they have been reading, and allows them to use their imaginations to alter the original story to make it their own.

For older children, story boxes can be used as a way to peak their imaginations, and use props as a way to create their own story. 

Our box contained a toy dragon and a phoenix, some old jewellery and trinkets, a postcard of an ancient sword, a fabric bag and a bottle. 

With these items, we created a story where the phoenix used a sleeping potion on the evil dragon in order to claim back the gold that was stolen from him. 

The simplest and most random selections of things can be used to fill the boxes, yet it is amazing what stories will be able to be told from them. I will definitely be using this in the classroom.

Journey Sticks

As one of our directed tasks, we were asked to visit the woods to create a journey stick which could be used in a range of cross-curricular subjects. A journey stick can be used as a visual representation of the childrens' journey, each item on the stick allowing them to retrace their steps. 

We gave our journey a focus of fairies, searching for places in the woods where fairies could be living. 

We found quite a lot of litter on the ground, which we could use to explain to our class the dangers of littering to the environment. 

We also found some rabbit holes. 

And some woodland mushrooms. 

This was our final journey stick, allowing us to retrace our journey through the woods.

We could use the journey sticks as a base for a range of lessons: 

English - Relate it to a story based in the woods, ie. Where the Wild Things Are etc., use it for creative writing; writing a letter explaining their journey, write from a fairy's perspective, write a story based in the woods...

Science - Learn more about plant life/ woodland creatures. 

Art - Take items back to the classroom and create art based around this, such as still life, printing, collage etc. 

Geography - Create a map of the journey, and investigate areas in their own town. This could be used as a way of creating a tourist guide, inviting people into their area. 

History - The children could use their stick to create a visual timeline, attaching items that remind them of a certain time period.

I loved the concept of creating journey sticks, and making it relevant to the childrens' lives. It's a great way to get a change of scenery without losing focus of the learning. 

The Fantastic Fairground

Before I started the course, Maths was the one thing I was terrified about teaching. I don't remember much from my Primary Maths lessons (which probably tells me they weren't very engaging), but I had some pretty nasty Secondary Maths teachers who shattered my confidence completely in Maths, despite the fact that I wasn't even that bad at it. But that shattered confidence stuck with me to this day, so I was extremely nervous at the thought of having to teach it to children. However, our first Maths seminar made me feel so much better about he subject. It was engaging, I understood the challenges, and I even had fun doing them! 

To start off the seminar, we were given The Sock Challenge. 

Imagine I have 10 pink socks and 10 blue socks. I put them all into a drawer. What's the maximum number of socks I have to pull out before I get a pair?

We worked in groups to discuss the answer, and our group decided that we would have to pull out 11 socks to find a pair. Looking back at this now, I feel a little silly, but it wasn't until we were shown how important visualisation is to a child trying to work out a Maths problem. Our tutor visualised this for us by pulling imaginary socks from a bag.

The first sock I pull out is pink. The next one is blue. Will I have a pair if the third is pink? Or blue? 

This was a completely new way of working out a Maths problem for me. I'd always been encouraged to do things in my head, and this was such a simple way for the answer to be found. 

The Connectionist Approach

For the next part of the seminar, we were introduced to the three approaches to teaching: 

Transmission, Discovery, and Connectionist.

The Transmission approach is very much a teacher doing all the talking, with very little involvement from the children, which we all agreed was not the way we wanted to teach. 

The Discovery approach was quite the opposite, the teacher offering little guidance, encouraging the children to explore their own ideas. 

We focused more on the Connectionist approach, as this seems to be a balance between the two. 

This approach is definitely something I will be applying in my teaching, allowing the children to explore connections through the enactive, iconic and symbolic stages of learning (using concrete items acted out, to using icons to represent objects, to being able to visualise them mentally).

We then moved on to a brilliant example of connectionist teaching: The Fantastic Fairground. 

Our tutor set the scene: 

You have gone to visit a fairground. The first ride is a new one. It looks really exciting - lots of lights, machinery and noise. The owner says they've been building it for 10 years and it's finally ready to use! As you're the first customers, you can ride this one for free! It's called The Time Machine. You strap yourself into the cars and the start button is pressed. But something goes horribly wrong! Sparks fly, there and bangs and crashes, and the owner shouts in panic as the lights go out. When the lights come back on, the whole fairground looks different. The stalls and rides have changed, and people are wearing strange clothes seen in history books from the last century. Disaster! It seems The Time Machine has worked too well, and you're stranded in a fairground of the past! To re-program the machine, you need to discover the exact time and date you've been sent back to. Each stall you visit will give you part of that information, but only when you've got all the complete and accurate details can you hope to get safely back to your own time.

