Reflective Journal Vol 1

I am currently working in an emotional and behavioural disorder school (EBD) in which I am coming to the end of my third week of teaching. I will be honest and say my first day of teaching was definitely an eye opener ‘what am I doing here’ were the prominent thoughts that day. However as I come to the end of my third week I’ve come to realise that I might actually quite like teaching these youngsters. Yes it’s a challenge but everyday is different and very rewarding.

 

This log has focused on the behaviour management strategies that I have learnt over the last few weeks and the most appropriate teaching strategies to use with EBD children.

 

Task difficulty

 

I have found that one of the main barriers in teaching EBD youngsters is work avoidance. Initially most of my time spent in lessons was trying to get individuals to do work. I found the following strategies appropriate to counter this;

 

• Display and keep lesson objectives clear with appropriate National Curriculum levels linked to each objective. Youngsters enjoyed seeing the levels and aiming to achieve them.
• Using short - sharp activities. I found that using interactive activities worked better than lecture based strategies.
• Giving immediate feedback and praise when on task.
• Tactical ignore. For example one pupil will avoid doing any work and go in a sulk. I ignore and after a few minutes they will say ‘go on then what have I got to do’.

 

Lesson preparation

Preparing lessons effectively is vital to engage and create a positive learning experience in the classroom. Using strategies such as;

 

• Limited lecture or PowerPoint based theory. Pupils struggle to maintain concentration and attention wanders.
• Extend the amount of time a student has on a task. I found that EBD children need ample time on tasks when compared to mainstream children.
• Use more practical tasks and relate to the topic. For example in Maths I got the youngsters to measure the area of a table or a door with a metre rule.
• Don’t pitch lessons to easy or too difficult or you’ve lost them. I found that one particular pupil will avoid doing work if it situates in the two extremes thus pitching at the appropriate level is vital.

 

Behaviour Management

The linchpin of the schools behaviour management is centred around positive reinforcement. Here are a few strategies I have learnt in the last few weeks;

 

• Calm style.
• Give them the choice. For example saying ‘you have the choice to put that away or you will be spending time at the end of the day’.
• Make them realise the consequences of their actions.
• Tell them they won’t get rewards/ use rewards.
• Stamp out language. For example in a Dodgeball lesson the rule was if you swear you are out or lose a life in the game. Soon stopped the language.
• Humour. Humour is a great tool to gain respect and develop those relationships.  
• Create enthusiasm and motivation in lessons to decrease behaviour issues.
• Gain respect through getting to know the kids and developing relationships.
• Be fair and consistent.
• Planned ignoring. This theory suggests that if you ignore behaviour it will eventually become extinct. For example ignoring behaviour which is low level risk i.e. work avoidance or personal abuse thrown towards you the teacher.

 

Knowing how to prevent behaviour problems enables teachers to create a positive and safe learning environment. I have gained invaluable experience so far on this journey into EBD schools but there is still a lot to learn. It seems like you learn everyday and quickly in this type of environment. The main point to note is that EVERY youngster is completely different and being able to change the teaching style or your behaviour strategies to each individual is worth its weight in gold. Ultimately creating a positive teaching and learning space.

 

Fitness Components - Football Match up Game

This game I made for my Btec Sport group as a follow up to a fitness components lesson. Its an interactive activity that could be used as a starter or plenary. The game worked really well as it helped to instill the learning of fitness components from the previous lesson.

Football Match up Game

• Pupils get into groups of three. Two are football players with the other as the referee who has a stopwatch. They are issued one stopwatch and coin per group.
• Each group are given the fitness component cut outs and a football playing area as shown below.
• The fitness components and definitions are scattered and jumbled on the table around the football playing area.

Rules of the game

• The game starts with a coin toss for the possession of the ball (use coin as the ball maybe).
• On each player possession they must attempt to make a match with a fitness component to its definition. They have to make one match to move the coin across the board and a second match to score a goal.
• Dependant on ability, I would give 30 seconds for the pupil to make a match. But decrease/increase in accordance to ability level.
• The referee will time each possession and judge if the fitness component matches to the definition.
• After a goal is scored or the pupil makes an incorrect match, the possession gets turned over.
• When the game is in full flow, I would start to take completed matches away. The game would finish when all fitness components have been paired with definitions. Leaving a score line.

