Using Prompt Words To Embed Routines And Remember Key Knowledge

 Embedding Routines

I recently attended some training about helping children to remember more which got me thinking about how to embed everyday routines in my classroom in a more efficient way. 

The slogan during the pandemic - Hands-Face-Space was a clever way of prompting people to remember key information that could help to keep them safe. Behind those three words was quite a lot of information:

Hands : Wash your hands for at least twenty seconds, Use soap. Wash both sides of your hands including in between your fingers. Wash your hands regularly during the day etc

Face : Cover your face with a face mask when you are in a shop, on public transport. Make sure the mask is washed/replaced regularly. Make sure the mask covers your mouth and nose.

Space - Stay 2m apart from others in public, at work, in school. Then all the scientific reasoning behind this which I can't remember.

As we had already been told all of this information, the quick prompt of those three words helped to trigger the recall of it in an efficient way. I feel it is important to emphasise (particularly if we are thinking about the use of this strategy in a classroom context) that the information must be carefully taught for the use of the three word prompt to become effective.

Having thought about this for a while, I considered how I could use this strategy to embed routines in my classroom. I had already spent considerable time at the start of the year training the children in the key routines I wanted to deploy in my classroom so the teaching of the information part was shorter than it would otherwise have been.

I decided to focus on the lining up routine. I chose this because in primary schools, children line up for all sorts of reasons : going out to play, assembly, going into the dinner hall, going swimming, going out to PE etc etc. Firstly, we reviewed the expectations for lining up (the key information behind the prompt words). Next, we practised the routine. Then I explained each of the three prompt words I was going to use to remind them of my expectations if it became necessary. Finally, periodically, I will ask the children to explain the information behind one or more of the prompt words to check they have retrieved it effectively. This approach has been very successful so I am going to widen it to other routines. I have an excellent trainee working with me at the moment and one of the targets she has identified for herself is to improve her classroom management. Therefore, we are going to build our prompt words for other routines together.

Remembering Key Knowledge

This year, I have been fortunate to lead some staff development around retrieval practice. I was inspired last summer having read the excellent books written by Kate Jones (@KateJones_teach). Her books demonstrate the power of retrieval practice and the research evidence behind it. I won't try to go into that here as Kate does it a million times better than I ever could. 

Anyway, at school, we have implemented some retrieval practice strategies successfully. I wondered whether the idea of using three prompt words could be a useful way to help children retrieve key knowledge. Obviously, the knowledge would have to be effectively taught in the first place. Maybe then it would be possible to distill that key knowledge into three 'trigger or prompt' words that would enable the children to retrieve the knowledge at a later date. This idea is very much at the thinking stage for me but I intend to give it a try next term. A question I have about it is whether it would be better for me, the teacher, to decide what the prompt words should be or whether it would be better to build them with the children. We could even display them on the display for that topic. I will update this post once I've tried it. Thanks for reading my ramblings.

All the best 

Bryn

Using Guided Reading To Teach Foundation Subject Content

 

The idea I have been thinking about is in no way revolutionary or even original. It just came about as a result of some recent Twitter conversations.

I have recently been appointed Science lead at school. This week I had a handover meeting with the previous Science lead who shared with me the superb work she had been doing to lead the subject. She told me that her next step for her curriculum work would be to assign famous scientists for each of our Science units of work. 

As this is a work in progress for us, I thought I would ask Twitter science folk for suggestions. Thankfully, lots of people replied offering help, advice and resources which I am incredibly grateful for. Then I saw a tweet from @missshooes this morning where she said that at her school they sometimes look at famous scientists during guided reading sessions.

I thought that this sounded like a great idea. Maybe we could take it even further as a way of easing our already overcrowded curriculum especially at the current time when there are many gaps to fill. I wonder whether much of the foundation subject content could be explored through guided reading sessions (or whole class reading if that's what you prefer). I know I am guilty of an over-emphasis on fiction in guided reading sessions. Much of the content we teach in geography/history/RE and science could be explored in reading sessions. 

The children would get guided instruction of texts containing subject knowledge for foundation subjects while at the same time teaching reading objectives - obviously! It would help to create a better balance of non-fiction and fiction in reading sessions therefore exposing the children to a greater range of text types as well as developing their knowledge of the foundation subject topics. It might even help them with tackling the KS2 reading SAT which some argue is a test of knowledge as much as a test of reading ability.

It could be useful for pre-teaching foundation subject content too as pre-teaching is a great strategy for enabling SEND children to approach the foundation subject lesson with greater confidence. For example, if you have planned to teach a lesson about the Ancient Greek gods/goddesses in history, you could use a text about Ancient Greek goddesses in guided reading sessions earlier in the week. This could also mean that you can explore topics in greater depth during the history lesson as the children already have obtained some prior knowledge during guided reading sessions.

