WatsEducation Consultancy - Bringing the Indoors Out

One Book, Two Books, Red Books, Blue Books...

8/3/2018

One Book, Two Books, Red Book, Blue Books By Dr. Seuss (Watson)

One book,
Two books,
Red books,
Blue books.

Black books,
White books,
Old books,
New books.

This one’s about Laura’s star.
This one’s got a Light Jar.
Say! What a lot of books there are.

Yes. Some are red. And some are blue.
Some are old. And some are new.

Some are sad.
And some are glad.
And some are very, very bad.

Why are they
Sad and glad and bad?
I do not know.
Go ask your dad.

Some are short.
And some are fat.
That one there’s
About a cat.

From here to there,
from there to here,
Reading choices
We try to steer.

There are some
We like to read.
We read for fun
In the hot, hot sun.

Oh my! Oh me!
Oh me! Oh my!
What a lot
Of books we buy.

Some have two parts
And some have four.
Some have three parts
And some have more.

Which authors wrote them? I can’t say.
But we try to read them everyday.

We’ve seen them come.
We’ve seen them go.
Some read fast.
And some read slow.

Some have pictures,
And some do not.
Not one of them
Is like another.
Don’t ask us why.
Go ask your mother.

Say!
Look at its pages!
A hundred, three…
How many pages
Do I see?

One, two hundred,
Three, four, or five?
Six, eight, ten?
All books thrive!

Thrive! This is something new. I hope all books can thrive, too!

By Dr Suess (Not Really)

Who chooses the books for a class bookshelf?
Should they be the books we as teachers deem as high quality, or should it be the books on the shelves of the bookshops?

This was an Instagram poll I trundled past and answered. Nothing out of the ordinary there, but I then received a message from the poller saying that I was the only person, out of about 30, who has voted that a book corner should be full of books that children can find in the shops. He was curious as to why I had made that decision, so I made my reply.

In terms of the books we recommend or encourage children to read, it should be a balance.
Great stories are and always will be great stories, however, the books we grown ups remember as great stories from when we first discovered them are often ‘older’ books now. There is no issue with this, so many stories are timeless, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, “Not Now Bernard”, “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe”, but what about those that aren’t?

One of my all time favourite books is “The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler”, about 15 years ago, I shared it with my class. They tolerated it, they didn’t hate it, but the cultural references to the politics of the late 70s and the way in which a school worked was alien to them - the worst thing for me at the time was that when the ‘moment’ happened towards the end it simply passed them by! A book that shatters stereotypes, a book that leads you astray for its whole length, builds up chapter after chapter and they missed it.

I was heartbroken. Then I got over myself and realised why.

The books on shelves of bookshops now are written in modern times and they reflect a world in which the children live. Children can identify with that world as it has things in it that they understand, even if they have historical or fantasy settings. There are tables in Waterstones (other book shops are available) with lovely new printings of old classics like “The Incredible Journey”, “The Jungle Book”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Swallows and Amazons” and these are undoubtedly fabulous stories, but they have a language and style that can be challenging and from my experience can put some children off. Our older favourites reflect a world we understand but sometimes they don’t.

OK, before I get leapt upon from a great height...
Yes, absolutely children need access to and experience of challenging texts and stories. We know what the expectations are for our 11 year olds in May and the depth and complexity of the language they need to be able to comprehend and manipulate. ‘Classic’ literature has its place and definitely should feature on our class bookshelves and feature in the books we read to children and have them read for their experience and pleasure.

Simon Smith (@smithsmm) said that teachers should be experts in the books they use with their pupils and I agree. I have always been a reader but have read almost 70 books in the last year, from picture books to longer children/young adult fiction. It has open my eyes to what I have been missing. I feel better placed to talk to children about books and can link themes in the new books available to the older classics.

A class bookshelf should have a wide range of books, but features authors who are going to produce more books. Roald Dahl’s catalogue is ended, so has that of Gene Kemp, Clive King, Enid Blyton and Betsy Byers, but Frank Cotterell-Boyce, Abi Elphinstone, Jennifer Killick, SF Said, Sophie Anderton, Polly Ho Yen, Malorie Blackman will produce more books for children to pick up and develop their own favourites.

There is an important place for ‘classics’ and ‘staples’, but for me to love reading into the future, children need the authors of now, who become the authors of their childhood. Dahl, Kemp et al were writing in the 70s and 80s, today’s children need today’s books.

