Teaching and Learning with the less able

Ask students to compile wordmats for a given topic (idea being that they will know what they needed to know, if that makes sense) - a good revision activity?

Set up a league table to encourage healthy competition

Award a raffle ticket for each good piece of work done - prize draw at the end of a unit as a reward (prizes don't have to be massive)

Ask students to podcast a topic (gets round literacy issues??)

Use play dough in a lesson to teach a concept

Get students to role play an event or scenario you are learning at the moment

‘Close your eyes and imagine’ - put whatever you are teaching into as descriptive terms as possible so that they are in the centre of the learning experience. Get them to draw what they see….

Create a quiz sheet with multiple choice and true or false statements for LA – they still get all the information that they need for an exam/assessment and have to think about the work but without lots of writing

Create support sheets for a lesson that have key ideas/concepts and hints for the lesson

Writing frames

Kineasthetic hands on activity in place of something you’d normally do written work for

Action Research – try mixed ability V’s single ability groups and compare outcomes

Differentiated outcomes for the lesson

Use a prop as a starter, e.g. a soft cushion ball. Students throw the ball to another student and they have to think of a subject key word. The student has 4 seconds to answer, if the answer is wrong, is the same as a previous answer or is not said within the 4 seconds then they are out. It’s fun and the students enjoy it. With a small class it lasts 5 minutes. For a large class it lasts about 10 minutes.

Use video tutorials / interactive resource to explain key concepts which will allow pupils to revisit at their own pace..

Provide audio feedback.

Students to use video cameras or audio recording to evaluate their work.

G&T missions

• Get your G&T students to lead and stage a debate in your subject, e.g. medical ethics, creationism, the value of languages in the 21st century.
• Give a G&T student the role as ‘teacher’ for at least 15 mins of your lesson.
• Ask G&T students to make videos about your subject to promote it.
• Use GCSE questions and resources with top set KS3 groups. Or A Level questions and resources with G&T GCSE students.
• Students design the marking criteria for a piece of work.
• Use the TASC wheel for independent/group work projects with a top set class.
• Mystery lesson – base your lesson around a mystery question, e.g. a coastal erosion lesson based on the question ‘Why did Jim and Betty have to pay higher house insurance?’
• Develop a cutaway table – a table where students complete extension work.
• Get a G&T student to lead the question and answer session.
• Student voice – create a survey for G&T students to get their opinion about what does/does not challenge them in your lessons. Then act on it!
• Extension menus – provide a variety of different tasks for G&T students to encourage independent thinking. This could relate to schemes of work, or be general for the subject/year group.
• Odd one out – use as a starter. Identify the odd one out and give a reason, identify a second odd one out with a different reason or add another item to the list keeping the same odd one out. Justify your answer.
• Presentations – ask G&T students to research and present a topic to the class.
• Tailored questioning – challenge G&T students to start with a more difficult question or to pose the questions for the rest of the class.
• Answers/questions – provide a list of answers. Students have to guess what the questions are.
• ‘Becoming an expert’ – Groups of students are given topics to research which they will then teach to one member of each of the other groups, who in turn will teach their own group.
• Research tasks – challenge students to use more difficult resources for a research task so they have to synthesise from a wider range of resources.
• Bloom’s Taxonomy – Set questions from each level of Bloom’s taxonomy. In addition, ask learners to create questions from each level of Bloom’s taxonomy.

Differentiation

Welcome back DDs,

This term, as well as the observations we will complete on 'What Makes a Good USH Lesson?', we will look at Differentiation in school. In particular , G&T as a focus.

I am interested in how we secure As at GCSE/ Btec and how we challenge/ support G&T better in our Key Stage Three classes. How do you know they are G&T? How do they progress to be one? How do you use them in/ outside of  your lessons?

Any ideas, previous examples, please add below. We will then add new missions to these.

Thanks in advance

N

Dates for 2010 -11 Dare Devil Meetings

20th October 2010
8th December 2010

19th January 2011
9th March 2011

18th May 2011
8th June 2011


We will also be able to book further meetings, when relevant, in Week A Wednesdays. 


Hope it helps your diaries,


N

Power Teaching

Thanks for your enthusiasm this afternoon I know it has been a long half term.

I am just about to e-mail you all the resources so you can get started with power teaching ASAP.

I really recommend that you look on YouTube at the videos on Power Teaching and Whole Brain Teaching.

Chris Biffle is the main man his YouTube channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/ChrisBiffle


Happy Power Teaching.

PS. any thoughts/ suggests please leave a comment.

"TEACH"

Mission 5

The next DD meeting is next Tuesday at 3pm in the Meeting Room. Please be ready to share your last Missions and we will be looking at buddying up for observations.

Bring a drink and I will bring something sweet!

Thanks

N

Welcome staff!

Dear all,

Thank you for the support and enthusiasm you showed yesterday during the Dare Devils meeting. We hoped you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Please feel free to add a comment below. If you are signed in (you can create an account and even set up your own blog in minutes!), you can add one. If you are unsure you can add a comment as 'Anonymous' without doing so. If you add your name to the post, we will then know who you are!

I hope you all try one Mission and let us know how it went. Any issues or support you need, you know where we are!

Good luck

'N'