Not a very snappy name for a T&L tool, but extremely simple to produce. A fantastic discussion stimulus for exploring the meaning of concepts and for developing the skill of evaluation in a different way. Pictured is an example to explore the meaning of "friendship".
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Which ONE of these images best shows the meaning of FRIENDSHIP and why? |
Now think for a moment which one you would choose. It's probably quite easy to highlight the connection between friendship and any one of the pictures, e.g. Picture 2 - "friends help each other out", but this is NOT the activity. The activity is to identify the ONE image that, given all that you know about friendship, best encapsulates that concept. You are required to evaluate them all against this criterion, choose one and justify your choice.
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Which ONE of these images best shows the meaning of CHRISTMAS and why? |
This can be a powerful way to draw out and challenge misconceptions about the concept at hand, be it "friendship", "globalisation", "honesty", "efficiency", "respect", "expectation"...anything. Even Christmas!
Of course, the four or five stimuli don't have to be images: they might be pieces of music, poetry, art, dance movements, etc.
Class – Year 1 English/Writing
ReplyDeleteTime taken to prepare (in minutes) – 10 mins
In class we were studying the story 'The 3 Billy Goat's Gruff'. This was used to investigate the characters for the top ability groups. Children in small groups were given pictures of each character (Little Billy Goat, Middle Billy Goat, Big Billy Goat and the Troll). Children had to decide which image best shows a sneaky character. Children made their choices and were then prompted to discuss their reasons with their group and an adult. Children then recorded their answers using the words 'I think' and 'because'.
Children were quick to find which character was the sneakiest but needed prompting to give a reason (Why do you think it's the sneakiest?).
Top ability children completed this activity well but needed adult support to explore and discuss their ideas further. Children could record ideas unaided.