Now, if only there was a place that children, families and teachers could go to where they could find a huge selection of literature and expert adults who know about the books, where they could perhaps ‘borrow’ these books for a short fixed period of time completely free, before returning them and exchanging them for others… that would be a magical place!

Any thoughts or comments, please share below...

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Using 'Fossil' by Bill Thomson to hook learning...

4/15/2018

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Click here to find the book.

I am a bit of a sucker for a wordless picture book.

Today, while browsing through cheap eBooks, I came across this absolute beauty from Bill Thomson. I’ve been compiling a list of books that can be used to inspire learning outside the classroom, as well as create a sense of awe, wonder and curiosity in children and teachers alike.

Fossil tells a story, or rather makes you tell a story of a boy walking along a beach who finds a stone and accidentally causes it to break open revealing its secrets.

This book would work brilliantly to my mind with YR-Y3 children to get them thinking about the originals of fossils, the character presents the teacher with great opportunity for 1st person writing and the story in its own right could be used to model boxing up a story, and developing narrative and description of character and setting.

The artwork is very cinematic in its style and uses perspective beautifully and to my mind this provides a reader with opportunity to work on inference and prediction reading skills. The dramatic way in which the boy shows his emotions makes for interesting discussion points around feelings and motives.

Personally, I really enjoyed turning the pages, it is very short, however each page presents a new surprise. You could ask lots of ‘What if…?’ type questions around the story:

What if he didn’t drop the stone?
What if he walked into the woods rather than on the beach?
What if the dog didn’t chase the dragonfly?

So, to the outdoor learning part…
How does this book allow you to get children working and learning outside?

Make a Fake Fossil:
Here’s a simple way to use some ‘changing states’ and ‘irreversible changes’ science to create your own fossils. This could be done with the children as science, or if the children are younger perhaps for them as a ‘discovery’ activity.

What you need:

Plastic container/tub
Plasticine or Playdoh
Leaves, Shells or Plastic toys
Plaster of Paris (CLEAPSS - Plaster of Paris in School)
Water

How to:

Cover the bottom of the container with modelling clay approximately 2 -2.5cm deep.
Press whatever you'd like to fossilise into the clay. The leaves, shells, or plastic creatures.
Remove the objects leaving the impression or imprint of the object.
Mix the plaster with water until it is quite runny.
Pour the plaster over the clay to another approximately 2 -2.5cm depth.
Leave the plaster set and solidify for 24 hours.
Remove the plaster from the container and clear off any remaining clay.

Now you’ve your own fossil (ish!)

This can be painted to look like real fossils.
The other option is to leave the clay attached, and hide the fossils in the outdoor area or in the school grounds. Allow the children to discover them or dig them up, break them open and wonder at their discovery.

They can then think about what might happen if their fossil discovery does the same as in the book.

They could research and design plants, leaves and shells using a variety of media. Other possible activities include a hook into how fossils are formed (LKS2 Rocks and Soils), parts of plants in KS1 or KS2. Written work in terms of Non-Fiction, report and explanation texts, as well as the innumerable fiction and narrative writing hooks.

There are many ways this could be used in a classroom and beyond it. Feel free to add and share your ideas in the comments.

The book is published in loving remembrance of the students and teachers of Sandy Hook Elementary School.

All images and illustrations copyright property of Bill Thomson (2013)

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Getting more from that Outdoor Space…

9/6/2017

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A couple of years ago I wrote this post on Staffrm: https://staffrm.io/@mikewatsed/qApkoqE0EF

It set out 12 resources that I thought every outdoor learning space should have:

It was never meant to be an exclusive list, but it seemed to cover most of the bases.

A few days ago while on Facebook, a teacher had posted a photo of an area outside their room that was unloved and under-used. They were curious about the way that they could get some more life from the space. It had potential, but had become a bit of dumping ground for things no one had a use for.

So, what can you do to spice up an area like that?
Without spending a load of your own money, and without trying to get school to spend any either.

I started having think about what I would do given the chance and I posted a couple of thoughts, but after a sleep it didn’t seem enough and I had more thoughts. I started to jot them down and the end result is this post.

10 ideas coming up...

10: A table and chairs
OK, so it is pretty obvious, but cheer up the table by painting it with blackboard paint (One of my favourite resources). It makes a great way to give activities for children of any ages, from writing and maths tasks to drawing a railway track to push the trains around. Easy to clean and multi purpose.

