Overview

  

 

Overview of my Placement

I have had the best experience i believe i could have possibly had. I was given a huge amount of responsibilty and opportunity to succeed. I felt like the teachers were excellent at compensating for my needs and i feel i got a considerably more that what i was expecting.

Luckily, i have been given the opportunity to return to the school on a regular basis to teach the children drama after school. This is a fantastic opportunity and will be great work experience.

I don't really have anything else to add other than a massive

Thank you

to Ranby C of E School, the staff and the children

Friday 15th February

Class 3: Antarctica

This was my last lesson not only with this class but on my placement. I was glad that this group were my last because i was getting the most from them as they were older. The workshops that we had done were fun and educational and i think the children had hopefully really enjoyed it.

This drama workshop was the conclusion of our antarctic expedition. I started by recapping on what we had done previously so they new where we were at in the journey. The first activity explored the movement of seals, i gave them a brief outline of the difference between a seal and a sealion (which is mainly the way it moves) and turned it into a competition. The children had great fun with this and it was really fun to watch. One particular student was unbelievably good at moving like a seal, as commented by the teacher. The next task i looked at moving in a huddle, refering back to the penguins we had seen previously. This lead into a game of mrs mangle. In all my experience with working with children i have never encounted anyone who couldn't do this game until today. But as soon as i saw this wasn't working i moved on.

The final section of the lesson the class were in there original groups i told them a snippet of information and they began acting it out every so often i would stop them give them another snippet of info and leave them to add that to their scene. This was things like:

• One of your team has collapsed
• A helicopter has come to rescue you do you go or carry on to your destination.
• Think about the present, what are you doing now, are you famous? are you still alive?

After they had spent a good amount of time building this back story i sat them in a circle and adopted a hot seating technique so the children could ask the someone about there journey. The children seemed to really enjoy this activity and some of the responses were excellent. i felt this was also a great way to conclude the expedition.

Golden Time

Every Friday afternoon the children get 'golden time' we couldn't do this last week due to the small amount of staff. This is a 40minute session where the children can freely choose an activity. If a child has been naughty through the week they get time deducted from their golden time. I joined in with Zumba and Arts and crafts. It was a fun afternoon and a great way to conclude my placement.

 

Thursday 14th February

Class 1: Jack and the Beanstalk

Today was split into two halves where i would have the youngest group in the morning and the slightly older ones in the afternoon.

With the youngest group we looked at Jack and the Beanstalk. I wanted them to physically tell the story but obviously i new they were to young to just leave to their own devises. So, i sat them in a circle and went through the story assigning different children as the different characters. I made sure that the children told me who the characters were and what there role in the story was.

The children really seemed to enjoy it especially the fee fie foe fum section. However, the group consisted of 5 boys and only one girl. i noticed that she was less willing to join in and the boys were starting to dominate the lesson. I didn't want her to feel left out so i encouraged her as much as i could and let her take the lead when she wanted to. As soon as i had made this connection she seemed to become more relaxed and willing to participate.

At the end of the workshop i felt that an hour was possibly to long for children that young to keep concentration so if i had the oportunity again to work with that age i would do shorter more frequent lessons.

Class 1: Creating Stories

In this lesson i wanted the children to explore there imaginations and create their own short story/ play. Becasue they were only relatively small children i gave them a starting point by giving them an animal to base the story around. The children were very enthusiastic and

instantly began silling out a huge amount of ideas.

i went around the groups to give them my guidance

but the majority of them were just happy to get on with it.

I encouraged them to think about the way the animals moved and what kind of place they would be in. I made sure that the older ones got the smaller ones involved and they all seemed to work perfectly together.

Wednesday 13th February

Class 2: Under the Sea

Through out the day I moved around the classrooms helping with the lessons and listening to the children read. I also decided today that i would go outside during the breaks as that is what some of the teachers had to do. I wanted to get the full experience. However, i did find myself getting involved in the playground games and eventually the majority of the school were joining in. This was tonnes of fun and it was great to see that the children had taken to me so well.

In my drama lesson today we explored the story of Jonah and the Whale. As it is a religious school i felt that this story was appropriate. I wanted the children to explore the colours, sounds and smells that they would experience in the sea and inside the whale. I wanted them to use their bodies as much as they could. Some of the children really got involved in the activity and there were some great end performances. The teacher recorded the performance of each group as they performed on her ipad. This was a great thing to to because it meant that we could go back to the classroom and let the children watch their performances. This gave me the opportunity to praise the children and let them point out what they could have done better. e.g. speak louder.

This was my final session with this group so i ended the lesson with just a couple of games that i new the children had really enjoyed. We left the space on a high and i was really pleased with the progress some of the children had made.

