Observation Help By Monday!

[Guest]

Hello everyone,

 

I need a little bit of help. I have an observation next week, looking at writing in FS. Our topic will be Postmen so I have planned the following activity:

Intro: have a parcel delivered to the children with a collar inside and a note from Pat saying he has lost his cat. He needs our help. I have planned to take the children out into the garden to look for her for 5 minutes then back inside to think about ways to help (hopefully someone will suggest lost posters as we have been talking about them this week for police topic). Model writing a poster on board and children to sound out 'lost cat'.

 

Main: Make lost posters with top 3 groups - writing lost cat with varying levels of support. I planned on my TA working with the lower groups to form lost cat in messy play (they are struggling with pencil control and love messy play).

 

Is this ok? Not sure if its the right activity for the TA to do and its only an hour session??

 

Please please please let me know what you think or if you have any other ideas.

 

Thanks in advance.

xx

[Guest]

I think that sounds fab, love the idea of the 'Lost' posters - I may borrow this idea for my class! Not sure about TA activity - my less able would struggle to form any letters at the moment, but yours may be more advanced than mine! Some other ideas off the top of my head for less able. Could they go outside with TA to look for clues such as paw prints (which TA could plant while you are discussing posters inside), they could have clipboards and do emergent writing for what they find (my class love clipboards), role play in Post Office supported by TA, general mark making in messy area, collaging picture of a cat and adding emergent writing. Good luck, I'm sure it will be fab!

[Guest]

I think that sounds fab, love the idea of the 'Lost' posters - I may borrow this idea for my class! Not sure about TA activity - my less able would struggle to form any letters at the moment, but yours may be more advanced than mine! Some other ideas off the top of my head for less able. Could they go outside with TA to look for clues such as paw prints (which TA could plant while you are discussing posters inside), they could have clipboards and do emergent writing for what they find (my class love clipboards), role play in Post Office supported by TA, general mark making in messy area, collaging picture of a cat and adding emergent writing. Good luck, I'm sure it will be fab!

[/quot

This sounds lovely, I was thinking you could leave out laminated mobile phones / play phones so if any of the children are doing free flow, they could call one another to try and locate the lost cat. Or maybe you could leave some blank postcards out so the children write to the postman to cheer him up!maybe in the outdoor area, the children could create a trail for the cat to follow back! or maybe make some paw prints with the paint or playdough. Good luck!

[Guest]

Sounds really good, I did something similar when we 'found' a dog in our outdoor area and we made posters to see if anyone had lost him.

I had an observation for writing last week and I only had 5 children at a time writng with me, mixed ability, even LA mark made and gave meaning to their marks/writing, linked to focused adult directed task. Rest of class either engaged in CI indoors, some choosing activites linked to writing focus some not, and some outdoors with TA engaged in a numeracy activity. Am I barking up the wrong tree? I am trying to move away from all doing 'literacy' type activity at the same time. (But finding it hard to readjust!). Observation went well. We have displayed all 29 pieces of writing - from phonemes to letters to sqiggles to drawings.

What do other people do?

[Guest]

Thank you for your lovely responses, you have made me feel much better about it! I love the idea of the children searching for clues and writing or drawing what they find out. They could even take the microphone with them to interview people!

 

Im not sure whether to do my groups in mixed ability or not?

 

x

[Guest]

I think i'd prob do mine in ability groups so that some could do some recording to pop into their Learning Journey as they are prob further on in their profile points and then maybe observe some of the other children in the earlier points in CLL.

It'll be great!

[apple]

I would agree with kathrynmc re the TA activity. I definiatly see no resaon why the LA's could not do the same writing acitivity , the outcomes would be different but the expectations are the same i.e write for a purpose. Even though they may not be able to sound out/form letters etc they still have the ability to make marks for meaning and which is all part of their writing development.

Sounds like a fun session- good luck with the observation.

Are you going to let the children put the posters around the school?

[Guest]

Some fab ideas!

 

will whoever is observing you ask for the learning objective for the session? Is this written for children to see?

 

who is observing and what is the LO? - to make a poster? to use phonic knowledge? the LO must be explicit on paper or from what the observer 'sees'

 

Good luck

 

Jenni

[Guest]

In the messy play bit of your plan, with those of "lower ability" could you do mark making in shaving foam......... so that you are encouraging the mark making?!!

[Guest]

Hello everyone, just thought I would say thanks for all of your advice last week. Had observation today and got outstanding so very pleased. Thanks once again. This forum is so friendly.

x

[Susan]

Well done.

[Guest]

well done! I wish I could have been there to see how the activity went, I have only just read through the posts, and it looks brilliant, I am a preschool supervisor but have been working in partnership with foundation department of the school this term, and really enjoyed it, I could see the f2 children really enjoying that

 

Clare