9: A Whiteboard
Most schools have an old one in a shed or garage. This can be quickly mounted on a wall at whatever level is appropriate. Personally, I like them to mounted at almost floor level, as this gives the children a wider opportunity to write, draw and record whether seated, standing on the ground.

Offer the children maths puzzles, treasure hunts, writing prompts… secret codes… whatever your imagination or curriculum requires.

8: Little Whiteboards
You know those tatty ones that you put at the back of a cupboard or the bottom of the drawer because you ordered some nice new ones? Yeah you do!

Hole punch them and hang them outside on a hook, tack them to fence posts or trees with a nail or two, hide them in the grass or flower bed. Great for science and natural observations. You could just put them in a box or tray and let the children use them at break times for games of squares, hang-sheep (exactly what it sounds like!), speed poems, anything.

7: Chalk
Lots of chalk… like all the chalk…
There are so many uses for chalk, I am not even going to insult your intelligence...

Name a subject… there is a way of using chalk and a playground/wall.

6: Windchimes
Windchimes aren’t my favourite thing - I’ll be honest about that, but there are a lot of people that like them. If you are going for a zen feel then there are lots of ways to make them.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/explore/homemade-wind-chimes/

5: Old CDs/DVDs
CD/DVDs when they catch the sun create a lovely play of lights and rainbows. I use them successfully as bird scarers in garden plots too.

And of course for little hands a CD makes a very lovely writing surface. Writing with WB pen can be changed, writing with a permanent marker will last, hang your writing from trees and fences or even in a local park… like a flash mob, but for a real audience.

4: Guerilla Gardening
http://www.guerrillagardening.org/
“Guerrilla gardening is the act of gardening on land that the gardeners do not have the legal rights to cultivate, such as abandoned sites, areas that are not being cared for, or private property.” Wikipedia

So you do have the right to garden, but in those unloved little corners, against the walls, on the edges of playgrounds have you brightened those areas?

If you have a paving slabbed area, then simply lift a slab and just add seeds of bedding plants. Easy and attractive, and will give your class something they can be responsible for.

I wrote about using tyres for planters too here:
https://primedmagazine.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/primed-issue-4-march-16.pdf

3: String, Wool and Rope
All three of these resources can be used for weaving, threading and tying knots. Threading old skipping ropes (they are in that box at the back of the PE cupboard, the ones with the knots in no one can untie and looking grubby) through fences, between branches and weaving ribbon, wool or twine around trees, chair legs and people is great fun and looks fantastic. A really good way to work on fine and gross motor skills with younger pupils.

2: Sheet Plastic or Tarpaulin
The first and most essential resource for den building for a start!

Aside from that, tarpaulin allows you to create shelters or cover wet ground to sit on. Other resources can be set out on a tarpaulin and left, or crime scenes, meteor strikes and archeological digs can be protected from the elements.

Clear plastic sheet is great fun to be underneath in the rain, watching the rivulets and pools form and poking them to see where they go next.

The last tarpaulin I had has kindly donated by a local farmer - they can be sourced quite cheaply.

1: Mirrors
When you have a small space to develop mirrors are a fantastic resource to create light and space. A mirrored wall can give sense of depth and the reflective surface brightens the whole area.

There are a lot of places to by them but these are some of the cheapest:
4 30x30cm mirror tiles: http://www.dunelm.com/product/pack-of-4-mirrored-tiles-1000056606

They can be written on using WB pens, or chalk markers which cleans off easily.

I would like to leave this example from a friend and Outdoor Learning Practitioner. She has this at home for her sons and the story they wrote together made me smile. The boys are 7 and 5...

There is no way to write a complete list because everyone has different ideas and different interests, but I hope there is something you find here that might get you thinking about how you might develop a space for outdoor education.

If you have any outdoor spaces you are proud of and would like to share please tweet me @WatsEd and I would love to create a gallery to accompany this post.

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Brief Review of "Oops! Helping children learn accidentally" by Hywel Roberts

8/5/2017

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Buy Here

Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidentally by Hywel Roberts (@HYWEL_ROBERTS)

I consider myself fortunate to have seen Hywel present on several occasions and as such reading this book, which came highly recommended, reads itself loudly in his Barnsley tones in my head, which is strangely appealing as it the content comes through with the same passionate optimism which Hywel exudes when he speaks.

This book presents the author's manifesto for using whatever means necessary, but mainly drama (there is a suggestion throughout that he quite likes drama), to grab hold of children's imagination and inherent curiosity and enthusiasm to get them learning, quickly and when they least expect it.

