Science Club

On my most recent professional practice I organised and ran an after school Science Club for children between the ages of 4 and 11 to explore different exciting investigations with the other student in the school. We decided to explore fun experiments which may not necessarily link to the national curriculum to get children engaged in their learning. We catered 16 children in the club and each week looked at different activities. The science club ran for 4 weeks after school on a Thursday and we looked at experiments ranging from making slime to the Coca-Cola and mentos investigation.

Running the after school activity for the children was beneficial to my own development as prior to this practice I had not taught any science lessons to a group of children on previous practices, so felt uncomfortable teaching the subject. It helped to build my confidence when teaching the subject and encouraged me to become more familiar with the science strand of the National Curriculum.

Attached below is a copy of the lesson plan for the first Science Club session:

25.01.2016 Science Club lesson plan

How it meets the standards:

• TS1: Parts A and C of standard 1 are met in this piece of evidence because I had to make sure it was safe and a non hazardous learning environment for the children to learn in. Also, I feel as though I have demonstrated  positive attitudes, values and behaviour which are expected of pupils throughout the Science Club sessions which we held. 
• TS2: I feel as though I can show working towards part D of this standard because I had to demonstrate my own knowledge and understanding of how children learn and how this can impact on the teaching of an after school club, which need to be approached differently from ordinary national curriculum based lessons.
• TS3: I feel that this piece of evidence shows that I have been working towards part A of standard 3 because I had to understand and have a secure knowledge of science investigations and curriculum areas, in order to maintain pupils’ interests in the subject, and address any misunderstandings the children may have.
• TS4: I have been able to impart my own knowledge of maths into the sessions and develop understanding through effective use of lesson time, as well as promote a love of learning in sessions which shows I am working towards sections A and B of this standard. The out of school hours club shows I am securely working towards section C as I have arranged and ran an out-of-class activity to extend the subject knowledge children have in Science. i also feel as though this shows I am contributing to the design and provision of an engaging curriculum within science, working towards part E.
• TS5: I feel as though this piece of evidence shows that I have been working towards all parts of standard 5, A, B, C and D because I had to differentiate the sessions due to it being available for children between the school years of 1 and 6, covering two key stages where the children would have different understandings in Science. I had to have an understanding as to how all of the children in the group would be able to learn with their capabilities and support them through their different stages of development. I also had to have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs, as two of the older children in the group suffered from cases of SEN/D and needed extra support when learning in a classroom environment.
• TS7: Running an out of school club for children to access and enjoy shows that I am working towards parts A, B, C and D of standard 7 because I had to manage the behaviour of the children who attended the club and have high expectations of all, especially the older children who should have been setting a good example for the younger children attending the club. I also had to maintain good relationships with all children in the club in order for it to run smoothly and effectively.
• TS8: Parts A and E of this standard have been met with this piece of evidence because I made a contribution to the wider school community by providing the experience of an out of school science club for the children and I had to communicate with the parents of the children to inform them of the club or any concerns with any of the children after each session.

Book Art

Whilst on Professional Practice 1B, I taught a series of English lessons leading up to the creation of a 3D book. The children did lots of writing based on the book Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. They created letters, postcards, recipes and instructional texts based on the story. I challenged the children to create informative pieces of writing which could be put into their books later. Attached below are a couple of examples of the example booklet which I created, using examples of the children’s work.

The children, who were in Year 6, found it to be enjoyable, engaging and rewarding to work towards a final outcome. This was a nice way for the children to complete work which lead to a final outcome, especially after their difficult time completing their SAT’s.

How it meets the standards:

• TS1: I think that this piece of evidence meets part B of this standard because I set the children an end goal to work towards which challenged pupils of all backgrounds and abilities as the children I was working with on this placement were from many cultural backgrounds, all working at different ability levels.
• TS2: This piece of evidence shows that I have been working towards sections A and C of this standard as I was accountable for pupils’ progress and outcomes throughout this activity, planning lessons which addressed all of the elements of the 3D book which the children produced. I also let the children reflect on the progress they had made in their work before it was able to be put into their books, re-drafting and editing their work if necessary to make sure it met the target audience.
• TS3: I feel I have met the sub sections A and C because I had to have the knowledge of how to teach Year 6 English and the different topics which can be covered throughout the year in order to teach age and curriculum appropriate content for the children. Also, I feel throughout all of my lessons in this particular teaching practice I promoted a high standard of Standard English, and high standards of literacy throughout the curriculum.
• TS5: I feel that throughout the series of lessons taught on the lead up to the  production of their 3D book, I had to consider differentiating the lessons to cater for all of the children in the class. This addresses sub section A and due to working with children from many different backgrounds, it shows I am working towards meeting section D.