Tuesday 12th February

Throughout the Morning i was passed around class rooms to help with guided reading. Today was very interesting because it was shove Tuesday. As the school is a Church of England school a special assembly was held with a vicar which consisted of hymms, bible stories and prayer. There was even a pancake flipping contest. I found this quite facinating as i myself had attended a C of E school and had forgotten about how big religion is within the way the school runs.
After this i spent the rest of the morning helping class one make pancakes. My main role in this was helping the children with toppings for their pancakes. Within the school there is a very strong healthy eating policy so i was encouraged to pursuade the children to choose lemon and sugar as apose to syrup or chocolate spread. This appeared successful as the majority of children went for the healthier option which came as a surprise.

Class 2: Under the Sea

In the afternoon to my surprise i was given an hour slot to do the drama lesson i had planned for the day before, that i couldn't do due to the boiler.
I started with a simple game to increase energy and get the children moving. However, it was evident from the start that the children were going to be a handful today. They spent the majority of the lesson talking and despite the rules i had applied for stopping and being quiet, nothing seemed to gain control. I constantly had to stop and wait for the children to be quiet. Once they were quiet i made it clear that it was their time they were wasting and not mine. Due to their lack of focus we only got a small portion of the lesson done anyway. There was an assistent teacher in the lesson with me and she had a number of time stepped in to get the children to be quiet but even she was unsuccessful.
After this lesson i felt very drained physically and mentally and really wasn't looking forward to working with that group again.

At the end of the day i was asked to return to this class so that all the children could apologise for their behaviour. They had been warned that it wouldn't happen again and if it did in the next session it would end immediately.

Class 3: Antarctica

Straight after the under the sea workshop i was given another hour with class 3. As this group was the oldest they were alot more responsive and i was more able to let them have slightly more freedom during the lesson. I started with a game as always to get energy levels up and then we sat down and recapped what we had done in the last session. In doing this it repeats the stages of an Antarctic journey so they are more likely to remember it. Also it was a different teacher so i wanted to get her up to date on what we had been doing. I started them off in the same teams as last time with a task to create three freeze frames. This was to create the idea of the last day in base and they were taking photos to remember it. This was successful and there were some very creative ideas.

After that we set off on our journey and came across a group of emperior penguins. In order to get past them we had to pretend to be penguins so we could pass them unnoticed. So what we did was each pair had 'an egg' (a small ball) and they had to carry it from one side of the room to the other without dropping it, then pass the egg without touching it with your hands. Then the second person has to carry the ball back. This demonstrates to them how penguins look after their eggs and how the egg can't touch the floor it will freeze.

The next activity was based around body heat. I asked the pairs to join another pair and demonstrate the best way to huddle to keep warm. I hadn't known this when i planned the lesson but this linked in perfectly as they had been studying this during the morning. Looking at which body part looses the most heat.

This concluded the lesson and left the children excited for the next lesson. I felt alot better after the troubles of the previous lesson so i left on a high.

Hidden Extra

Also today in the school they had a visitor which works with after school activities and summer projects not just at ranby but at a number of schools. She had asked me what i was studying and what my role was within the school and after explanning it to her she asked me if i would be interested in working every Monday and Tuesday during the summer holidays. This would include leading drama workshops with primary age children. She also asked if i would be interested in running any after school clubs. All of this would be paid work. I gave her my contact details anyway in order to get details etc.

Monday 11th February

Boiler Problems

After arriving at the school Monday morning i had discovered that the boiler had broken and therefore been off over the weekend. This meant that the temperature of the school was not acceptable for the children to be in. The headteacher had totally forgotten to contact me prior so as i had arrived and the staff were staying, i decided to stay for a few hours to help; photo copy, organise books and worksheets, change some displays etc. I was then sent home early.

Friday 8th February

Class 3: Antarctica

 

Today was slightly different to the rest of the week because we went straight into the drama lesson i had planned. For this lesson i had been asked to look at antarctic exploration so i decided to take the children on a pretend expedition. We looked at what things they would take on this trip and what they would do when they first arrived. This was very successful and it gave them the opportunity to work in groups and devise there own pieces.
I was also very surprised when some of the students had asked to show me a dance they had made up based on some movements i had taught them last session. This was great as it showed that they had enjoyed themselves and really got into what we had been doing.
Again the teacher was very positive verbally but also an observer from higher up in the school had joined the session half way through anf commented on how well i had executed the workshop and showed great interest in what i was doing.
The rest of the day was spent in other lessons helping with music lessons and guided reading.