The core message for me throughout is his encouragement for Head Teachers, Teachers and Students to set out on a BRAVE new curriculum:
B - Buzzing...
R - Relevant
A - Academic
V - Vocational
E - Evaluative
...and how it works in either Primary or Secondary education settings.

Hywel presents you with a broad collection of ideas, anecdotes (all of which are well chosen and make good points) and a series of entertaining lists (again which have an unerring habit of leading the reader to another very good point). With each scenario, he presents the reader with quick hit of "where is the curriculum in this...", a list of brief ideas for different subject links and proposes the readers continue to add their own.

There is a really healthy dose of the importance of BIG questions and the power of questioning and conversation to take the children on a journey to a curriculum objective. Getting them engaged on a level that makes them care. One of my favourite words that appears on several occasions is 'botheredness' - are you are the teacher bothered? If you aren't there is a problem and if you aren't bothered, then there is no way that those 30 smiling (? Hopefully) faces will have any botheredness either and why would they?

Nothing is laboured or lingered upon for more than is necessary to make the point. This is great as your never find yourself bored and there is always something new coming soon - yet the thread continues throughout.

It is quite challenging to find a way to summarise, or at least I am finding it hard, as there is so much I could mention. I think the best advice I can offer is read it. I gave (blagged from Hywel) a signed copy of this book for a ITT Student who had been in my class, she loved it. I have been teaching 17 years and I loved it. So no matter where you are in your career there is something in this book for you. It might be a case of confirming the things that you believe and already do, or it might be that it adjusts your thinking about something, you SHOULD read this.

This is my third book review and I realise I am running the risk of saying they are all great.
This one truly is. I couldn't put it down and will undoubtedly be returning to it for advice and inspiration, and possibly just to seek out more Jaws references!

There are a lot of parallels between this and "Teach like a Pirate", passion, relationships, enthusiasm are just a few of the shared themes.

Hywel sent me this tweet after I finished reading... my response was simply 3 words: "You can tell."

Up next:
Playing with Fire - Embracing Risk and Danger in Schools - Mike Fairclough (@westrisejunior)

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Brief Review of "How to Teach Guided Reading Like a BOSS!" - Stephen Lockyer

7/31/2017

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How to Teach Guided Reading Like a BOSS! by Stephen Lockyer (@mrlockyer)

An eBook for £1.99 that can be read in under an hour and addresses every concern and dislike I have for Guided Reading AND offers solutions that have 'worked' for the author... I'd buy it. And I did!

This is a simple guide book, Stephen clearly sets out all the reasons why Guided Reading and its dreary carousel doesn't work. Why it is, as he calls it, broken; and most importantly how he went about trying to rectify this with his class.

What follows is Stephen's step by step guidance on how to minimise planning and preparation, for maximum effort (on behalf of the children) and for revitalising the process into 20-25 minutes that makes a real difference to children's ability to read, comprehend, analyse, compare and contrast texts and text types.

Group the children by ability (but make this VERY flexible), and follow an activity pattern of Identify, Compare, Contrast, Apply, and read aloud in a variety of ways which keep the children on the ball. For more details, obviously you need to read the book!

I will be honest enough to say that Guided Reading as a carousel has been something I have hated for sometime and while I have tried to do something about it I haven't quite found a way that has done it for me, to the point of giving it up in favour of Whole Class Reading last year. This book has given me enough to consider to make me try again, and if not back to a Guided Reading grouped approach, there is a lot that I can endeavour to put into my Whole Class teaching.

For a book that I read in about 45-50 minutes there is much to go back to and re-read, things to highlight and ideas to try out.

Will it influence what I do?
Yes - this book addresses all the things I wanted to address, but some of the thinking process has been done for me, at least in part..

Up next:
Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidentally. - Hywel Roberts (@HYWEL_ROBERTS)

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Brief Review of "Teach Like a Pirate" - Dave Burgess

7/30/2017

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Buy Here

As I read a few books over the Summer Holidays, I shall write a short review here.
This is the first one.

Teach Like a PIRATE by Dave Burgess (@burgessdave)

This was a straightforward read, and at 192 pages it packs a lot of content.

Dave shares his philosophy of increasing student/pupil engagement through developing your personal drive and passion for the content of your 'lectures' (as Dave is a US High School Teacher). He does this through sharing his own personal passion through anecdotes and examples of the work he has done with his students and on his journey of providing CPD for teachers. Dave was Keynote speaker at a Conference very close to me a couple of years ago and I was real annoyed not to be able to attend - after reading his book, that feeling has only increased.

