Observation - Help!

[Guest]

Hi everyone - I am in need of some help from all you clever people. Next Monday I am being observed by our Early Years advisor and Head. I teach Rec/Y1 and our topic is Under the Sea, they will be observing Literacy. So far during Literacy we have been looking at Commotion in the Ocean and the children have written poems in groups. Have also touched on the Rainbow Fish and Tiddler. I am really unsre what to do. These are my possible ideas:

Continue work on poetry and work with more able to write individual poems

Move on from this to non-fiction - I have a powerpoint of Barnaby at the Aquarium I could show them, then do some non-fiction writing

Work on The Rainbow Fish or Tiddalik

I keep changing my mind about what I should do, one of these ideas or something totally different?

What do people think?

Thanks,

Kathryn

[Guest LornaW]

kathrynmc I am supposing the focus they want to see is literacy. Do they want to see a foucessed literacy time as I would encourage them to come at Child Initiated time and then to observe all of the opportunities you have available for the children to build on the skills you have already covered in your work on Commotion in the ocean. I know this is not ogften a focus but if you think about it it is the time when children actually embed the learning and begin to internalise.

 

Otherwise if you are having to do a focussed group activity then don't start something new build on what you have been working on already. Commotion in the Ocean is such a great book!

 

Lorna

[Guest]

Thanks, I think that is good advice. They will be coming to see my Letters and Sounds then CI time, and I think the EY advisor will be particularly focussed on the different opportunities available. I will be working with a group and I think I will continue the work on Commotion in the Ocean. The children have all written group poems, so I think I'll work with the more able on planning their own poems to write the following day. I now just need to have a really good think about the different opportunities in all the areas of the classroom. We have set up a submarine in the role play area this week so that will work well.

Thanks again for your advice,

Kathryn

[Guest LornaW]

I now just need to have a really good think about the different opportunities in all the areas of the classroom. We have set up a submarine in the role play area this week so that will work well.

Thanks again for your advice,

Kathryn

 

 

That sounds great Kathryn do you have all sorts of things to make periscopes etc for the submarine. You could also put these pictures on your whiteboard so the children get a feel of being in a submarine.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_...ent_/html/1.stm

 

Then of course there is the Beatles song Yellow Submarine.

 

Could you also find things in the outdoor as 'writing floats on a bed of speaking and listening' so if you can get water type opportunities outdoors. Making some snorkel kits so the children can look under the water in the water tray!!! Ambitious perhaps but what a great opportunity!

 

Lorna

[Guest]

Thanks for the website, that is great, children will be fascinated! I like the quote about speaking and listening, and will definitely have water tray outside. I have bought some small world undersea creatures to go in there and thought I'd also make the water blue for a change. I will have a parent helper so thought I could station her there to talk to the children as they play and develop descriptive language. I love idea about masks, think I may try that too!

Thanks for your help,

Kathryn