Celebrating Examples of Good Practice in

Achievement for All

‘Communicating a Better Future’

Laura Mclean AfA Advisor – Language and Communication Specialist – Islington

PCT

Kathleen Mackenzie AfA Lead Teacher – Haverstock School

Rhona MacDonald AfA Lead Teacher – Hampstead School

We will be discussing..

• Communicating a Better Future:

What have we been doing?

• Lesson example and video clip; Haverstock

• Lesson example and video clip; Hampstead

Communicating a better futureWhole school capacity building project

Initially 18 month projects in 2 secondary schools working with staff across the whole school to develop their capacity and skills in effectively supporting:

Students with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and Special

Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) AND

All students to develop their language and communication skills

The projects are based on the evidence of the award winning ‘Listen Ear’ initiative in 3

Islington secondary schools

Achievement for All will now aim to develop this model of working in all

secondary schools in Camden

Communicating a better futureWhole school capacity building project

Adequate and effective spoken language and communication skills are vital to every young person’s:o Educational achievement o Ability to behave, interact and socialise

effectively both in and out of schoolo Emotional wellbeingo Opportunities for future employment o Ability to achieve the Every Child Matters

outcomes

Why ‘whole school’ working?

Many recommendations for students with SLCN

are suitable for developing all young

people’s communication skills Focussing on embedding

speaking and listening activities and strategies into every day teaching

practice will support students with SLCN/SEND to make better progress

and generalise their skills. Empowering school staff

to support students with SLCN effectively and

efficiently will reduce the need for highly

specialised input.

Why ‘whole school’ working?

High numbers of students with language and

communication needs have not previously been identified as

having SLCN. Whole school working

supports all students

Achievement for AllSupport staff to baseline speaking and listening interventions and assess progress

Support students to generalise their learning

from SEND interventions, as subject teachers encouraged to use consistent strategies

and techniques

Supporting and developing communication of students with SEND can support achievement of wider outcomes:

•Attendance

•Behaviour

•Positive relationships

•Participation

Support communication between school , pupils and parents

Model good

listening skills

Use

positive ways of

gaining attention

Use consistent, clear, positive instructions

Explicitly teach what ‘active listening’ means

Make the students

aware of what &

how they are learning

Use consistent rules, reminders, rewards and sanctions

Examples of Strategies promoted toSupport and Teach Listening and Learning

Examples of Strategies promoted toSupport and Teach Listening and Learning

Deliver engaging andaccessible lessons for all levels of ability

Use visual

support

Explicitly teach

vocabulary

Reduce teacher talk

Increase structured

talking time for students

Enabling Quality First Inclusive Teaching

Quality first teaching/Active listening and active learning strategies to be promoted and modelled to teachers throughout the school by;

• Working with specific classes modelling strategies

• Lesson study and coaching models• Learning walks• Observation checklists and feedback • Insets / CPD sessions

Video clip – Example of good practice

Haverstock School

Lesson = Year 7 Integrated Learning SchemeNumber of Students in the class = 26 (19 in session)

Number of students on the SEN register =

Number of students with EAL =

Number of Gifted and Talented students =

Jointly planned lesson and team taught

Strategies used in the lesson• Visual support

– Visual schedule at the beginning of the lesson (with consistent symbols)

– Instructions on power point with words and pictures – Gesture – Worksheet for them to complete while observing presentations

• Positive, clear language and explicit instructions• Engaging and accessible

– variety of activities– Less teacher talk

• Personalised activity – Students worked on map to own ability (differentiated), and in

reference to themselves

• Skills development– Active Listening skills– Presentation skills; non verbal language

Haverstock

video clip

Video clip – Example of good practice

Hampstead School

Lesson = Year 7 Humanities

Number of students in the class =

Number of students on the SEN register =

Number of students with EAL =

Number of Gifted and Talented students =

Strategies used in the lesson• Visual support

– Visual schedule at the beginning of the lesson – Instructions on power point with words and pictures – Gesture and Actions for poem

• Positive, clear language and explicit instructions• Modelling and promoting good listening

– Reminding students of ‘listening rules’ and waiting for students to follow rules

– Not talking over students – Range of positive ways to gain attention

• Engaging and accessible – All student participation– Explicit discussion about what happens if students find it difficult– Specific praise for students who find task more difficult

• Skills development– Active Listening and memory skills– Presentation and voice skills

Hampstead

video clip

Haverstock video clip:

Lesson plan

Power point

Lesson PlanDate 12/02/10 Period 5 Teaching Group 7O Subject ILS Staff MKE

Context:

Pupils have been following an Integrated Learning Scheme of work focusing on developing the skills necessary for the 21st century learner. This lesson builds upon work carried out in conjunction with the Speech and Language Therapist with the intention of developing and extending active listening skills. This unit of work is entitled ‘Me and My Community’ whereby pupils will explore their place in their local community extending their geographical and historical skills of enquiry.

Learning Objectives:

• To be able to use presentation skills in order to talk about ‘my place’.

• To reflect upon the skills developed over the course of the year.

Lesson Outcomes:

All students will:

Be able to indentify some key areas on their A3 map and share this with the rest of the class. They will be able to make simple comments on their peers’ presentations

Most students will:

Be able to accurately describe the key area in their local area and be able to highlight this on their A3 maps. They will be aware of good presentational skills and be able to demonstrate some of these to the rest of the class. They will be able to provide feedback on their peers’

performance.