I'm going to give this a try in my own classroom and will update this blog when I know how it has gone.

Like I said, nothing ground-breaking but maybe worth a try.

Welcome Aboard

This past week on Edutwitter, I have seen a few posts about advice for newly qualified teachers. There is a lot of sensible advice out there which is great. I thought I'd like to write a post from the other side of the coin so to speak. During the course of my teaching career, I have met many newly qualified teachers and obviously was one myself! I have been thinking about some ways that us more experienced teachers could help newly qualified teachers settle into life at their schools.

All NQTs should have a mentor and if you are a mentor, hopefully you have already been in contact with the NQT you are mentoring in whatever way suits you both.

Show the NQT a friendly face on day one.

Bob down to their classroom and say hello.

Ask them if they need anything.

Offer to make them a brew.

Make an effort to talk to them in the staffroom. Include them.

Find them a mug if they don't already have one.

Check any NQTs are familiar with school routines such as assembly times, duty rotas etc. It will be one less thing for them to stress about.

At the end of the first day/week, ask them how it went. See if they need help with anything.Sometimes, people can be reluctant to ask for help so it may be useful to offer it first.


I was lucky that as an NQT and in other schools I have been new to, I have been treated very kindly and I try to pass that kindness on when I see new staff joining the school where I work.

Teachers I'd Like To See Teach

Ever since the very early days of my EduTwitter experience, I have connected with teachers who I would love to see in action.. I have learned so much from them online. EduTwitter is often a great place to pick up ideas and resources thanks to the many people who generously share.

When I began attending CPD events, I began to have lots of interesting conversations about how different teachers approached their practice both in a practical sense and in their teaching styles. The Primary Rocks phenomenon has increased my learning in this respect exponentially. The other week, I started to think about specific teachers that I would love to see in action in their own classrooms. The following are just some of those. There are many others.

Sophie Merrill @MissSMerrill
I would love to see her deliver an art lesson. Her ideas are truly inspirational with incredible outcomes from the children. Another good thing is that I feel that other teachers would go away from the lesson thinking 'I could have a stab at that'.

James Theobald @JamesTheo
I have really enjoyed reading James' blogs for a while now. Expertly written and often with a dash of well-timed humour, they always make me think and have regularly challenged my thinking. I am sure I could learn a lot for my own teaching of English by being in his lessons.

Rhoda Wilson @TemplarWilson
Rhoda is the first person I came across who was teaching whole class reading. Her ideas and resources that she has shared freely long with her knowledge of books is something to behold. I have used her resources in my own lessons but I would love to see them delivered by the expert.

Paul Watson @Glazgow
I met Paul at Primary Rocks in 2018 after his epic train journey from Glasgow. What he doesn't know about primary Science teaching isn't worth knowing. He is also a very humble, generous and all-round lovely fella. I would love to see him in action. I can imagine him having the children eating out of the palm of his hand.

Ben @bbcTeaching
Ben is a music expert and this is a subject that I am not very confident teaching. Therefore, I would love to see it taught by somebody like Ben who I know would do it justice. I am sure I would pick up lots of ideas.

Graham Andre @grahamandre
Graham is someone who I just enjoy being around. His sense of humour and joy for life is fantastic to see. The children he teaches clearly adore him and he cares about every single one of them. He has regularly shared masses of resources for free for a long time now.

There are many teachers that I would like to see teach computing lessons so it is impossible for me to choose just one. These would include (this is not an exhaustive list) : Lee Parkinson @IctMrP, Tim Head @MrHeadPrimary, Colin Grimes @MrGPrimary and any of the rest of the amazing 20 goto crew  - you know who you are!

Throughout my own education, Geography was my favourite subject and it is what my degree is in. Therefore, I would love to watch Mark Enser @EnserMark teach Geography lessons as he is a true expert. He even wrote a book about it.

Finally, my good friend Rich Farrow is a man who knows the history curriculum inside out and I just love listening to him talk about history so I would definitely like to see him teach it!

There are many, many more teachers that I have connected with that I would love to see teach and I am sorry to those that I didn't include. I do believe that we can learn so much from each other if we are open to it.

Using The CPA Approach In Subjects Other Than Maths

When I first started teaching, there were some excellent maths teaching resources that came with the National Numeracy Strategy. These included the supplement of examples which is an excellent document. Another, was the Models and Images. This provided examples of how you could represent mathematical concepts in different ways. Therefore, when I first became aware of the CPA (Concrete-Pictoral-Abstract) approach to the teaching of maths just over a year ago, it reminded me of documents like Models and Images. Having worked on applying the CPA approach in my own teaching over the last year or so, I have really seen the benefits with children being more secure in their mathematical understanding across the ability range.