An easy to read book, that provides lots of ideas that are clear and practically applicable to the classroom - with the clear point made that there is no such thing as 'off the shelf' wins, you need to try, refine and experiment with them. The whole model is based on a change to your thinking as a teacher - instead of just delivering, as your self questions that will encourage you to become more creative, and find more and more ways that might change the way you deliver your lessons to your class, with the intent not to just to have the children enjoy, but to have them remember and retain.

There is a lot of treasure to be found within, but the best part are the 'Hooks', the ways in which Dave tries to ramp up the engagement - some are obvious and straightforward and it is great when reading to think "...that, that, I do that!" and then to see other options like the Taboo Hook or the Magic Hook, that perhaps you haven't tried or have tried less often.

The biggest take away for me - aside from the Safari Hook (Outdoor Learning) - is the series of prompt questions Dave provides to get you thinking and tapping into your passions and creativity, no matter whether or not you see yourself as 'creative'. Do what Tony Robbins describes as think and behave 'as if...' you are and you change your physicality and mentality.

Will it influence what I do?
Yes - lots to think about and develop.

The sketchnote below shows the Learning Hooks - Thanks to Kelly Hollis (@hobson_k) for sharing at Practical Pedagogies (Toulouse Nov. 2016

Provided by @hobson_k at Practical Pedagogies (Toulouse 2016)

Up next:
How to Teach Guided Reading Like BOSS! - Stephen Lockyer (@mrlockyer)

Oops! Helping Children Learn Accidentally. - Hywel Roberts (@HYWEL_ROBERTS)

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Use Showbie for Collecting and Sharing Learning...

4/17/2017

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If like me your school uses a combination of laptops and iPads, you may also like me have the problem that laptops are networked but iPads aren’t. This is a massive pain in my posterior.

When pupil work gets saved on a laptop, it gets networked and is then accessible from any other laptop - perfect! This is just accepted normal practice.

The same cannot be said for iPads, which means pupil work can only be found on specific devices, which again unless you are blessed with a 1:1 device policy, can present a problem if you don’t, keep, book out, or quickly pilfer the right device if the work needs to continue the following day, lesson or at a later date.

I got around this by using Showbie.

It is a brilliantly simple networking app.

A teacher sets up an account (Yes, it is FREE - there’s a premium version, but I’ve not yet really seen the need), and they then have the power to give access to tasks and receive work from children via the cloud. The functionality is available both on iPad and PC/Laptop, which is refreshingly non limiting.

Each pupil also needs their own free account which I get them to do as a first lesson. Keep it really simple though I tend to make it something easy to remember/spell and hard to forget:
Initalsurname (e.g. mcalloway) or nameinital (glennj) and a numerical password, even 12345 works. It gives us a good opportunity to talk about eSafety and why for this a simple login is good but why for other internet services more complex ones are better.

I am not going to turn this into a tutorial blog, if you are reading, then you don’t need that… but I will share some ways I have used it to what I consider good effect.

1. Eliminating ‘Blind Googling’ and link hunting:
It is easy on a networked laptop to save and share a specific link, if and when you want and need a child to visit a specific page for an activity or to find key information on a topic. While a QR code can do this, Showbie also allows the children to collect to information they find as notes, written and voice recordings, save and upload images and screenshots for use at a later date, creating a personal online reference scrapbook.

By sharing the exact resources you want the children to find, you can save time and eliminate those rare occasions when children inadvertently stumble across something they don’t need to see.

2.    Class Discussion:
A strange function, that feels quite ‘American’, the idea that children can post discussions while using the app. This is a facility that you can turn on and off as necessary. I have used it with UKS2 to pose questions when researching and for children to post their responses, it works well if the children are pursuing their own lines of inquiry, as they can offer facts, which others can try to refute or support, while not having to stop the flow of the lesson. I like the feature, although I do use it sparingly.

3.    Resource Sharing:
As part of an activity where children were creating presentations in ExplainEverything, groups had taken numerous photographs of areas of the school, plants, leaves, minibeasts, habitats and such. They wanted and needed to exchange images and as our iPads are becoming older AirDrop wasn’t an option. Showbie’s upload images function meant that all the children needed to do was upload their images to a shared file in the app and everyone could access all the files they wanted. This meant there was no need for a GoogleDrive or additional file sharing service, and merely let the children do something they already knew how to do. Pupils were quickly able download, upload and share their images between iPads and the work was completed far more efficiently.

