Sheffield High School

Newsletter
Something to share? Email me at s.campbell@she.gdst.net. The best bits are the bits that come from you!
It's not much of a tail, but I'm sort of attached to it.
The least boring book
about successful schools
Ive read in a while
Teaching & Learning
Roy Blatchford is Director of the National Education Trust and was
previously Her Majestys Inspector of Schools (HMI) in England, with
responsibilities for school improvement and for the inspection of
outstanding schools. In his book, The Restless School, he tries to
identify the common features of great schools that ensure their
success. He talks about the restless nature of excellent teachers,
departments and schools: they are very secure in their systems, values
and successes, yet simultaneously seeking to change and improve.

These schools look inwards to secure wise developments; they
look outwards to seize innovation which they can hew to their
own ends and, importantly, make a difference to the students
they serve.

The book is relevant to any school context; it acknowledges the
complexity of driving school improvement and challenges the reader
to reflect on what really matters. The author clearly has a passion for
learning and a great understanding of the features of high performing
classrooms. The book distils his own reflections and gathers research
and advice from other sources; it contains some useful checklists for
teachers is a recommended read which may provide some food for
thought.
Nina Gunson
The things that make
me different are the
things that make me.
I hope this is not true at SHS
In this issue:
Book review and the Wisdom of Pooh
More teaching ideas than you can shake a
stick at
Year 11 reveal the wonders of level 2
projects

Next time:
Heard of SOLO taxonomy? Nikki
Bamforth will reveal all. Let us know
if you use it too or perhaps an
alternative way to structure lessons
and measure progress?

Welcome to the first T&L Newsletter of 2014-15. Sorry for the wait, but its here at last. Like Christmas come
early. Um. Anyway, weve kept it short and sweet. You can browse the teaching ideas on the centre pages over
a hot cuppa, find out what Ninas been reading in her spare time, and take a few pearls of wisdom from the
inimitable Pooh. If you have time to read only one thing, check out Ians article on the back makes you realise
(if you didnt already know) what a good thing these Project Qualifications are for our girls. SC.































I often play bingo where I give the pupils 16 key words and ask
them to write them down in a 4 by 4 grid. I then read out the
definition and if they have that key word they cross it off and the
first person to get Bingo wins.
James Speed
Gold nuggets
Here are some great ideas, old and new, to help you try something new in your Golden Lesson*.
Thank you to everyone who contributed their ideas. Let us know what you try and how it goes!
*Golden what? In the week commencing 17
th
November, were
asking every teacher to pick one lesson in which to try something
completely new. Anything goes. Be bold. Take a risk. Give it a go!
Ideas from teachers
on Twitter #UKedchat

Using a visualiser is brilliant gives
children instant feedback, shows good
examples, boosts self-esteem -
@Educationchat

I give out Millionaire lifeline cards e.g.
ask the teacher aim is to still have it at the
end of the lesson. - @ElKel99

@MykWagstaff #ukedchat hands up
banned like to use more random
selection methods so all learners prepare
answers

Plenary: everyone has to give word linked
to lesson without repeating whats already
been said. Great 4 thinking & listening! -
@StrictTeacher99

Couldnt teach without mini whiteboards
instant feedback gives all chn a voice
and a chance to show you their opinion -
@teacherhut

I love usingcogs. Ch sit in = numbers with
inner and outer circle. They discuss with
member from other circle. Then inner
rotates - @primarypete_

Been getting children to recognise when the
are in the comfort, challenge or danger
zone, when they are working #ukedchat -
@mr_chadwick

New to Twitter? Look out for our Twitter
special edition coming out soon in the
meantime, try following @TeacherToolkit
and @UKEdChat.
Regular Tweeter? Let us know how you use
Twitter and who you follow.
SC
When the class is starting a new text (novel, poetry
etc) to help me get an idea of the students prior
knowledge I do an A-Z starter activity. I put the
topic up and ask the students to list a word for each
letter of the alphabet that they associate with the
topic. I usually give them 5 minutes to get as many as
possible. It does focus their minds and the challenge
of trying for the more difficult letters does make them
think. This can then be further developed by asking
students a random letter e.g. what did you put for g
and then get them to explain their thoughts.
Amanda Davies
I quite like using beat the teacher. Put some information up on
the board or in a hand out with intentional mistakes on. Then get
the students to spot the mistakes and correct them. Just be
careful if giving out in note form that students definitely correct all
mistakes before filing the work!
Stephen Coote
SPOT? SNOT? Or not?
Sarah Groombridge uses SPOT
(self, partner, other, teacher) to
scaffold her students responses
to being stuck. I like SNOT
(self, notes, other, teacher)
you can read more in my blog.
These simple memory devices,
like 3B4ME also, can help to
build good learning habits.
Stuart Campbell
2 for the price of 1
Find my partner. Half of the
students have questions, half the
answers - move around in silence
to find their match!
Call my bluff - 3 possible
definitions, students work in pairs
to decide which one is
correct. Good as a plenary to
check understanding.
Charlotte Puddephatt