Activity:	Duration: (Approx)	Aims:	Description	Resources
Yehaa!	5 Minutes	·         Increase energy ·         Loose inhibitions ·         Create a relaxed atmosphere	See Previous lesson Plan for Class 3 for description of this game.	N/A
Preparing for the Journey	15 Minutes	·         Looks at what items would be important when going on an Antarctic expedition.	Put the group into pairs and ask them to create a team name. Explain to them that they are going on an Antarctic expedition and they are only allowed to take two items per person in their team. They must decide the items and create an action to represent those items. Thinking about why they have chosen them.	N/A
Taking Flight	10 Minutes	·         Increases that sense of good competition. ·         Keeps energy levels up and adds an element of fun.	Put the pairs into two lines facing forwards. Explain that they are now packed and have boarded the plane. It is a race to see who will get there first. To do this they must have a handshake race. The person at the front turns and shakes the hand of the person behind, counting, one, two, three. This is repeated down the line and then back up. The team to do it first and sit with legs crossed and quiet wins.	N/A
Setting up Camp	20 Minutes	·         Getting them to think about what their surroundings would be like. ·         What problems they may face and how would they overcome them.	Now the pairs have arrived in Antarctica. Give each team a piece of paper that has a phrase written on it. For example: ‘oh no, I never thought that would happen’. Then give them a certain amount of time to devise a small scene. At some point in this scene they must say the phrase written on the paper and it must be relevant to the rest of the scene. When all groups are ready get them to perform their scenes back to each other.	Pieces of paper with different phrases on them.
Planting the food	5 minutes	·         To learn about how Antarctic explorers travel to plant food for when they set of on the final expedition	Each group has four beanbags they must deliver two bean bags to each stop point. First running to the closest and dropping some food, then running back. The next person repeats this. Then the next person does the same but goes to the furthest stop point and leaves the food and so does the last person. This is a race and the first group to complete it, and are sat down legs crossed and quiet wins. You can then repeat the exercise if you wish by retrieving the food.	·         Cones ·         beanbags

 

Thursday 7th February

Class 1: Jack and the Beanstalk and George and the Dragon.

Today i was in the class one which has foundation, year 1 and year 2 so these were the really small children. Also due to the lack of staff the groups were placed together so there were considerably more in the group. Because of this i had to adapt some if the games i had chosen so they were suitable and enjoyable for the children. I have never had any previous experience with children as youngs as that so it was quite challenging. I was afraid of keeping there consentration.
Throughout the workshop i felt like the children were responding well and the activities i had chosen were fun. One child even cried because we had finished the game and he wanted to keep playing. I feel that i did execute a good lesson but wasnt perhaps as strong as the other lessons i had led.

Activity:	Duration: (Approx)	Aims:	Description	Resources
Simon says	5 Minutes	·         Increase energy. ·         Gain focus and concentration. ·         Loose inhibitions.	In a large circle. The leader asks the children do as she says but only if she says Simon says before it. If she doesn’t say Simon says then the children should not follow the instructions. If a child does it wrong they are out. (if it’s a small age group keep everyone playing and don’t make anyone out as this may upset them)	N/A
Magic Box	20 Minutes	·         It gets the children using their imagination. ·         Exploring new ideas. ·         Being creative.	The leader starts by pulling an imaginary box from her pocket. Asking the children if they can see it and choosing someone to tell them what colour it is. Then one by one you pass the box around and each child has to pull something out of the box. Giving the children a category makes it easier i.e. animals. The child then has to act out what they have found in the box and the other children can guess. You may want to change the colour of the box, which then changes the category. This keeps it exciting for the children.	N/A
Random Object	20 Minutes	·         Gives them the chance to look at things in a different way. ·         Increases creativity and imagination.	Still in a circle. Pass an object around the circle and the children must turn it into something else and demonstrate how it would be used. An example would be: an egg box could be turned into a laptop and the child will open it and pretend to type.	·         Egg Box ·         Toilet roll tube
Story Telling	15 Minutes	·         To link Movements to familiar fairytales. ·         An introduction to creating a scene.	Split the group in half one creates the audience the other the performers. The Leader tells the fairytale and each person comes forward and acts out the story. Use simple language that they understand and help them if they get stuck. Then swap the groups over and repeat the activity with a different fairytale. (Give each group five minutes to discuss the fairytale and what characters there are. Maybe go round and assign roles to prevent argument)	N/A

Wednesday 6th February

 