This got me thinking earlier this summer about a CPA approach in other subjects and what this might look like. Anyway, if you are interested, here are some of my ideas (I don't claim any of them as original - just the musings of my barely adequate mind).

Science
Concrete : Conducting a practical experiment.
Pictoral : Look at images/video of an experiment and discussing results/conclusions.
Abstract : Looking at data/results from an experiment and drawing own conclusions. Or planning an experiment that has been devised to answer a given scientific question.

History
Concrete : Visiting a site on a school trip or having a person/company in to do a workshop in role.
Pictoral : Looking at images from the time period studied to learn about it, draw conclusions etc.
Abstract : Reading texts about a particular event or talking to the children about it.

Geography
Concrete  : Visiting places e.g a river.
Pictoral : Studying maps, looking at images/videos that demonstrate geographical processes e.g. rivers
Abstract : Reading texts about rivers or talking to the children about them.

PE
Concrete : Playing the game/sport
Pictoral : Watchng videos/images of how the game/sport is played.
Concrete : Planning own games/activities.

RE
Concrete : Visiting a place of worship
Pictoral : Watching videos/looking at images of places of worship/religious practices.
Abstract : Talking to the children about them or reading texts about them.

Writing:
Concrete : Drama, Mantle of The Expert investigation, attending/observing real-life event.
Pictoral : Using images/film to inspire
Abstract : Using texts to inspire writing, giving children text openings to work from, completely independent writing.

Anyway, just a few ideas that may be useful.

SATs - What Is All The Fuss About?

I have been thinking about writing this post for a while. Year 6 SATs are a massive deal for primary school - the results are used as one way of judging the effectiveness of a school by people such as OFSTED. It seems that a lot of schools are also making them a big deal for children too. This has led to worrying stories about Year 6 children getting stressed and anxious about them. As I am sure anybody would agree, that isn't good.

Where does this stress come from? Is it something that is filtered down from the teachers because they are feeling the pressure. They know the impact a 'bad' set of results could have on their own performance management (if that is one of their targets). They also know that the results matter for the school. It could affect what category OFSTED put the school in and all the ramifications that come with that.

Is it pressure from the media? There's usually a few stories about SATs on the television news or in the papers.

Is it pressure from parents because they want their child to do well because they have been given the impression by someone or something that it will affect the life chances of their child?

Is it pressure created by the school due to all the pre and post SATs events such as booster classes and after SATs parties and trips? What about the other year groups that work just as hard but don't get a trip/party? Does a Year 6 child really work harder in SATs week than in a normal teaching week?

Imagine a child that was feeling the pressure from ALL of these places. That is a lot for a child who is eleven to handle.

What about if we didn't tell them? What if we just gave them the tests on the day and didn't mention any kind of significance. I like what @shinpad1 (Sinead) said on Twitter about how they call them puzzle books with their children. No big deal. Just do them and move on. If the children receive high quality teaching throughout KS2 then there should be no need for booster classes. I realise this may be an ideal world but are we going about things the wrong way?

I'm not advocating a particular stance but I do worry about the pressure that SATs puts on our children and whether we can alleviate it by going about things in a different way.

Thanks for reading and I'd be very interested in your thoughts.

The Power Of Pre-teaching

Differentiation can be a thorny subject amongst teachers, SLT and inspectors. There is not enough of it, it's not really matched to the abilities of the pupils, we shouldn't be doing any at all. This post is not about a rationale for differentiation, more about a technique that I have found useful to support the less able.

By pre-teaching I mean teaching a one or a groups of children the concept to be taught in an upcoming lesson before they encounter it in said lesson. This may be done just before the lesson, say during assembly time or it may be done the day before. This will depend on the concept and the children who are involved.

Essentially, the idea is that it gives children who are not as confident with the subject matter a bit of a headstart when the lesson happens for the rest of the class. It is different from flipped learning in that the concept is taught before the lesson rather than the children being exposed to the concept through a video or other resource that they access themselves.

I have seen it work wonders for children's confidence. Only last week, a Year 5 pupil who struggles with an aspect of grammar was taught the concept half an hour before the lesson started in a small group situation with the class teacher. When this child was faced with the work in the lesson itself, he literally and mentally rolled his sleeves up and powered on with it.

Obviously, pre-teaching can't be done all the time but it does offer another way of helping those children who may find it difficult to master certain concepts. If nothing else, it should give them the confidence to approach the lesson feeling that they have a chance to succeed.