4.    Work Collection:
As Showbie allows you to access its content, through both mobile devices and laptop/PC, it means that if children complete their work they can easily share it with me as their teacher. Whether they have created annotated images in Skitch, picture collages in Moldiv or even videos made in iMovie or ExplainEverything. I can then mark and give feedback in app, annotating work or leaving written comments. There are a handy set of in app tools allowing mark making, writing, highlighting and such too. Very simple and intuitive, for adults and children alike.

There is also the fact that as it is an online product, children can access their work from home. I have on occasion used it for homework task and regularly set small tasks and projects and such like for my Digital Leaders.

I haven’t yet used Portfolio and Parent Access features - but that might be an interesting future idea.

5.    Collaboration:
Last year, a teacher at my school planned and hosted a multi-school event. Pupils in Y6 from 3 local schools joined us to participate in a range of activities that allowed them to use and develop “the most important skills required for 21st century education: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity”. To be frank the activities planned were really good, with plenty of outdoor learning (so I was always going to be happy about that.) However, when I was asked how she could integrate some technology into the session, the choice for me was easy, Showbie.

I set up 4 group accounts and got the 4 children from my school to manage them. Every activity that children took part in was then recorded either using, Notes, Camera, Video, Sound Recorder or directly into Showbie. This was completely new experience for the children visiting us and our own pupils were excellent Ambassadors - teaching their new peers how to use this tech.

The real power came later as each group then used their iPads to share their work via AirServer to a big screen in the hall, again common practice for many, but new to the children visiting us. They were then able to share and discuss the tasks they had completed, play video and listen to voice recorded poetry and sounds.

Showbie is one of many apps that can be used to support and enhance a learning experience for children. It is in no way a panacea, it isn’t faultless but it works for me. In this blog, I simply wanted to share some of the ways I have used it. I am Showbie Champion Teacher so if you want to know more - feel free to ask.

Oh, and here’s a pupil made guide, by one of my Y6s from last year: https://spark.adobe.com/page/j1UpT/

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My Review: #PrimaryRocks LIVE 2017

3/24/2017

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(This post contains some language which some readers may, for some reason, find mildly vulgar.)

Well, it is the 3rd week in March and so that suggests that PrimaryRocks LIVE has been and gone for another year… and it certainly has.

There are a great many blogs appearing this week and this is unsurprising considering the quality of this year’s event. So, not being one to miss out on an opportunity to do the same as so many others, I thought I really ought to add my own thoughts.
Whether or not you were part of the 220 strong crowd of Primary Teachers, you really should read them. Get a feel for what this ever growing phenomenon called #PrimaryRocks is.

To put my thoughts in context, PrimaryRocks started as a #, became a Monday night Twitter chat and then stepped out of the internet and into the real world with a fully fledged conference event last year. It lives in its own personal nest in Manchester, home of several of the organisers, Gaz Needle, Bryn and Ang Goodman, Sophie Merrill, Rich Farrow and Rob Smith. Then there is Tim Head from the midlands Graham Andre from the Isle of Wight and Jenna Lucas and Leah Sharp from the south coast completing the team of PrimaryRockers who put this event together. I can do little but applaud them and their efforts. 2016 was brilliant, but 2017 was somehow even better.

I consider myself very fortunate to have lead a workshop at both events. This year was definitely ‘Bigger, Longer, Uncut’.
I think it would be difficult to put together a list of Bigger names to lead the sessions at a Primary Education Specialist conference. Paul Dix opening and Michael Tidd closing the day, workshops led by Tim Taylor, Sean Harford, Stephen Lockyer, Tim Roach, Sinead Gaffney, Jackie Ward and that is just a sample.

Longer workshops, 40 mins was increased to an hour meaning that delivery was less rushed and there was content could be extended and explained in greater depth.

And Uncut, the day started with a selection of knob gags from Gaz Needle and a selection of inappropriate tweets… but this is the PrimaryRocks way… this is what makes it special… this is why it works.