Thanks for viewing this game, any comments are welcome.

Rock/Paper/Scissors Dodgeball

Fun game which I made over the summer that turns a traditional game into something interactive and sport specific. I finally got round to using this game at school today with a challenging Year 9 group. They loved it!! It was something new for them which they lapped up. I think any activty where they can actively throw something at another person, they love. Really happy with the way it worked.

Activity

This game worked brilliantly with my Year 9's I've got to be honest. Upon reflection however, I would differientate the task in two ways. Firstly I would make the freedom line a shorter or longer distance away dependant on ability. Secondly if a low ability is paired against a high ability pupil, I would place the ball closer to the low ability and have the high ability pupil start a step back from the deadzone. This would ensure all pupils would have an opportunity to achieve the outcomes of the task.

Fruit Ball Rounders

Fruit Ball Rounders is a game I discovered during a make your own game session at Kings Camps this summer. This game encorporates different motor skills within a traditional game of rounders. It's a fun game which creates high participation levels in a striking and fielding game which generally has a lot of standing around.

Activity

• Equipment needed: 4 hoops, 8 cones for batting and bowling square, assorted balls (rugby, tennis and football).
• Batter has 3 different types of balls to place into the field. 
• The bowler will bowl each ball to the batter; fielders can’t retrieve the balls until the third ball is kicked.

I was really impressed with the kids for creating this game, so much I posted it on here. Any suggestions please dont be afraid to comment.

Road Runner Dodgeball

This game I picked up from a course a few months back. Its brilliant because even though dodgeball is an elimination game, this game helps to keep all pupils involved even when their out. Its great fun too as I found it to be a Kings Camps teen favourite this summer.

Activity

When Playing this game I have generally given a time limit on the game. At the end of the time limit the team who have the most players on court and not in deadzone wins.

Basketball-Movement off the ball

This game I adapted some time back from a good friend of mine who I worked with in a secondary school. The game is fun which the kids love due to its competitive nature. Its a practice which develops movement off the ball. It first looks at introducing the V-cut and then progresses to L-cut and loops.

Activity

 

·        This practice can be used as an introduction to V- Cut, L - Cut and loops.

·        Pupils start at the top of the 3 point line. Middle player starts by slapping the ball, two players on the outside run to the baseline on back. First player back receives the ball.

If you have any alterations or ways to improve this game please dont hesitate to comment.

Time Bomb Dodgeball

This game was a kids favourite this summer at Kings Camps. Every morning in our camp warm up the Teen's would request to play Time Bomb Dodgeball. I guess when Teen's are concerned they just love to throw something at their peers. The game is great with older kids and the younger ones too as its a really fun and fast paced game to play.

Activity

I really like this game, mainly because the kids love playing it too but also it enables all pupils to be physically active within the warm up. Whether they are running away from the ball or being the thrower, they are involved. Plus it has that fun element to it.

Please comment if you liked this game or have any alterations to make.

Cross the River Dodgeball

This game I discovered during a Teen camp session in the summer at Kings Camps. The session objective was to make your own game in small groups. There were some great and some weird games produced. However this one game stood out and I thought it was a brilliant idea for a 12 year old to think up. It's called Cross the River Dodgeball and could be adapted in primary and secondary schools alike.

Activity Card

• Two teams start behind a line of cones with two members of the team with dodgeballs on the side of the playing area
• The aim is for your team to get across the playing area without being hit

I hope you like this game as much as i do. It can still be adapted quite a lot but I was just so impressed by the group who produced it, it had to be posted. Getting young people to create their own ideas and discover something new has to be the best part of teaching.

Connect 4

My First Post

My enthusiasm to write a blog was sparked over the summer months, during a childrens holiday camp whereby I coached sport to a set of fantastic young people for five weeks. This experience has rejuvinated my love of teaching which has lead me to try out new ideas and has helped me to become more reflective in my teaching. So here it is my first post which comprises of a game called Connect 4. A fun warm up game for small and large groups of children.

Connect 4

 

 

Thanks for viewing this post and if you have any ways to adapt or improve the game please dont hestiate to comment.