IS SU E 5
April
2015
PedEx WBGS IM AGINE, IMPROVE, IN SPIRE
CONTENTS Page 1 Key dates of INSET opportunities Page 2 Get them up and moving! Pairs
Spring has sprung! Spring is just about here and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with exam classes! Courses are just about finishing and we’re thinking about how best to help students revise. This issue has some great ideas of interesting activities to be done to engage your pupils and keep them inspired right up until the end!
Next T&L Group Meeting is: Monday 8th June Summer Term CPD Sessions (Hl) A reminder that there are no compulsory twilight session this academic year and we have disaggregated two INSET days with the expectation that staff then have 10 hours of time for their own CPD, either individually or departmentally. Please make sure you have a record of the Inset you have completed (in your own time) as it will form part of your Appraisal review. From April-July, we will be running a series of one-hour after-school workshops lead by school staff. You can sign up for any that you feel will be of benefit to you. The following sessions have been pencilled in, but please let me know if there is anything else you would like INSET on or if you would like to lead on a session on a specific topic: How to use the interactive projector effectively in lessons How to use Moodle to develop independent study at Key Stages 4 and 5 Understanding data Using IRIS video as a tool for improving teaching How to set up ‘Lesson Study’ How to use Tutor time effectively Behaviour management Observing colleagues’ lessons
1
Page 3 Marking grids Page 4 Revision tips Making flashcards
Page 5 Free online courses Improving literacy and engaging with current affairs Page 6 Coffee break fun—games, puzzles and more
Editors—Hk and Wk Contributors—Wk, Hk, Gf, Wm, He, Hl, Ba. Thank you very much to everyone who has contributed to this issue. If you would like to se your ideas in the next edition, please get in contact with Hk or Wk.
Get them up and moving! Starting to do revision lessons with your classes? Why not get them up and moving around the classroom a bit more whilst answering questions? Many articles have been written, proving that the academic progress of children is linked to exercise. The Chairman of the Neurology Institute for Brain Health and Fitness in Baltimore, states that exercise in children not only increases blood flow but promotes neurogenesis, a process that generates neurons in the brain. Essentially, exercise is great for a child's developing brain. Along with better blood flow through the body and brain, it can also aid the memory process. We’re not suggesting starting fitness sessions in your classroom, but when completing mini test/quizzes or exam questions, why not write the questions on pieces of paper and spread them around the room? The boys can work in pairs or small groups and work their way round the room a bit like circuit training, or go to the areas they are struggling most with. It works particularly well with smaller sixth form classes. You could even come up with a common theme and see if they can guess the link, get them to produce different paragraphs at each station so that they complete and exam question, or simply give them a time limit and see how many marks they
Pairs Play pairs by cutting cards in half - these cards could have a sentence split in half, a question and answer or a keyword and definition. Pupils shuffle the cards and spread them out face down. They each take it in turn to turn over two cards at a time. If the two cards make a complete, and accurate, sentence or match up, they keep that pair and have another turn. If the second card is not correct, they turn both cards face down again and the next pupil takes a turn. When all the pairs have been claimed, the pupil with the most correct pairs is the winner. For example: What year was the Hungarian uprising? An alloy is….
1956
7x8=
…a mixture of a metal with another element (could be a metal or non-metal) 56
The capital city of Poland is…
…Warsaw
Pamplemousse
Grapefruit
A diploid cell has….
…46 chromosomes
2
Marking grids Fed up of marking a piece of work and writing the same comments on each piece of work? Why not make your life a bit easier with some standardised marking grids! Either staple it to the work as you go, or hand them to the class for some peer marking or self-assessment. Come up with some key criteria of areas you’d like them to cove, place them in a grid and create a tick box of whether or not they have included that key point in their work or not. An ‘additional comments’ box can be added at the bottom to give them a WWW (what went well) and EBI (even better if) comment at the end. Below is an example used in science for marking experiment write ups:
You could even give the criteria to students in advance so that they can have a go at writing the ‘perfect answer’ to the question of choice. How could it work in other subjects?
Why not use it to identify whether pupils have a point, explanation and evidence in every paragraph of an essay? It could be used after a test where each question is linked to the topic it covers so they can see how many marks they got for each question and which topics they need to revise more.
3
Some Simple Revision Techniques Here are some techniques that you can print up and put in your classroom, or read out to the boys to help them as they go off on study leave. 1. Condense. Fitting notes onto one side of paper makes the easier to stomach, so rewrite and cut down as you go. 2. Highlight. Target key areas using colours and symbols. Visuals help you remember the facts. 3. Record. Try putting important points, quotes and facts on tape. If you hear them and read them, they're more likely to sink in. 4. Talk. Read your notes out loud, it's one way of getting them to register. 5. Test. See what you can remember without notes, but avoid testing yourself on subjects you know already. 6. Time. Do past exam papers against the clock, it's an excellent way of getting up to speed. 7. Summarise: Read, and write summaries of, your notes 8. Draw diagrams. 9. Sketch mind maps (spider diagrams) of key issues. 10. Use mnemonics (rhymes of word lists) to prompt you 11. Revise with a friend: ask and answer questions. 12. Be realistic - do not attempt to revise for more than 45 minutes at a stretch - break up your revision with breaks and rewards. If you give yourself a 10 minute break between two 45 minute sessions you will be amazed how much more you will achieve more. 13. Be purposeful - Don't give up - even a mountain of work gets smaller and more manageable once you start to revise
Make you own flashcards Direct your students to this great site to make their own revision cards, or book out the laptops during a lesson and get them to make flashcards for different topics to share.
http://www.scholastic.com/parents/resources/game/tools/flash-card-maker
4
Want to find out more about anything from dyslexia in foreign languages to assessment for learning, or how forensic psychology works? FutureLearn is a great website with free online courses taking up as little as 2 hours per week. https://www.futurelearn.com/
Improving literacy and engaging with current affairs http:// www.breakingnewsenglish.com/ This fantastic website has current news articles written in a pupil friendly way. Downloading the handouts also provides activities and comprehension questions based around the article. Although many of the questions a re literacy based, this could be used during form time to promote discussion of current affairs, or in lessons by finding articles related to topics currently being studied - promoting literacy across the curriculum! Here is an example of one based around the Top Gear fiasco!
5
Coffee Break Quiz—answers below: 1. Which thoroughfare in New York City is often called "The Great White Way"? 2. Of what is Selenology the study? 3. Of which English King was Sweyn Forkbeard the father? 4. What is the most northerly point of the island of Ireland? 5. The recent TV series "Better Call Saul" is a spinoff from which multi-award winning series? 6. On how many occasions did Fred Perry win the Men's singles championship at Wimbledon? 7. The wine Chablis originates from which French wine growing region? 8. Which THREE countries share a land border with Mexico?
SIDE
http://www.kensquiz.co.uk/
Dingbats—try to figure out the famous phrases or sayings. More can be found at: http://www.quizmasters.biz/DB/Pic/Dingbats/ Dingbats.html Excellent to use in form time as well.
Get writing… If you’ve got something you want to write about, we want to hear from you. Email Olivia Hockin or Katie Watson with any suggestions.
Dingbat answers: Half baked, long john silver, a splitting headache, a round of drinks, an inside job. Quiz answers: Broadway, the moon, King Canute, Malin Head, Breaking Bad, Three, Burgundy, Belize, Guatemala, USA
6