Test
yourself - are you smarter than a Year 10?
What
the thunk?!
Learning
to be twitterate!
IS S UE 1
JULY
2013
PedEx WBGS
I M AG I N E , I M P R O V E , I N S P I R E
CONTENTS Page 1 Intro to PedEx Page 2 Using Twitter in school Useful websites for teaching Embedding a YouTube video into a PowerPoint
What’s it all about? Welcome to the first issue of PedEx WBGS, your magazine devoted to teaching and learning.
to hear from you: your thoughts on the magazine; teaching ideas; ideas for future issues.
PedEx stands for Pedagogy Exchange. Our vision is to capture the exciting lessons and activities taking place in our school, get them down on paper and share them with colleagues.
So, sit back, relax and enjoy...
Page 4 WBGS Teaching and Learning Group Think, Pair, Share activities Question dice Page 5 Thunks—what are they and how can you use them Gifted and talented—how to push your students further
We hope you enjoy reading it and taking some of these new ideas into the classroom. However, for this to be most effective we also want
Page 3 Loop card games Tarsia—a different kind of puzzle Bingo!
..and tell us what you think!!!
Editors—Tu, Cx Contributors—Cj, Sl, Ub, Wt, Mg, Gf, Tu, Cx Thank you very much to everyone who has contributed to the first issue. If you would like to contribute in the future please get in contact with Tu or Cx. 1
Page 6 Coffee break fun—games, puzzles and more
PedEx WBGS is published twice a term by WBGS Teaching and Learning Group.
Teaching in 140 characters or less @WatfordBoys Getting set up: Firstly, get yourself a Twitter account. You can see mine: @goldenboyjc. Get tweeting! Use the hashtag (#) system to find stories – the first thing I did was look for stories about China – so, #china. See what appears – there will be lots of posts. Then follow people you think produce interesting, useful stories.
What next: Now, get your students to follow you – I limit this to L6 and U6. Important: I rarely if ever tweet anything other than something relevant to the subject. Every time you tweet something, they will receive it. There is basic functionality to save tweets, favourite tweets etc. They themselves should be encouraged to follow people who produce useful content – and to disseminate this info to the group.
Going further: Teach a lesson using Twitter: students log on and answer/discuss aspects of the course (brilliant, as all comments are saved). Set exam questions via Twitter. Send out mark schemes, lesson resources etc. via Twitter. Crucially, Twitter allows you to follow events/happenings in real time, whilst accessing the event at a variety of different levels, perspectives, scales etc. When the Haiti earthquake happened, I built an emotional timeline with the Lower Sixth in real time, tracking the tweets, comments, responses and actions to the event. Equally, Twitter is a real life archive – search via # and see what you can find. And Twitter allows you to link with other practitioners worldwide, sharing resources and best practice. There are a lot of very Twitterate geography teachers!
USEFULWEBSITES Resources can be found at….
For instructions follow the link below: Any recommendations? Email us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hChq5drjQl4 2
IT’S ALL FUN AND GAMES…
Loop Card Games as Competitions (Read around for a description) Alternatively the loop card game can have 30 cards and the game can be completed by the whole class both at the start of the topic and again at the end. The time for each loop can be recorded and compared.
TARSIA—IT’S ALL A BIT PUZZLING Tarsia is a piece of freely available software which allows you to create a wide range of question and answer jigsaws, dominoes and follow-me activities easily.
BINGO! Effective uses include: Revising keywords/concepts To find out existing knowledge about a topic Could be a starter, main of plenary Competition with house points or prizes Preparation – you will need: A bank of keywords Clues that go with each keyword A blank grid for each pupil
Once you have selected the type of activity you want you can use the Input screen to insert the questions and answers. Tarsia will then jumble the puzzle up so that you do not have to cut the puzzle up (the pupils can do it). Although used a lot in Maths, it has already been adapted to RS, Geography and Science at WBGS. For more information visit www.tinyurl.com/tarsiaWBGS
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To play: Give each pupil a grid and a list of keywords. Students fill in their grid with keywords Read out clues Students cross off words as they come up BINGO—when one’s person’s grid is compete
Think – Pair – Share A Think-Pair-Share activity involves students collaborating with others and can fit most tasks. The tasks are differentiated and allocated according to group composition. Here pairs/groups are pre-assigned with a mixture of high and low achievers to facilitate the formulation of ideas and scaffold the learning of the group as they collaborate to complete the activity. The ‘pairs’ can be 3’s to fit in with class size and desired group composition. 1) Students are given two minutes to read the question and think how they would answer it in terms of content and also answer structure; providing ‘think time’ increases the quality of student responses. 2) They are then given a further five minutes to discuss their ideas with their partners and refer to the help sheet as and when required. The objective is that at the end of the discussion, the pairing should have formulated an answer ‘in their heads’ to be written down on an A3 sheet ready for sharing. One partner acts as a scribe and writes the answer on the paper within ten minutes, the other partner/s peer-assess how the answer is being constructed as well as confirming the content and application to the question.