Our tutor had arranged the room into 7 different sections. In each section was a piece of paper with a Maths problem such as:

On another wall, there was the decoding sheet, where we could change the answers we got into a date or time. Each activity focused on a different area of Maths, such as shapes, averages and patterns. This would be particularly successful in a classroom, as if they worked in groups, each child would have different strengths, so it would allow them to help each other to find the answer. 

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this activity, and it was nice to have some of my other group members explain how to work certain problems out, and vice versa. It's fair to say I'm feeling a lot better about teaching Maths after this. 

Storybooks & Display Boards

Week One of my PGCE year was tricky to say the least. I found myself struggling with long days and early mornings for the first time in years, and am still trying to come to terms with the high workload. But I'm confident that it'll be completely worth it in the end, 

This week was focused on storytelling, and how we can use stories as a hook to engage children in a range of cross-curricular activities. We were introduced to our first 3 "Big Ideas":

1. Stories are universal; they resonate with human motivations and convey complex meanings.

2. Stories provide a stimulating, engaging and motivating context for learning. 

3. You can't just read a story; creativity comes from how teachers mediate the story for children.

The third point particularly stuck in my mind; how can we as teachers design a lesson around a story that will engage the child in the story and their learning?

In our workshop, we focused on The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson, and explored how the story could be used through different subjects. 

We focused on certain sentences of the book to set the task. 

"Fiery Mountains and Golden Sands"

Our first task was a fizz experiment, which could be used as a Science lesson. Using 6 test tubes, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, digestive salts, cola, lemon juice, vinegar, water and a ruler, we worked in groups to experiment which combination would create the biggest fizz in the tube. This would expand on previous knowledge of acids and reactions, and would give the children freedom to decide for themselves which would have the greatest reaction.

"I can't move on land! I'm too big!"

Using Science again, we had to use Newton metres to find the minimum force that a 2kg weight would move against sandpaper. Other materials were provided, such as Vaseline, pencils etc. This would build on the childrens' previous knowledge of friction and force. 

"With zig zag of lightning, flashing and frightening"

We used wax crayons and paint to create our own wax paintings of the Snail and the Whale. This would be a good Art lesson to build on the knowledge of mixing colours, and could also use imagination to draw what they think the characters could have seen on their travels. 

"Towering icebergs and far off lands"

For this Science activity, we were given 4 beakers, and a range of materials such as newspaper, bubblewrap, tin foil and fabric. We wrapped each beaker in a different material, and filled them with boiling water, placing a thermometer in each and recording which material would keep the snail the warmest. This would build on previous knowledge of insulation.

"I feel so small"

For a Maths lesson, we were given a model of a snail, paint, and some information; a whale is 8 times the length of the average PGCE student. How many snails would fit the length of the whale?

First, we had to work out the average height of a PGCE student. We measured each person in our group, and averaged it out. We then multiplied this by 8 to find the length of the whale. We marked this on the paper on the floor, and printed each snail with paint and counted how many fit the total length. 

Stories were also used for a PE lesson, using Funny Bones by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. 

We explored how a simple book like this could be used in physical activity, linking to Science in the process. By doing activities such as running, dribbling a ball etc., we can provide children with the knowledge of what different bones do in our bodies in a fun and engaging way, rather than by pointing out bones on an image of a skeleton. 

For an Art lesson, we looked at Not a Box by Antoinette Portis.

We created our own Not-a-Box's, allowing our imaginations to flow completely. Our class had some amazing boxes, ranging from a superhero costume, to a castle, to a wardrobe with a working clothes rail (we really do have some talented people in this class!).

We also looked at poetry, using The Princess' Blankets by Carol Ann Duffy to inspire our own poems about the blankets. 

This led on to the opportunity to create our own blankets through the art of weaving. This tested my textile ability, which I found to be quite poor, but we created some fantastic blankets as a result!

Our main task for the week was to create a display board as one big group, showing how stories impact childrens' learning. It was great to have so many different ideas, and to use everyone's own experiences to draw out a plan for the final board. 

Our main idea for the board was "Our Garden of Learning", stemming from the idea that as we learn, our knowledge grows, as a plant in a garden would. 

We made a tree in the middle, with a child poking his head out, personifying curiosity. Each leaf had a statement on it, defining what stories mean to us. 

We wrote on flowers and garden creatures to keep with the theme, and wrote from both the child's and teacher's point of view. 

We created a spider at the bottom of the board, with each leg representing a different subject. For each subject, we wrote how we would use stories for each of these lessons, and what questions we would ask related to that subject. 

We recreated some of our favourite children's books.

We placed our Not-a-Box's at the bottom of the display, and pinned our blanket weaves around the top as a border. 

Overall, we were all so pleased with how the board turned out! It's amazing how so many ideas can come together to create something so put together! 

My PGCE taster was a fantastic one, and it just made me so much more excited for what's to come in the year!