Some students will:

Be able to accurately describe and explain in detail the key areas in the local area. They will be able to annotate their A3 maps in detail making links between people and place. They will be confident in delivering this information to the rest of the class. They are fully aware of the success criteria and are able to make constructive

feedback on their peers’ work.

Differentiation Strategies

Plan for less able/those on SEN code of practice/EMAS students

Targeted questioning use random selection method at the beginning of lesson.

Images/visual schedule to support teacher exposition

Less able seated next to more able to access peer support

Vocabulary book to assist with acquisition of new keywords.

Talk partnerships to assist with confidence in verbalizing and processing ideas before writing.

Plan for more able/those on G&T register

Targeted questioning building on higher order thinking skills

More able students to be used to model answers or to stimulate discussion.

Resources: PPT – ‘What is my place’; ‘How to show that I am actively listening’ w/s; A3 maps of ‘My Place’; Peer assessment w/s

Students targeted: H, J, S, L, M

Students targeted:I, K, S

Time

5

10

10

5

15

10

5

Learning Activities

Outline learning objectives explicitly linking to prior and future learning. Pupils to copy keywords into vocabulary books and look at visual schedule.

Starter activities

Brief recap on Active Learning strategies- pupils to refer to w/s. Laura to lead on Listening and Memory Game – Camden Market. Pupils make connections between this game and the skill of active listening.

Main activities

MKE to model example of good annotations and presentational skills using IWB and map of ‘My Place’. Refer to previous lesson drawing out the need for good explanations as opposed to descriptions.

Introduce pupils to RAG assessment sheet. Outline success criteria of effective communication and presentational skills.

Pupils invited to front of class to present their own findings on ‘My Place’. Rest of class to use assessment sheets to assess progress.

Pupils to provide feedback on what went well and targets for improvement.

Plenary – Two Stars and a wish

Strategies to check learning objectives have been achieved

Ask pupils to put learning objectives into their own words. Discussion of visual schedule and new words.

Circulate during activity to monitor and support. Prompt more able to identify overlaps. Less able to be directed to last lessons learning materials

Explicit model of activity to aid student understanding

Randomly select pairs to feedback on partners work.

Other students to note down good advice

Circulate during activity to get a sample of student understanding, monitor and support

Pupils to reflect on what they have learn this lesson and construct targets for improvement.

What is my place?Objectives:-To use our presentation skills to talk about ‘my place’-To reflect on the skills we have learnt

Keywords:

My Place

Active listening

Presentation skills

In this lesson you will be learning through:

1. ‘Camden market’ game

2. Listening to information

3. Presentations of ‘my place’

and feedback

4. Sharing our ideas about

what we have learnt

How to show I am actively listening

Looking Looking at or facing the person speaking, or looking at what the

speaker is showing you

Taking Turns to talk

Only one person talking at a time, talking when it is your turn and

listening when it is not your turn to speak

Thinking Thinking about the words. Follow what is being said and think about

the same topic

Focussing Sitting quietly in your own space. Not distracting others and not

being distracted by others

Checking Understandin

g

Check that you have understood what is being said. If not, ask for

help appropriately

‘Camden Market’ Listening and Memory Game

The 1st person says:

‘I went to Camden Market and I bought a … book’

I went to Camden

Market and I bought a

book

The 2nd person says:

‘I went to Camden Market and I bought a book and … some boots’

I went to Camden Market and I bought a book and some

boots

The 3rd person says:

‘I went to Camden Market and I bought a book, some boots and … a t-shirt

I went to Camden

Market and I bought a book,

some boots and a t-shirt

Checking Understanding

• If you haven’t heard what somebody said, you may need to ask them to say it again.

(‘Sorry, I didn’t hear. What did you say?’)

• If you can’t remember all the items that were said, you may need to ask people to repeat.

• If there are too many words to remember, we can start a new list!

• If someone has said a word you don’t understand, you can ask them to explain the word

(‘What does that mean?’) I don’t know that word

I didn’t hear that

How to show I am actively listening

Looking Looking at or facing the person speaking, or looking at what the

speaker is showing you

Taking Turns to talk

Only one person talking at a time, talking when it is your turn and

listening when it is not your turn to speak

Thinking Thinking about the words. Follow what is being said and think about

the same topic

Focussing Sitting quietly in your own space. Not distracting others and not

being distracted by others

Checking Understandin

g

Check that you have understood what is being said. If not, ask for

help appropriately

Using maps to describe places

Presenting ‘your place’• Good eye contact: look at the audience!

• Good body language and posture

• Clear speaking voice

Make sure the audience can understand you!

Speak loudly enough (but don’t shout!)

Speak at a good speed (not too fast / too slow)

Make your voice sound interesting (your tone of voice go up and down)

Explain the key features of your place. Remember the examples from last lesson.

Giving feedback to the presenters

• Use the worksheet to help you feedback to your peer what they were great at, and what they could practice more.

• Tick the red, amber or green boxes for each skill.

An area where I have worked well upon…

A second area I have worked well upon…

An area I need to work on…

Plenary – Two stars and a wish

Hampstead video clip:

Power point