1. Identify a natural opportunity within current planning. Prepare resources as required, and a simple recording sheet for each group.

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1 Activity 4 Planning a practical activity Illustrated by The Snowman s Coat Young children are often asked to carry out practical tasks, but can find planning them difficult. Asking them to plan in a Thinking Together group gives a clear focus for speaking and listening. Planning activities in Thinking Together groups has many advantages. It is often easier for children to risk making suggestions in their small groups than in a larger forum. The shared planning phase means that they are more likely to be confident in the outcome of the task and in their ability to carry it out. In mixed ability groups those who lack confidence in their ability to organise can learn new strategies from their peers. Reasoning is integral to planning activities as ideas have practical implications which require evaluation and justification. Children who have difficulties with written recording can often take the lead in a practical activity, and their confidence is boosted by being seen as the expert. Children plan activities constantly in curriculum areas, such as Music, DT, Art and many curriculum opportunities will present themselves. The exemplar lesson for this activity Snowman s Coat looks at planning a Science investigation based on a concept cartoon. The scientific content shapes the recording, but the Activity is easy to transfer to other teaching and learning contexts. Method 1. Identify a natural opportunity within current planning. Prepare resources as required, and a simple recording sheet for each group. Teacher tip for organisation: allocating specific responsibilities within the group helps children settle quickly into the task. 2. What are we going to do? Focus the introduction on the practical outcome. 3. What will we need to think about? Before asking the children to share ideas with the whole class, ask them to talk to their neighbour. 4. As the children share their ideas write them up under different headings (e.g. what we will need, what we will do, what we will think about) so the children can refer back to them. 5. As the children make their suggestions, ask them why they made that suggestion. Practise phrases such as What do you think would happen if? What does anybody Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking - 1 -

2 else think? Has anybody else got another idea? to help them to give reasons and to share and apply previous experiences. 6. By asking children for clarification, predictions and alternative suggestions you will model the process of applying ideas to the practical outcome. 7. In the closing plenary share the planning outcomes and ask the children to evaluate the ground rules. Thinking Together Skills Giving reasons Sharing ideas Thinking of alternatives Curriculum Context Any practical activity, e;g Music, PE, DT, Science, Art. Reaching agreement Children learn: to listen to others, evaluate reasons, change their mind, reach joint decisions. Resources As required Variations and Starting Points. The planning process can be stimulated in many ways, from children being presented with a range of materials for an Art or music project or P.E. equipment to use in a game, to a design challenge in DT based on a story. Concept cartoons are an excellent stimulus for planning a Science investigation because they introduce key concepts, but support children in predicting the outcome of the investigation by giving concrete alternatives. Remind the children that giving reasons is important. Key points Asking children to record their decisions will help the practical task. Grouping children s ideas in the introductory class session will structure what they need to consider when planning. Ask groups to come to a joint decision based on reasons. Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking - 2 -

3 Lesson Plan 4 The Snowman s coat Illustrates activity 4 Planning a practical activity Curriculum links Sc. 3 2 Changing materials. explore and describe the way some everyday materials change when they are heated or cooled. Sc. 1 Knowledge, skills and understanding: investigative skills, presenting evidence, considering evidence and evaluating. Thinking Together Objectives We are agreeing on a test. We are learning to share ideas and give reasons. Curriculum Learning Objectives We are finding out how to stop our snowman from melting. We are learning to plan a Science test. Success Criteria. We shared our ideas about which snowman would last longer. We gave our reasons. We planned an investigation. Resources A brightly covered box (referred to as a Talk Box) to put objects in In the Talk Box Items of clothing, some winter wear e.g. scarf, gloves, warm socks woolly hat, sun hat. Whole class A copy of The Snowman s Coat The Snowman s Coat and other science questions by Brenda and Stuart Naylor, pub. Hodder Children s books ISBN Group work Equipment for doing the test Each group will need 2 snowmen, a dish to stand them in and a sock for a one to wear as a coat. One record sheet for each group (see Resource sheet). Small pots of ice wrapped in cling-film or similar to act as snowmen ( it is advisable to check how long they take to melt before teaching the lesson). Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking 3

4 The lesson. Model the TT rules by asking for reasons and explanations and reaching agreement. 1 Introductory Classwork Introductory activity Read the first two pages of the Snowman s Coat. What are the three ideas? Ask the class why the children in the story think the way they do. Which of the characters do the children agree with? Why do they think this is the most likely outcome? Ask the children to talk about their ideas with a partner before sharing them with the whole class. Ask a child to take the items out of the Talk Box. As they do so, relate the items to the concept of insulation by asking whether they would keep them warm or cool. Why does a sun hat keep them cool, when a winter hat keeps them warm? Are there any items that they think would be good for keeping the snowman from melting? Why have they chosen these particular ones? Introducing the group activity. Introduce any specific Science vocabulary the children will need. Remind the children of QCA safety guidance for handling ice. Make sure that the children understand that they will need to compare 2 snowmen in order to carry out a fair test. Explain to the children that they are going to find out which of the children in the story was right by planning a test using some ice as a snowman. The first part of their group work is to share their ideas and decide which of the children they agree with. Remind them of the need to give reasons for their ideas. The second part of the activity is to plan a test that to carry out later to check their prediction. Will putting a coat on the snowman make it melt more slowly, more quickly or make no difference? Introduce the recording sheet, and discuss appropriate methods of recording emphasise that the focus of the task is the talk. Rehearse with the children the phrases they will use when giving and asking for reasons, including each other and sharing their ideas. Share the learning objectives for Talk and Science and the success criteria. Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking 4

5 2 Group Work Can the group share their ideas, give reasons and agree which snowman will last longer the one with the coat or the one without the coat? Can the group use the materials and agree on a test to see if their prediction was correct? Can the group record their ideas, remembering to say why they think one snowman will last longer than the other? Variations: Put a range of insulating materials in the box. Ask the children to predict, plan and carry out a test to see which material would keep the snowman coldest. Plenary: Whole Class Work 2 Share the outcomes of the group work. Read the rest of the story. Discuss and compare the ideas, asking for reasons. Share ideas about why the clothed snowman lasted longer after doing the test. Thinking Together Rules Did our Rules help us in our group work? Should they be altered? Success Criteria Have we achieved the success criteria? Have the Learning Objectives been met? Extension activities Introduce a range of insulating materials, and ask the children to predict which materials will be the best at preventing the snowman from melting. Individual work Ask the children to record what they see individually, before talking about it together. Key points Check how long the snowmen take to melt before starting the test demonstration. Model the Thinking Together Rules by asking for reasons, and explanations: can you explain why.? can you tell us why..? Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking 5

6 Rehearse key phrases the children should say in order to use the TT Rules in their groups. what do you think?, why do you think that? Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking 6

7 Planning activity lesson The Snowman s Coat Group planning sheet Planning Sheet Names... We will need We will do We expect to see We think that. because Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking 7

8 Planning activity lesson The Snowman s Coat Record Sheet Record sheet for the snowman s coat Names We think that snowman will melt first because.... time snowman 1 snowman 2 Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking 8

9 Planning activity lesson The Snowman s Coat Record Sheet Thinking Together: Teaching activities to promote talking and thinking 9