Monday, 16th November

My stay at Bishop Luffa school is now in its third and last week. This week I was supposed to observe how Philosophy for Citizenship is taught, but the timetable I have been given for this week is not complete. Some of the teachers I was supposed to be attached at haven't answered the email that Stella sent them. Anyway, I talked to some members of the staff asking them if they would mind to have me observing their classes, so I finally managed to do some arrangements for this last week.

PERIOD TWO – Latin – Year 9

During period two, I observed Chloe's latin lesson. The way she takes the register is quite interesting, as she asks the students to conjugate a latin verb in order to check if they remember their last lesson.

After taking the register, a vocabulary revision is made. The teacher writes some latin words on the board, and the students copy them on their books. She asks some students individually about the English translation of these words. At the end she aks every one of them in order to check how many of the words were correct, and she takes note of these scores. Students who have a lot of mistakes are invited to meet the teacher on Friday at lunchtime to revise these words.

The class is focussed on the genitive case. The first activity is a 'Think, Pair, Share' one. Students have to think how many different ways are there in English to tell someone that a book belongs to you (20 seconds – think, 1 minute – pair, 5 minutes – share, with the teacher writing the different alternatives on the board) This is an introduction to show the students how in latin the genitive case is made changing the ending of the word. Then, students are asked to copy the table with the corresponding declensions on their books while the teacher makes sure that they have written them correctly.

The following part of the lesson consists in a story, written in latin, that students are reading. Next to the text there are some pictures which help students to guess the content of the story. The teacher asks the students to imagine what the scenes might represent. Later, pupils are invited to work in teams. Each group will focus on one specific section of the text. They will try to find genitive cases and they will translate them into English.

I notice that, even though students seem to understand the basic concepts and follow the class quite easily, some of them are not always focussed, as they are playing with their friends, gossiping or involved in their own private conversations. I am surprised to see how the teacher is not worried about this, as long as they learn and finish the activities. This shocks me as a striking contrast between the strict dress code and behaviour regulations, and the rather loose attitude towards the students who are distracted, playing or singing, instead of doing the tasks they are supposed to be working on. Anyway, when the activity is corrected they seem to have done everything quite well! Anyway, I also notice that some students, who are shy and never raise their hands, have less opportunities to participate than others.

The final activity consists in finding the genitive for a word given by the teacher.

PERIOD THREE

Gav Walker – Year 8 – Enriched Language

The class begins with two questions: Can I present a pitch and develop my verbal skills?, Can I listen to improve my note taking skills?

This ECL class is focussed on how to give good presentations. First of all, the teacher reminds the students that there will be a chairperson to control who will have the right to talk after the presentations, and also a scribe who will take notes of all the interventions.

As a starter activity, the students are asked to find the top five tipos on what makes a good pitch (meaning a good speech)

The core activity is centred on the presentations that students have prepared to show their friends the ride they took at New Thorpe Park. All students will take notes while another pupil is talking about a trip they did. While their friend is talking, the rest of the class will try to identify what went well (WWW) and what could be done even better if… (EBI) They will create a table with two columns, and they should be able to jot down two or three points in each of them (WWW and EBI)

Mr Walker is a very dynamic, active, energetic teacher. He jumps over the desks and moves around the class all the time, keeping students engaged and motivated. He appoints one chairman and one scribe, and all students have the opportunity to give their personal opinion about the presentation. The teacher reminds them that positive criticism is welcome, as long as it helps us to understand how to improve our presentation skills.

Though at certain moments the class seems to be quite noisy, I see that these students are learning a lot. I am amazed at the way these 12 year old students present their experiences and talk before an audience. It is obvious that this is a great way to improve their talking skills and foster their awareness of strong and weak points when listening to a speech. I am not surprised that they become so efficient and convincing speakers when they grow up, considering the wonderful training they have!