Z





























Pooh," said Rabbit kindly,
"you haven't any brain."
"I know," said Pooh humbly.
Does Pooh have a fixed or growth mindset?
To revise vocabulary, key terms or definitions Produce
small cards with the word or expression on one side and
the definition on the other. Place these in a box or
bag. As a starter or at the end of a lesson, ask a girl to
take out one card and read one side to the class. The
others have to provide the information from the other
side.
This can be done in pairs or groups and girls can also use it
to revise on their own. Once words are well known they
can be discarded. Meanwhile new cards can be added as
new words are encountered.
Phillipa Lockwood
Brilliant BOGOF
1. Plasticine. Students have 25 minutes to summarise a whole topic (e.g. Medieval medicine)
using the plasticine. Then, a photo is taken. This photo then acts as both a topic divider in their
files, and a revision tool.
2. Similar to above, but as a plenary, modelling balloons help to test a girls subject knowledge
and creativity.
I have both if teachers want to borrow. Phil Oakley
Considered
modelling?
Have a set of lolly sticks for each class, with pupils
names on. You can then
choose who will answer questions
give them out and have a pupil run round
collecting them, as the class answer a rapid set of
short questions/volunteer answers. This latter
gets a lot of hands up.
select random partners to come and do a task at
the front.
choose people for games (looks fairer)
choose new working groups for a one-off
situation (I wouldnt choose long-term groups
that way)
Anonymous
Me too! But also
I always have problems remembering names in new classes and using lollipop sticks is quite good. They
write their names on a lollipop stick, give them to me and I select them at random during class discussions /
questions.
However, for a little flavour, the girls write a quick phrase on the opposite side which I will read out if they
can get the question right ("I love One Direction", "You're the smartest eva", etc). Grows a little tiresome
but good for learning names at the start of the year.
Works best for Y7, just about at Y8, too cool for this silly business by Y9+.
Anthony Behan
Put a little Donkey in your Evaluation
In the pursuit of effective AfL, a way to help our students understand the rules of the
game, or simply a gimmick to aid recall, mnemonics and acronyms are as good a tool
as any.
With Business and Economics it seems the hardest skill for students to master is
evaluation. Heres how a donkey can help students remember some of the key
techniques for writing good evaluations in this subject, and perhaps others. What
other tricks of the trade do we use to help our girls scaffold their answers or
remember key topics?
Andy Redfern
Curious how Donkey can help? Click Here for more details
2 more
Diamond 9 nine things/statements on cards (whatever
really) order them in the shape of a diamond: 1, 2, 3, 2, 1
The answer is... what's the question? Good for thinking
laterally / generating discussion.
Charlotte Puddephatt



With their AQA Level 2 Projects completed, I thought it might be an opportune moment to ask our Y11 students
about their experiences. Eight or so kindly volunteered their time; the audio interviews can be found on the SHS
Look Whos Talking blog (shslwt.wordpress.com, or via link on the Realsmart homepage), but here Ill try to
provide a synopsis.








Choosing a topic was easy for some, whilst others needed a little more prompting, but the sources from which they
drew their inspiration were varied and included books; their supervisors; lessons and subjects; news and magazine
articles and the arts.

During the course of their studies they enjoyed the sense of freedom the Project provided, whether in being able to
follow a subject about which they were passionate, being able to work in a way and at a pace that suited them,
being able to delve more deeply into a topic than was usually possible or having a choice about the way they could
present what they had learned. Even writing an essay became more fulfilling since it was on a topic about which they
cared and they had carte blanche in the contents and format. Although presenting to an audience caused some
measure of stress and induced nervousness in some, having the chance to share your findings proved particularly
rewarding, as did working with a teacher on a more equal footing.
This was summed up succinctly by one interviewee as

...to be your own boss and learn what you wanted to learn freely and
not have to stick with the curriculum.

Certain aspects of their study came to them less easily and proved tough to overcome, like time-management, the
apparent mountain of work, making sense of an abundance of information and overcoming issues with lack of
motivation. Yet the interviewees recognised that meeting these challenges provides benefits they would carry
forward either into the next years of their education or across into other subjects theyre currently studying. They
had become more committed to managing their time, working to deadlines and more self-disciplined. They noted
how much better they had become at constructing an essay in other subjects and that the strategies they used to
form an argument had improved. Their self-confidence, patience and persistence had all been boosted, reassuring
them of their capability to work independently.

Although the girls were never asked about technology, several
suggested how integral it had been to their success, yet made no
song and dance about it. To them technology was just one of the
tools they used and so perhaps provides evidence for the degree to
which it is increasingly embedded? The Internet clearly played a big
part, providing access to information (and people!) they might
otherwise not have been able to reach so readily. We might bemoan
the ease with which students access information through the
Internet, but if it is not available in their school or public libraries,
then the Internet might indeed be the only option available.

I wonder then what we might take away from this? Are some of the
benefits that working towards the Level 2 Project applicable more
widely?
Ian Guest

When you see someone putting on his
Big Boots, you can be pretty sure that an
Adventure is going to happen.

Ian Guest spoke to some Year 11s about their
experiences completing their Level 2 projects
Ive listened to some of these
interviews and they are
fascinating. Check them out! - Ed
What an adventure for Year 11