Question dice A versatile activity which can be used for revision or as a quick plenary. It can be adapted for most subjects and topics. Get students into pairs.
One member of the pair rolls two dice.
3) The A3 sheets are stuck onto the wall with one partner designated to justify their answers with the others free to move around and assess the work of the other groups. The roles of ‘assessor’ and ‘justifier’ are alternated to ensure each student has the opportunity to critique and give feedback to other groups and be able to articulate their thoughts and exam technique about their own answer.
Create a question from the dice using the following key.
Over to you: 1) Think of a teaching idea 2) Pair talk about it with a colleague 3) Share it at the next T&L Group meeting!
Number on the first dice: 1 = who, 2 = what, 3 = how, 4 = which, 5 = when, 6 = why.
WBGS T&L Group - what’s it all about? Picture the scene. It’s a grey Wednesday afternoon, you’ve been teaching all day, you’re drowning in exercise books that need marking, and you’re gasping for a cup of tea. Going to an after school meeting is probably the last thing you want to be doing. But you’d be wrong…
Number on the second dice: 1 = do/does, 2 = can/could, 3 = should, 4 = is, 5 = will, 6 = would.
Welcome to Teaching and Learning Group meetings! We aim to meet once every half term to share ideas, inspire each other and recapture our passion for teaching. Yes, it’s an hour after school, but during that time you’ll get some great teaching ideas and resources, stimulating discussion, and free tea and biscuits!
Ask partner and check answer. It’s as easy as ...
If you’re interested in finding out more, email Geoff Curwen to join the T&L Group mailing list.
Get writing… If you’ve got something you want to write about, we want to hear from you. It could be anything from 3 bullet points on how to do an activity to an essay on the theory of learning! Email Sarah Turner or Josh Coren with any suggestions.
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What the thunk?! AIM A simple looking question about everyday things that gets you thinking in a new way. Originated as part of the American programme ‘Philosophy for Children’, founded by Matthew Lipman who realised that students could tell you what Socrates or Plato thought but couldn’t think for themselves. WHY These questions generate thinking, discussion and debate amongst students. They also help with listening, evaluating, analysing, presenting and persuading, and more!
To whet your appetite:
HOW Write a question on the board and give students some time to think about it. Make it clear that everybody has to say something in response to the question. Then ‘sweep’ the class (go round each person in turn) and ask for a comment/response to the question. If a student wants to be skipped and returned to later that is fine. After everyone has had their say people can have a second comment or respond to others. N.B. Teachers should refrain from correcting/saying they are right or wrong/giving a definitive answer/diving in if the question is initially met by silence etc.
● Can you ever really forgive and forget? ● Is black a colour? ● Would you have your sense of humour removed for £1m? ● When you comb your hair is it art?
It’s very easy when your G+T pupils finish their work early to simply set them extra questions or a piece of extended writing. But, feedback from my G+T pupils time and again is that they often don’t enjoy extra questions and some even drag their heels if they think they are going to finish early so as not to be set extra work. So what kind of tasks would extend their learning but be enjoyable at the same time. Above are a few ideas you could try out. 5
Coffee Break MATHS CROSSWORD
COMING SOON
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A YEAR 10?
Qwizdom…
...Doughnutting…
SIDE
...and much more.
Brain Teasers
Jokes
A salesman at a butcher shop stands five feet ten inches tall and wears size 13 shoes. What does he weigh?
Teacher: ‘Craig, you know you can't sleep in my class.' Craig: 'I know. But maybe if you were just a little quieter, I could.'
Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child’s name?
Pupil: I don't think I deserved zero on this test! Teacher: I agree, but that's the lowest mark I could give you! 6