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Moving forward we have thought about what could we adapt and improve next year. I have divided this into the different stages in the FOSIL cycle as it will help us as we plan in the future.
The CONNECT stage:
Introduce this stage by giving example of a place you like to go – what is it about that place that means you enjoy it? Model this and then get them to do the same. This could be somewhere that they might already have looked at in French but could also link in with what they have done in another subject such as Geography. Then they need to make the link to Paris:
The WONDER stage:
This can be difficult as young students can’t necessarily imagine wanting to know about certain topics! Questions need to be directed a bit more by teachers. Some classes need to be taught explicitly how to ask good questions.
One idea would be to give pupils roles/characters on cards to prompt them:
The INVESTIGATE stage:
Slow this stage down to maximise learning. The resource packs could be differentiated and more time spent with them. Allowing them more of a free reign when doing web-research might yield answers to their more obscure questions.
Pupils need to understand the nature of asking questions in research – sometimes you don’t find the answers you are looking for, but find other information which generates different questions along the way. This needs explicit teaching.
Start the next stage by asking them to come up with places – in new groups – they would suggest would be worth visiting/things worth doing and why.
The CONSTRUCT stage:
More time should be spent on the script as this is a perfect example of how you can use an inquiry approach in MFL. They needed to work out how to find, adapt and use language discovered through the resources and inquiry sheets.
The EXPRESS stage:
Pupils need to feel that their final piece in French is an appropriate refection of the work put in throughout the inquiry. They all need help with pronunciation. Although many based their script on the model provided some up front teaching before the presentation might have helped.
I’ll see if Lucy has anything that she would like to add before posting our conclusions.