I observed the year six top set class that I am timetabled to for the last time this week, as my timetable has been changed to allow extra PPA time. In this lesson the teacher decided to change the task from reading Kensuke's Kingdom to imagining being in the scenario of Michael from the text.
The teacher gave me a task sheet before the lesson started so that i could familiarise myself with what needed to be done in the lesson. The task required five pupils, each with a different character card. Each character card had a different brief ranging from being a leader or being overly agreeable to being completely disagreeable. Whilst in these roles they had to imagine being the stranded on a desert island and the task was to assign roles (such as sentry duty, collecting food and water, gathering firewood) to ensure the survival of the group. After briefing the pupils they were split into groups and sent to separate areas of the school. I believe that by doing so the teacher actively removed the rules and constraints that a classroom provides, therefore enriching the role play. I observed three groups of girls in the school's dining hall, who were all in the full swing of their task.
The main reason i thought this lesson was worth mentioning for a 'wow' factor is because the teacher managed to engage every child with the role play, and their enthusiasm was obvious. Afterwards the teacher asked for feedback from the class, and they noted down what was difficult and enjoyable. To relate the drama to work the pupils were to write in the fashion of Kensuke's Kingdom from the perspective of their character in the next lesson.
The pupils were actively encouraged to create their own success criteria for the next lesson, a skill that shows self evaluation and provides targets for the class to work towards. This was only slightly guided by the teacher, who helped to word the sentences properly and type the criteria into a word document for printing.
In my mind this was a fantastic and enjoyable lesson that involved all and required minimal teacher input.
