Teacher Standards are a essential part of all teachers lives. The standards define the minimum level of practice expected of trainees and teachers from the point of being awarded qualified teacher status (QTS). The teaching standards are very important as they are used to assess all teachers throughout their school life.
This is a lesson observation from a literacy lesson, which highlights the use of resources for differentiation. This is mainly relevant to the input during lessons. During my final placement I struggled to always produce resources for the SLAPS to access during the input which was identified on this observation. Throughout the placement i worked on this and improved it as an aspect of my lessons and teaching.
Target: Ensure appropriate resources for children during input as well as during the lesson.
This is an example from my final placement of a phonics weekly plan. This was an effective method of planning as it explained each part of the lesson step by step, where the resources were provided for each stage. The teacher could clearly see the aims and objectives for the whole week and see whether they would need to revisit some aspects later on in the week. I would use this method of planning again as it proved effective for a weekly plan, with a clear structure that is easy to follow.
Target: Ensure planning is effective and easy to follow.
This is an example of a resource that i used during a lesson to teach the children fractions of amounts. It was a fun lesson that all of the children enjoyed and were engaged in. The children loved talking about how every packet of skittles was different and so they would all have different fraction wheels.
The behaviour of the children was good and a countdown was used to ensure that they were listening when needed. This was a good method of getting the children focused as they instantly knew that when i started to cunt down they were to stop what they were doing and listen. Therefore, this was a very effective method.
The use of resources really got the children excited about the lesson and they wanted to learn. The children were very sensible with the skittles and were able to work with them to complete the activity. The paper plates were already split into sections for the children and therefore cut out the extra time it would have taken for the children to draw the sections. These were good resources however next time i would suggest a different way to colour in the fraction wheels as this took too long for some children to complete, meaning they missed out on completing the whole task.
During a major mathematics session, we looked into the role of the subject leader and class teacher. One area looked into in more depth was a scheme of work for the year. This is an example of a scheme of work for a year 5 class throughout the whole year. It identifies the topics that will be covered and most importantly these are referred back to throughout the year to ensure that the children cover them more than once. Included in ours is the different areas of the national curriculum and the statutory requirements for each. Alongside we have included a tally of the number of times each area is covered in the year. We also added in a pre-assessment for the tasks which is indicated by the number in brackets, letting the teacher know which topic is coming next.
Target: continue to gain a deeper understanding of schemes of work.
Developing mathematics in Primary Schools
This document identifies ways that headteachers and subject leaders in schools are approaching the reality of creating effective and sustainable change in mathematics teaching and learning. There are 7 different ways, which include:
Above are spider diagrams that highlight how schools may address and cater for these 7 headings. This can include the role of the teacher, subject leader and other leadership team members,= etc.
These are an example of feedback masks that i used on my final placement. They were a great way for me to assess the children but also making it fun and engaging at the same time. The children loved holding these up in the air to either answer a question or give feedback about how they felt during or after the lesson etc.
They can also be used for other aspects such as resources during a lesson. I used them within a science lesson, where the children were learning nice and nasty sounds. I play a variety of sound clips and the children had to hold up the smiley face if they thought it was a nice sound and the sad face if they thought it was a nasty sound. This let me as the teacher see the opinions of the children and assess if they could identify nice and nasty sounds.
Target: continue to use the feedback masks for assessment and resources in lessons.
This is a creative way to teach fronted adverbials to a year 4 class.
First it it important to hook the children in. In this case this can be done through setting the scene of a shipwreck. Show the children a picture of the shipwreck on the island and then play some sound clips e.g. sea waves, storm, island sounds etc to they can create a real-life picture in their head of what it would be like. Tell them to imagine they are a pirate and have just landed on the island. What can they see? hear? touch? what are they doing? is there anyone there with you? how are you feeling? Remind them to think about these while listening tot he sound clips.
Teach or go over prior learning. Focusing on specific fronted adverbials e.g. time and place. Show the children some examples of these adverbials and see if they can come up with any more themselves. Check they know what it is. Why is it called a fronted adverbial? what does it tell us?
Demonstrate to the children some examples of a sentences including a fronted adverbial. Link this to the pirate activity by giving the children each a piece of treasure (gold coin). Explain to them that to escape and be rescued from the island they must send a gold coin home. It must include a sentences about what it is like including a fronted adverbial. Each child can write their own on the coin before posting it into the treasure box.
To differentiate this task the LAPS can be given a selection of sentences broken up into two parts. They can match the fronted adverbial to the rest of the sentence before writing this on their gold coin. The MAPS can be given a list of fronted adverbials to support them however they have to continue the sentences themselves. The HAPS can also be given a list of fronted adverbials to support them but they can also think of their own. To extend the HAPS challenge them to expand their sentences with a conjunction e.g. and, but, so etc.
Behaviour management – try to link this to the theme of pirate too. Explain to the children at the beginning of the lesson that we will have a chant and every time you hear me say my part you must respond with yours and them stop, look and listen. The teacher will shout ‘PIRATES!’ and then the children will respond with ‘AHOY!’ and be ready to listen to instructions.
First impressions are vital when both on placement and in a real job. It is essential that all teachers…
These are all aspects of being a teacher that should come naturally but they are very important factors in being an excellent practitioner. Depending on the school some may be different however the overall first impression of any teacher should include these aspects and many more.
Target: Ensure I think about all the above aspects and develop further awareness and responsibility towards them in schools.
Within the class there was groups for maths: Ladybirds (LAPS), Grasshoppers (LMAPS), Beetles (HMAPS) and Caterpillars (HAPS) and each group had a book called a focus mark book. This was a way for the teacher to record the progress made my children and record any areas that the children need to still work on. The TA and teacher would both complete an entry for the group they worked with. They would include the learning objective/s, date and if any children were absent. They would then record what the children were like during that lesson, so who could do it, who needed more support and who really struggled.
This was then all looked at on a Friday to be able to highlight which children could do which objectives from the weeks focus. If all the children in the group could do it then it was fully highlighted however if there were some that struggled then the objective was hashed and the teacher would tick the children achieved.
This is a good way of assessing the children as it can be looked back through to see the progress made of each child when revisiting a topic throughout the year. It also allows for the teacher and others to see the progress made of the children in the topic itself during the week.
At the beginning of each maths topic whether it be the focus for 1 or 2 weeks the children completed a pre-learning task. This was done on a Monday morning after their KIRF tests.
The teacher was not allowed to help the children because it was used to assess what the children already know based around a topic for example time, measurement etc. The teacher would look at this at to tailor the weeks work around the needs of their class. This would ensure that every child was going to be challenged and stretched to their highest ability. It also enabled the teacher to highlight any children that struggled and might need to work in focus groups throughout the week or use extra resources to help create a concrete understanding of the concept.
Abbie Seavers 