Before I even get to any kind of review of the day, I want to take an indulgent moment to say what I think PrimaryRocks is to me. It is not merely a thing, it is a community, a mindset, an approach to education. It is a full on, no bullshit, egos left at the door, community of people who have a shared passion and drive to be the best they can be for the children they teach. PrimaryRocks is a community where you can expect to see the fun side of teaching, see the humour in the little things, you can expect to be heckled and made fun of sometimes, people will challenge your thinking and make you justify your ideas, not because they think you are wrong, but because it will either make you realise how and why your opinion is correct or how it might need to be adapted. There is no right and wrong. There is only teaching and learning. Everyone is on an equal footing, class teacher, leader, head teacher or student, it matters not what your experience is - you can be safe in the knowledge that your opinion holds value, whether you are using Stephen King as an example of quality writing with Y6 (@MrTRoach), bemoaning the ‘Leadershit’ that can plague your life as a school leader (@oldprimaryhead1 & @theprimaryhead), or out and about writing multiplications on the wall and story maps on the playground in chalk (that was me!).

My involvement in the chat over the past two years has allowed me to see it grow and grow exponentially and it is responsible for so many positive changes to my practice and I know many, many others that would say the same..

Are you still reading?
Well done!

Here’s the bit where I write about the day…
I’ll keep the sessions brief, realistically - you just had to be there!

Keynote 1: Paul Dix (@PivotalPaul)
I had heard that Paul was an exciting speaker, but I wasn’t prepared for how much. His speech about how in order to truly change the behaviour of children it must be the adults who change. Naming and faming not naming and shaming, PIP and RIP or praise in public reprimand in private, and of course shaking hands. This is one of my biggest take-aways. I now shake the hand and greet every child in my class as they enter my classroom, and after a week, the shock has passed and they now reciprocate enthusiastically. They are even starting to return the personal greeting. A brilliant and truly inspiring opening to the day - precisely what was needed.

Session 1: Rhoda Wilson (@TemplarWilson) - Whole Class Reading
This session was beyond rammed! An absolutely packed session where English SLE Rhoda shared the rationale behind her move to Whole Class reading ahead of Guided Reading. She was brilliant, I am not a massive note taker, but I must’ve written 4-5 pages. (I am keen to try it myself, after the Easter break). I will be sharing the Sketchnotes of the session as soon as I’ve made them pretty!

Session 2: Well, that was me!
I live in my own personal world of self doubt, so leading a session is always daunting. I had thought that up against Tim Taylor, Sean Harford, Phil Nottingham and others, I would be happy with 15 people. I had 21. Thrilled.
Despite the beautiful Manchester drizzle, we managed to get outside to play around with some ideas for impacting on English, Maths and the whole school community. It seemed well received, and the messages I received made me smile. Reading Justin Starr (@TeacherStarr) directly quote me in response to a FB post - brilliant, and the fact that my ideas will be used in a project across a group of schools in Wales. I think I’ll take that!

Session 3: The Primary Heads (@oldprimaryhead1 AKA Brian & @theprimaryhead AKA Tim) - Authentic Leadership
These two. A bonkers but brilliant, scripted/not scripted walk through what this Double Act call Authentic Leadership. Through all the banter, insults, put downs, was a clear message about what it means to be a leader with clarity of purpose without being an egomaniacal monster. How the little things can build up and derail you, LeaderShit! While I was a Head of School I can definitely testify to the detrimental effect it can have and how you mustn’t let it adversely impact the way you manage people. Hilarious session, but you left know exactly how much sense they had just spoken.

Keynote 2: Michael Tidd (@michaelt1979)
Mr Tidd (now soon to be a Headteacher) is well known for what he seems to know best, marking, feedback and assessment. That’s what did. A room of teachers nodding in agreement and laughing at the examples of marking that served little or no purpose to move the learning on. Full of jokes and fun, he did a great job closing the conference with a subject that rankles so many teacher today.
The take-aways?

If marking was banned, what would you do in secret anyway? Do that.
Remember, feedback is 2 way and it happens ALL THE TIME in many ways.
Sometimes just looking at the books is enough for you to know what to plan the next lesson - don’t write it in 20 books - teach the lesson!!

PrimaryBeers:
Suffice to say, as I found myself in a Hotel lobby with Chris Dyson (@chrisdysonHT), Mike Highton (@isright) and Joel (@TrainingtoTeach) at 3.15am, I think it was a very good night. I also think we were the last men standing.
So many teachers relaxing, sharing, networking, drinking, eating pizza and take away, laughing, joking and at one point having a dance off and doing the splits! (@robertsniomi).
This is #PrimaryRocks, it is the community, the people that make it work. It is why the # trends every Monday night, it is why the conference sold out in 100 minutes. PrimaryRocks was amazing, inspiring and wonderful. I salute all who organised and attended.
Thank you.
As I complete this blog, one week ago I was in the pub getting ready for the event to begin. I think I am still on the come down.

