Why use LEGO®? It's fun! It's tactile, it stimulates creativity, it allows visualisation of designs, it's flexible, it appeals to all (specifically boys, who are statistically underachieving) and can be re-used again and again and again and again....
Just mentioning a link between LEGO® and Geography lessons is often enough to get teachers thinking creatively, but here are some examples of just some of the ways you can use these little bricks in your lessons.
1. Make a flag
Useful aid to get students using an atlas or the internet in a research-based capacity. Perhaps get students to make the flag from LEGO®, write down some key facts about the country (or mini-paragraph linking your topic to the relevant country) and photograph their writing next to their flag.
2. Grouping / categorising
Get some chunky bricks, some stickers (address labels cut to size may be useful here) and go for it! Maybe you will do locational Geography such as matching countries to their capitals. You could use it for fun case study revision with KS4 - 5 by getting them to match case study title with other essential information such as year, cause, effect, location....
You can get students to photograph their correct answers to help with their revision.
3. Create a landscape
LEGO® bricks can be moved. Landscapes move. This may take a bit more time to set up but could be a valuable way of getting students to demonstrate their understanding.
An example could be showing the formation of a gorge caused by waterfall erosion. You can get students to create it, photograph each stage, print it as a storyboard and explain each step.
Otherwise there is soil, rock, water tables, volcanoes, earthquake simulation...
4. Designing
Perhaps an eco-friendly house, flood defences along a river or coast, an ecolodge, a small yet efficient house within a favela....
5. And more!
I'm currently planning how to paint a world map on to a large LEGO® board so I can use it flexibly within lessons. Imagine giving everyone a brick and asking them to place it on the country that is the furthest place they've ever travelled. The taller the country's tower, the more students have been to that place. Imagine the conversations that could stimulate. Imagine the other ideas that are possible here.
I'd love to hear from you if you have used LEGO® in your lessons. What did you do? How did the students react? What were the pros and cons? Would you do it again?
Showing posts with label classroom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classroom. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Friday, July 22, 2016
A 'Help Desk' in your classroom!
A Help Desk in a classroom is a hub where pupils can go during a lesson to help them with their work. It could be a table at the front, a portion of your teacher's desk or the top of some drawers at the side of your room.
The aims and benefits of the Help Desk are:
- pupils take more responsibility for their own learning and research
- takes pressure off the teacher during the lesson
- reduces time wasted looking for books and resources during the lesson
- can give roles to pupils
- increases peer-to-peer learning
Here are some top ideas to inspire you!
Setting it up
Think of a good place for it, easily accessible to pupils in your classroom and maybe somewhere you can keep an eye on it! Think of a name for it, make a laminated sign and you're off!
Books
Place useful books on the table that students may or may not need to use to complete their work. This prevents their desks being cluttered by books they might not need but puts them in an accessible place if needed. This includes atlases, textbooks and dictionaries.
Technology
Put a couple of laptops on the desk. One could be open on a search engine so pupils can look something up quickly (not sit at to work!). The other could be the PPT from the previous lesson or two to help pupils who missed a lesson, didn't complete previous work or have forgotten something.
Examples of work
Obviously depends on the nature of the lesson but there is an opportunity to put best examples of work by previous year groups or pupils from other classes. This is so pupils can see the kind of "level" they are aiming for, or to get help if they are struggling.
Roles for pupils
You can get pupils to man the Help Desk if needed. Maybe a high ability pupil or one who has already completed the task. You could give them a 'Help Desk Manager' badge (perhaps other costume props) and get them to sit behind it and help their peers.
It can also be used to encourage weaker pupil. Give them the answer to a task (or some extra coaching beforehand) then get them to man the desk. Imagine the confidence boost they will gain from being the 'class expert' for a particular task and their peers come to them for help or clues!
Other resources
These include factsheets, globes, leaflets, information booklets, postcards, maps, props, calculators and more! Let your imagination and creativity run wild! :)
Think about how to manage the potential challenges of a Help Desk, such as:
- The time it takes to set up / tidy up each day or each lesson. How can you make it more efficient? Can the pupils help you? Do you need a 'Help Desk' monitor in each class? It has to help you too, not just the pupils!
- Pupils walking around the classroom to reach the desk. Do you need to introduce the desk formally to each class alongside some rules about how to use it?
Do you use a 'Help Desk' idea in your classroom? Would love to hear from you.
The aims and benefits of the Help Desk are:
- pupils take more responsibility for their own learning and research
- takes pressure off the teacher during the lesson
- reduces time wasted looking for books and resources during the lesson
- can give roles to pupils
- increases peer-to-peer learning
Here are some top ideas to inspire you!
Setting it up
Think of a good place for it, easily accessible to pupils in your classroom and maybe somewhere you can keep an eye on it! Think of a name for it, make a laminated sign and you're off!
Books
Place useful books on the table that students may or may not need to use to complete their work. This prevents their desks being cluttered by books they might not need but puts them in an accessible place if needed. This includes atlases, textbooks and dictionaries.
Technology
Put a couple of laptops on the desk. One could be open on a search engine so pupils can look something up quickly (not sit at to work!). The other could be the PPT from the previous lesson or two to help pupils who missed a lesson, didn't complete previous work or have forgotten something.
Examples of work
Obviously depends on the nature of the lesson but there is an opportunity to put best examples of work by previous year groups or pupils from other classes. This is so pupils can see the kind of "level" they are aiming for, or to get help if they are struggling.
Roles for pupils
You can get pupils to man the Help Desk if needed. Maybe a high ability pupil or one who has already completed the task. You could give them a 'Help Desk Manager' badge (perhaps other costume props) and get them to sit behind it and help their peers.
It can also be used to encourage weaker pupil. Give them the answer to a task (or some extra coaching beforehand) then get them to man the desk. Imagine the confidence boost they will gain from being the 'class expert' for a particular task and their peers come to them for help or clues!
Other resources
These include factsheets, globes, leaflets, information booklets, postcards, maps, props, calculators and more! Let your imagination and creativity run wild! :)
Think about how to manage the potential challenges of a Help Desk, such as:
- The time it takes to set up / tidy up each day or each lesson. How can you make it more efficient? Can the pupils help you? Do you need a 'Help Desk' monitor in each class? It has to help you too, not just the pupils!
- Pupils walking around the classroom to reach the desk. Do you need to introduce the desk formally to each class alongside some rules about how to use it?
Do you use a 'Help Desk' idea in your classroom? Would love to hear from you.
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