Guest Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Hi Everyone, I am really struggling here!! Been researching over the week but i can't find anything to give me ideas. My head teacher is observing me on Wednesday and he has said that he wants people to come out of their comfort zone and take a risk?!?! I've said i will teach maths particularly problem solving but i am really struggling to think of any ideas. Anything that i do think of is similar to what i would normally do and not 'taking a risk'. Why do these things always seem to happen during the holidays?! Should probably have said, i'm in Reception. Thanks for any suggestions!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Hi Everyone, I am really struggling here!! Been researching over the week but i can't find anything to give me ideas. My head teacher is observing me on Wednesday and he has said that he wants people to come out of their comfort zone and take a risk?!?! I've said i will teach maths particularly problem solving but i am really struggling to think of any ideas. Anything that i do think of is similar to what i would normally do and not 'taking a risk'. Why do these things always seem to happen during the holidays?! Should probably have said, i'm in Reception. Thanks for any suggestions!! Hello! I completely sympathise I got an email yesterday saying I have a PE observation on Tuesday! Not sure if this is what your thinking of but... I am in reception and some good things we have used for problem solving are maths treasure hunts, you could take the children around the school grounds finding clues with a problem to solve before they move on to the next problem? Could the final one give them a challenge linked to your topic to solve? One we have done before linked to witches is recieving a letter from Meg and Mog stating that they have no where to stay as their roof is leaking in could the children make a bed big enough for meg and then we have given the children her measurements in non standard units and they have had to go away and use all creative materials etc to make a bed big enough (links to PSRN, CD, PSE (working in talk partners) and Lit) What is your topic for this week? Hope that helps! Emie x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Hi Emie, we are doing growing and 'The very Hungry Caterpillar' as we currently have caterpillars in the group. I was thinking of the outdoor area for the more able to show that they are being suitably challenged. Treasure hunt came to mind. I think the thing that is really getting me is the fact that he said it needed to be out of our comfort zone. I think that it's different in ey to the rest of the school where they do a lot of direct teaching. Other ideas i've had was for the middle and less able to have an activity inside with counting spots on to butterfly wings (LA) and looking at ways to make 10 (middle). The mind boggles. Think i will try a treasure hunt. What kind of clues did you give yours? Thanks so much for your help. I feel added pressure as i'm eyfs manager and other ey staff all have their lessons sorted and they are really good!! They are doing literacy though so that we weren't all doing the same. Ems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Why cant you all go outside for a treasure hunt? Children could work in mixed ability pairs/groups. Would that take you out of your comfort zone???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 oo I shall be watching this post as i too had an e.mail to say i have a lesson observation. If any of you read my last post the HT hated everything i did- esp using a 'pointless' tuff spot but that's another story. Would be very interested in the HA treasure hunt and a problem solving activity Our topic is transport Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Why cant you all go outside for a treasure hunt? Children could work in mixed ability pairs/groups. Would that take you out of your comfort zone???? We often use mixed ability pairs and a comment from my last observation was how am i challenging the more able children so think i need to make this obvious. Last time we did it through the questioning and expectations on the adult led activities but apparently, this is not enough! My kids love Winnie the Witch and we've been reading some of the longer stories. They love some of the 'unusual' foods she eats, the gorier the better, so i am going to write a letter telling them that she has stolen our caterpillars and if we don't find them by lunch time, she will eat them. I'm then going to put the caterpillars in a box (with holes of course) and put a bike chain with a code around it. The children will collect the numbers from the clues to open this up. Hoping the head will like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hi, just thought i'd let you all know that i was observed on Wednesday and my head told me that it was the best that he had seen from me. Thanks Emie for your inspiration of witches. My kids love Winnie the Witch so we told them that she had kidnapped our caterpillars. They found the first clue and solved this with a partner, this gave them a number, they looked behind the number and found the picture to show where the next clue was hidden. I then took 6 kids out to go on a hunt for our caterpillars. They solved clues on the way. The answers to these opened the lock that was wrapped around the box (bike lock). When they opened it, there was the empty box that they had been in (the bloody things had changed to chrysalises over the weekend), the clue in the locked box led them to a larger box that the net with the chrysalises were in. We took these back to the class and solved the final mystery of what had happened to the caterpillars. While i was out completing the treasure hunt, my NN stayed in the classroom and completed another 'challenge' - finding ways to make 10. The kids loved it and we even had parents coming in today to say that the kids had been full of it yesterday and told them all about it. Glad it's over but chuffed that it went so well! Thanks for your help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 what a good idea - ive just hashed up one similar in response to yours for my observation next week. Any feedback on the ideas would be greatly received. Im not sure about my group learning break down yetill probably change that lesson_observation.doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Just to say a big thanks Elg13 for the good idea. I taught mine today and the kids absolutely loved it. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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