Class 2: Under the Sea

The majority of the morning was spent listening to children read and assisting with their creative writing. I was in the same class today as I was on monday so i was familiar with the group of children.
After dinner I lead another hour long drama session. This time i found it slightly harder as i had to spend a lot of time pre planning the lesson so it linked to the topic they were studying. I was more nervous because i wanted the workshop to be fun but for them to learn something aswell. In order for me to achieve that i made sure i repeated everything so it stuck in their brains. We looked at creatures in the sea and how long they live for. I did this by creating a scene. Some children created the sea, some seaweed and the rest sea creatures. They then had to put them under the age they thought they were. Through out the exercise i encouraged constant physical representations of what they were portraying. Once they were corrected i told them to pay attention to where each thing was. Then we moved onto a game. At any random point in the game if i shouted 'scubadiver' then they had to pick up a card with the name of one of the objects from the previous activity and get back into the right place. In doing this it made them remember which creature matched which age. At the end of the workshop i quizzed the children on things we had covered to make sure they had taken something in. This seemed to be a success.
At the end of the day the teacher commented on how good the workshop was which was good as it was a different teacher to what i had had previously.
Also throughout the day a number of children came up to me and told me hiw much they enjoyed sessions with me.
Overall, really looking forward to rest of the two weeks.

Images of the cards i created:

  

 

Workshop Plan:

Activity:	Duration: (Approx)	Aims:	Description	Resources
Wink Murder	10 Minutes	·         To get the energy up in the room. ·         To give the children chance to relax and loose inhibitions. ·         To get the children to start thinking about acting/ play acting by encouraging them to demonstrate some dramatic deaths.	In a circle one child is chosen to be the ‘Detective’ this person stands in the middle of the circle. Ask that child to close their eyes while you choose a ‘murderer’. Make sure the child in the middle is not cheating by peaking. You can always send the child out of the room if this is possible. Once a ‘murderer’ is chosen they must stick out their tongue at the other children without the ‘detective’ noticing. If the murderer sticks their tongue out at you, you must die. The detective has three guesses to find the murderer. (Number of guesses can change depending on class size and remember to encourage dramatic deaths.)	N/A
Creating our own under the sea scene.	30 Minutes	·         Introduce the children to some basic sea creatures. ·         To teach them about the life span of some under sea creatures. ·         To think about the habitats of these creatures. ·         Get them using under the sea vocabulary.	Start in a circle. Starting with the ocean ask everyone in the circle to show you the way the waves in the ocean move. Make them use their bodies and even add sound effects. Choose 5 people out of the circle to make the sea in the middle, demonstrating their movements. Ask the children if anyone can name any oceans. Then ask the rest of the circle to show them how seaweed would move with the waves. Choose another 5 people to be the seaweed. Then choose another five to hold up the categories. Making sure the sea is still moving and everyone is joining in now go through a list of undersea creatures, choosing a child to be that creature each time. As a group they must decide which category that creature belongs; 1-10 years,15-20 years, 40-50 years, 80 years and 100+ years. Once they are all in place go through them and correct them where they have gone wrong, constantly keep asking them questions and asking them to demonstrate movements or they could get bored. Once in the right place make sure they remember where each one goes. (repeating constantly will help them remember things better and constantly keeping them involved is key)	·         Cards that say ocean x5 ·         Cards that say Seaweed x5 ·         Category Cards x5 ·         Under sea Creature cards x 10
Scuba diver	n/a	·         To constantly remind the children about what they have learnt. ·         Keeps them thinking so they are less likely to forget.	Now they have all the parts of the under the sea scene complete in order to help them remember them repetition is key. At this point carry on the workshop as normal but explain to the children that at any point if i shout ‘Scuba Diver!’ they must pick up a picture card and get into the right position as quickly as possible. They must get a different one each time so they have to remember each place. This is fun for the kids as it’s exciting and they have to think instantly.	·         Cards that say ocean x5 ·         Cards that say Seaweed x5 ·         Category Cards x5 ·         Under sea                                Creature cards x 10
River Bank	15 Minutes	·         Adds fun and energy. ·         Introduces the children to some of the names of oceans.	All children must stand in a long line down the middle of the space and face the leader who will be at one end. If the leader shouts ‘Pacific’ the children run to their left. If the leader shouts ‘Atlantic’ the children run to their right and if the leader shouts ‘Land’ they run to the middle. Last child in the right place is out and those who go to the wrong place are also out.   This can be adapted by changing the words to be more specific for example England in the middle North sea to their right and Irish sea on their left. Other movements/ actions can be added where children stay still but have to do a gesture instead.	N/A
Conclusion	5 Minutes	·         Give the children an idea of what the next lesson will involve. ·         A chance to quiz them a last time about what we have learnt.	Get the group into a small circle discuss what we have done and where next lesson will take us.	N/A