Photos and notes from a visit to Summerland School, examples of good practice and ideas

1. Visit to Summerland School,
West Auckland, 19/8/2010
Some reflections from the day
Tina Donnell, Kaipara Flats School

2. This selection is not quite random. It’s
examples of good things that caught
my attention as I walked through the
school with Luke Sumich and the
Twin Coast ICT cluster group.
There are certainly some good things I
saw that my camera forgot to record.

3. Thinking Hats
in the Reading
Programme
This was a set of six
scrapbooks set up for the
children to write in
independently as a follow-up
to reading activity.

4. The instructions asked the children to use
the hats to think about a book they had
previously read from their book bag or
browsing box.
The work was on unlined paper and the
children were free to write and draw to
show their ideas.
It was a tool for thinking rather than a
published work.
The books appeared to be well used and I
liked that the children were getting a
chance to revisit texts using an open-ended
activity.
I also liked that they get to choose which of
the texts they have read to follow up in this
way.

5. Goal Fish
This display caught my eye, partly
because of the use of Kid Pix for print
publishing in colour.
I don’t use Kid Pix very often in this
way, as I am aware that colour printing
costs 5 times as much as B&W.
However, this was a purposeful use of
Kid Pix in the goal setting process and
I can see how the fish could be
printed quite economically with more
than one fish per page.

6. Learning
intentions and
success criteria
While there were many
differences evident from one
class to another through the
school, sharing learning
intentions and success criteria
was a common thread.

7. These are some examples of the goals children chose.

8. More examples of goal setting

9. A tool for
mastering
tables as Basic
Facts
In a Y5&6 class, this child was
using a chart she had made to
help recall the 7x table.
The multiples of 7 were
recorded from left to right on
each finger on the chart.

10. Luke Sumich described the
process:
1. Once the chart is made, place
hands over and lift each finger
to find the answer - e.g. for 3x7,
lift the third finger
2. As you become more
confident, bring your hands to a
mid-point, away from the chart
and use in the same way.
3. Turn away from the chart, and
only use it if you forget the
answer.

11. Independent
learning
One common thread in the classes at
Summerland was the level of independent
learning.
I was impressed by the focus displayed by these
two children and their ability to work
cooperatively using a “Figure It Out” maths
problem.
On talking to the class teacher, she explained that
she had spent a lot of time teaching the children
to be aware of how they learn best. She has set
up the routines and the environment to cater Thinking about it, ICT is one of the factors that
both for children who prefer to work alone, makes independent learning easier to implement in
undisturbed by others and also for children who a classroom - where the tools can be set up to
need to talk with others as they work. engage the child, to guide a process, to hold
Interestingly, the noise level in this class was low attention and to track progress.
and there seemed to be quite a few children (The other important factor being the vision and
working on their own. These children were quite skill of the teacher.)
separated from the main group.

12. Post-it note
brainstorm
Post-it notes could be standard issue for
paper supplies in classrooms.
They are so handy as a tool in
brainstorming.
I have found it useful to use them
alongside an ICT tool like
Kidspiration, when I don’t have
enough computers for my groups, or
simply as an alternative choice.

13. Current
Events
I thought this was a really
good example of extended
thinking around a current
events topic.

14. Following on from the current
events discussion

15. Using post-it notes to sort
ideas

16. A junior class tool for organising
for independent learning

17. While we were in the room, we observed children going up to the chart
and moving their photo to a different area of the board, before they moved
to that activity.
One child moved two photos and another child commented, “You’re not
allowed to move someone else.”

18. Frisbee Golf? ... or maybe large ball.
Each exit from the trap had a + or - minus
rule to score.

19. Recognising
Home
Reading
I liked this idea, because homework
notebooks can be a bit invisible in
the classroom and this gives
children a visual reminder and
reward for their effort.
I imagine it could also be self
managing and encourage goal
setting, because the children are
able to move their image along as
they read more.

