The class regularly used these phoneme tables (using a different colour to highlight the particular phoneme) each week to copy out their new list of words. This selection of words with a particular phoneme formed the basis of a weekly homework exercise and spelling test. The pupils would also copy these words onto their individual whiteboards when they arrived in class each morning, as an additional exercise to keep them occupied before the lesson began.

This strategy was useful in that it allowed pupils to expand their vocabulary and general knowledge within a familiar structure of learning. Different word lists were set for both classes in the composite group, allowing flexibility for the teacher which was simple and straightforward.

Last week on placement, I noticed on a number of occasions how important the visual way things are presented to pupils can aid or hinder their appreciation of the actual content of a lesson.

The first notable point was during a maths class on column subtraction, when the person presenting at the whiteboard unthinkingly used the lined section of the board to write out some sums. I could see immediately that several children struggled to copy them correctly into their jotters. But when the section of the board which was marked off into squares was used, this problem seemed to disappear. The children are just beginning to grasp the idea of place value in relation to subtraction, so the use of the square board to demarcate clearly the tens and units columns was extremely helpful for them.

In the same lesson, a worksheet was used which laid out all the double digit subtractions as “chimney” column sums. Since the idea of borrowing between columns had not been introduced yet, I seemed to find that the children were merely treating them as two individual digit subtractions and not really grasping the overall concept. It was emphasised that they must begin with the unit column (so as to help when borrowing will be introduced), though many pupils just ignored this as the simplified layout lended itself to a quick and easy approach. I mentioned this to the class teacher, and she presented the subtractions differently the next day as horizontal sums which the children then had to re-arrange as chimney sums. This seemed to emphasise better the double digit nature of the problems.

The third visual aspect I noted was on a literacy worksheet which asked the pupils to colour-in the alphabet with the consonants in red and the vowels in blue. Every child seemed to colour them in with a reverse colour scheme, as these colours corresponded to what they were used to on their magnetic phoneme boards. This therefore suggested to me that consistency in colour schemes etc is important to avoid unnecessary distraction in presenting new concepts.

Overall, these minor issues demonstrated the importance of the visual for children just starting out in literacy and numeracy. It is important to see things from the child’s persepctive and not just to leave these small points to whim or chance.

I worked with small groups of three or four children to produce these Fireworks posters in the Art Room. There were several stages involved in constructing them. First, the children glued and carefully positioned the image of the Houses of Parliament on a piece of black card, before colouring it in with wax crayons. They then selected chalks for the firework patterns – it was important to chose bright and contrasting colours, arrange the patterns around the available space and avoid smudging them. The small groups afforded the opportunity to discuss the history of bonfire night, firework safety, and Parliament among other things.

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