Roll on 2018!

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Making a Terrarium...

2/3/2016

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Expanding the 'Idea of the Month'

I have always been fascinated by Terrariums (Plants in Bottles and Jars).

David Latimer was in the press in 2013 for his terrarium which had been unopened and untouched for the best part of 53 years. I found this amazing, I know I probably shouldn't but for me it was a 'isn't nature brilliant' moments.

Full Story and Image credit: Daily Mail

As the weather has been unseasonably mild recently as well as ridiculously wet, spring plants are appearing all over the place! I have friends with daffodils in their gardens already.

Take advantage of this phenomenon and create your own mini garden inside, in a jar or large glass bottle.

Here is my quick "How to.." for making your our terrarium. I am sure there will be a more scientific person then me tell me something isn't quite right, but it works.

Perhaps yours could last 50 years (50 days?) - Try it and see!

1. Simply take a large jar and add a layer (1 - 1 1/2cm) of fine gravel.

2. Add a thicker layer of soil. I personally wouldn't use compost, I would use garden soil, there might be other interesting things in that soil, seeds, insects, fungi... you might be surprised! If you'd rather have specialist soil, potting mix and charcoal makes a good base.

3. You might add a few larger stones or smooth pebbles make it look interesting too, if there is room in your jar!

4. Choose your plant carefully. Ferns are quite hardy and work well, as do Starfish plants and Spider plants. There are some great suggestions here (image credits below):

Examiner.com: 10 Good Plants for Terrariums
The BHG.com: Top plants for Terrariums

5. Water it and seal it up - the jar should then contain the ecosystem and require no further support, until the plant outgrows the jar! Best kept out of direct sunlight, but in a warm place.
6. Set the children a challenge:
- How long will their terrarium last?
- Will your plant survive?
- Does anything else grow?
- What do you notice about the inside of the jar?
- Make careful notes/photographs/drawing of any changes
- Can you see any root growth? or Flowers?
- Did anything get into your terrarium with the soil?

There are many possibilities for learning.

Feel free to add any in comments.

(Thanks to Steven Connor (@StevenConnor7) for reminding me how useful Water Canisters are for making these).

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Take a running jump...

2/1/2016

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I was talking to a colleague of mine a short while ago and we were talking about things that schools had banned, because they 'weren't safe'... Good grief!
I won't list all them, but here's a list I can remember:

Triangular Flapjacks - because children had a fight. Square ones are still allowed, despite having more corners!

Swimming Goggles - Many UK authorities, have banned children from wearing goggles when in swimming lessons because they could be “snapped and pulled against a child’s face” and cause them to “bump into each other”.

Running in the Playground - Yes, you heard me right. A school banned it as dangerous. Seriously. I am writing blogs about getting children to climb up piles of pallets and tyres and schools are banning running!

Loom Bands - Apparently, one school decided that loom bands were a tripping hazard. What precisely is the sense here? Unless of course they were creating some sort of escape rope. Perhaps this ingenuity should be commended!

Conkers - 1/6 schools have banned conkers, although it may not through fear of injury, but through fear of allergies. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents claim that increasing numbers of children are allergic to conkers because less children are playing outdoors, doing stuff like, well, playing conkers.

And this (tenuously) is where I get to the point... OK, so I like the outdoor learning thing, but unless we let children take risks, how will they learn what is and isn't safe. As teachers we can monitor risk, but I honestly think that we should not be responsible for removing it from children's lives. (There are enough overprotective parents doing that already and despite these words, I fear that sometimes I might be one of them!)

I won't go down the "when we were children we..." line because that path is well trodden. Children do need to know that nettles sting but not forever, that a grazed knee or elbow gets sore but is OK and that getting a splinter, while quite unpleasant, is not the End of Days! We care for our children and for the children in our care, but do we overprotect them?

In my school, the school council are very active in terms of promoting pupil safety, but I haven't yet heard them request a ban, just that people be considerate, respectful and careful towards each other.

Children are children and they need to get a bit dirty and jump off high things... we want children to be risk takers, mover and shakers as adults, but we want them to sit quietly and be careful as youngsters. I am not promoting dangerous activity, but children need to learn to be safe, by occasionally not being!

How about this?

In New Zealand, "The School With No Rules..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Y0cuufVGI

(Oh, and his shoes are very risky!)