20. Reading
Rockets
This shows the rocket image
with the children’s photos
that can be moved along as
the children read more
books.

21. Rainbow
Fish
I’m actually not that keen on
“art” where everything looks
so similar, however as you
will see in the next slide the
goal setting did not have an
art focus.
(I did also see lots of
examples of work where art
was the focus .)

22. Key
Competencies
So the focus was on
working together and at
the same time, the
children learned
something about paper
mache techniques.

23. Parent’s Corner

24. The next slides show a way of informing
parents about the National Standards in the
classroom setting

25. Sharing the current goals

26. Using the exemplars to illustrate where
the children are currently working...

27. ... and also giving an idea of
what the next steps will be

28. Reflection
sentence
starters
Teaching children to reflect on their
learning and plan next steps is an intrinsic
part of current educational practice.
The use of 21st century ICT tools makes
this process easier, as children are able to
revisit learning experiences through a
variety of media and Web 2.0 tools such as
voice thread and blogs.

29. Learning the
language of
reflection
I liked this display of
sentence starters to help
children think about what
they did and what they
learned in the process.

30. Modeling books were in evidence in most classes and I liked the way
they were on display and available to the children. I saw several
children working with a modeling book alongside for reference.
Charts created with the children can be so useful and relevant
compared to published materials.

31. I’ve been thinking lately that it would be good to have art materials
stored and displayed attractively to encourage the children to use them
independently and to care for them as well. I hate the way the colours of
the crayons get all spoilt when stored in one box, so I liked this solution
I spotted on the way out of the last class we visited.

32. Something’s missing...
...oops, I forgot the ICT and there was
lots of it.

33. It appeared to be just another possible
set of tools in the learning process.

34. Use of ICT
Junior class, a group of children using
laptops to plan writing while other
children worked in books.
Y3/4 class, using DLO as a teaching
tool with a group of children using
laptops sitting on the floor, with the
teacher

35. Mixed group, Y1&2 with Y5 or 6 child as scribe on
laptop, talking about materials and procedures for a
planned project
Ipad - in use by one or two children in some classes.
These are currently shared, with one between 2 classes,
very recently purchased, in exploration phase
Children using websites on desktops or laptops in
classes as part on the reading or maths independent
activities

36. Other things I was taken with...
Black paper and metallic markers used in a Y chart, looks like, sounds like, feels like.
(Chart looked great.) The teacher described how the day before the children had
been excited by a sudden hailstorm, so she let them go out in it. Afterwards, they
brainstormed words for the Y chart, working in small groups and she acted as scribe
to publish their collated ideas. (Y3&4 class, I think)
The snowball game as a brain break. Pieces of paper handed out, children write a
question, put name on the back, screw up the paper and stand up when finished. On
the signal, they throw the paper to the other side of the room. Children then pick up
a paper, answer the question and find the author, point scored for correct answers.
(Good to meet @heymilly from Twitter PLN)
Using personality types as an aid to understanding learning styles in a Y5&6 class.
The children were able to articulate what their personality type was and how that
affected their learning. They could talk about positives and negatives.
I was impressed by the good humoured way they approached this and also by their
understanding of how they could use each other’s strength to improve their work.
While some children and the teacher talked to us, other children continued quietly
with their work.
Yellow - creative; Red - emotional; Blue - analytical, big picture; Green - organised,

37. ...and another thing
one class had an interesting range of
furniture, high tables with barstools, low
tables for sitting on floor to work, tables at
standing height, padded cube seating, and
study carrels, as well as standard height
tables in different shapes and arrangements
The children were able to choose where
they preferred to work, some working away
happily underneath tables, in one instance.

38. Many thanks to Luke and the team at Summerland School for allowing us a window into their
classrooms.
Thanks also to Sue Pritchard for organising the visit.
(...and I guess I can reiterate, it’s not about the tools, it’s about the teaching & learning that takes
place)