Key Points
- The class teacher is Fran
- Other adults, including other staff and parents help the class teacher during the week
- Students work together in small groups
- Membership of the group varies with the activity
How we learn
People make the classroom; the students and the adults. The adults include the class teacher, Fran, the craft teacher, Chris, and depending on class sizes, an assistant. In addition parents are welcome into the classroom. They frequently work with small groups helping the students with their tasks.
The classroom itself, is organised into three areas; a craft area, a quiet, carpeted area and a table top area.
The craft area features a table with storage materials so that students may freely use paper, card, glue, paint etc. to make models or paint pictures. Their creations usually fill the display areas and spill over into the classroom. The Quiet area, bounded by bookshelves is used for reading, board games and as an assembly area for class discussion. The Whiteboard area features groups of class tables, students’ storage units and of course the whiteboard, displaying the day’s activities. This area is usually used for more formal, academic work such as writing.
The students who use the classroom make the place come alive. They have activities planned for them but they also usually arrive with their ideas about what they would like to do during the day. Usually the arrangement works quite amicably because the school day is designed to accommodate the interests of the student and the interests of the teacher.
For example, the class day can be considered under two headings: Outside Time and Inside Time. Outside Time is that time of the day when students are free to choose where they would like to go. Some students may choose to stay inside the classroom to play a board game for example or make a model. Others may choose to be outside where they can be more vigorous in their play, e.g. cubby building or tree climbing. Outside time is seen as an important part of the curriculum because the students choose freely what they want to do. In many instances their choice requires them to practice and develop their social skills.
Inside Time is when the planned curriculum is taught. Students are organised into small groups the membership of which depends upon the nature of the activity. For example, to go to Craft or Music with the specialist teachers, students are separated into 2 groups according to age. In Topic work small groups work together because they share a common interest, e.g. the completion of a dinosaur model. Basic skills such as those in English and Maths are usually taught to groups of around 5 students brought together because they share a similar fluency in literacy.