Posted on: 30/11/2021
There are many parallels between Christmas and a planning sequence: there’s a theme; there’s an engaging starting point just as there might be with the arrival of an elf or the appearance of the family box of Christmas decorations and there might also be a build up of shorter activities leading to the main ‘event’: Christmas Day itself…And - akin to Father Christmas and his all-important role - the success of a sequence’s outcomes is all in its delivery! So how can we plan to get the most out of a planning sequence?
Capture the children’s imagination right from the start and you won’t go wrong. This ‘buy in’ is what supports engagement and ultimately leads to success. A good engaging starting point will immerse the children within the world of the text you’re using. You might be thinking about settings, themes, characters or some kind of event or mystery that relates to the text. This serves as a pre-teaching opportunity and eases less-confident children in toward the writing process.
Just as Father Christmas will likely do in order to be as efficient and systematic as possible on Christmas Eve, we must carefully plan our navigation through the planning sequence before we begin. You need to ensure that the route is right for your class. And even if you come upon an unplanned diversion, you’ll already know how to rejoin the route to the final destination.
Sometimes, a planning sequence will begin with the discovery of a text and fairly quick reading of that text; other-times, children might not even read the text until several sessions in. We will always indicate which bit to read and when but it’s crucial that you read the whole text prior to beginning teaching a sequence. You also need to read and absorb the content of a planning sequence in order that you know what your destination should be before you set-off.
Plan what you will model ahead of each session. Add bells and whistles to your outcomes by ensuring that this model really goes beyond the learning outcome. Think carefully about audience and purpose and ensure you’re able to offer the children a succinct commentary as you write in front of them.
Finally, to return to our ‘a sequence is Christmas’ metaphor, we know that the best gifts are gifts of sentiment, beauty or the sorts of gifts that can be used in a practical way that affords limitless possibilities… this applies particularly to toys: ones that support imagination. And so too can the idea of limitless possibilities be applied to a planning sequence: something that you as a teacher and the children as learners can use in a way that offers choice and agency over what the children write. This is where the imagination can be sparked! And speaking of the imagination and all things Christmas, you might like to use our refreshed sequence for the gorgeous text, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsberg and the delightful poem, The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore. For this year (and just like a gift that can be used in different ways to suit the recipient!) the sequence can be used within one school-week or over two. It’s also now suitable for either the whole school to work through together; a key stage or just an individual class. Enjoy and do please share outcomes over on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Happy Christmas!
Posted in: Curriculum | Home Learning | Poetry
